Recent content by toritori

We have a bit of a mixed flock: one 4 yr old Silver Laced Wyandotte, then 3 Red-Sex LInk that we got as chicks in April, 1 White Silkie (who thinks she is one of the Red Sex-Links), and 2 black ones (not sure what they are) that we got in May. There were 3 three sex-links and 3 white silkies...

I only have 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes right now, Heckle and Jeckle. It has been ridiculously cold (days without temps above 0F, nights -30F for the last 3 months), so the girls have stayed right in their coop. They are happy and content, but I just noticed that it looks like their upper beak...

I am looking for a small egg incubator with a self turner for my daughter's Catholic school. The development of the eggs would be a wonderful science project and we can handle the chickens after they are born. Since it is for a small catholic school, we are looking for as inexpensive as...

Heckle & Jeckle, sister Silver Laced Wyandottes, tussled over a dead toad that had started to rott! Jeckle got it and started running around the yard with it dangling from its beak by one foot....then Heckle got it by another foot and took off with it. They spent half an hour back and forth...

We took in the Brahmas last November, and they were very sickly. We had to worm then and worked like dogs to bring them back to health. I haven't wormed since then.

My entire flock (3-18 month old Brahmas and 2-18 month old Wyandottes) just went through a giant molt. Feathers from one end of the property to the other. Everyone is filling back out beautifully, except for Heckle, one of my Wyandottes. Her sister Jeckle has beautiful new plumage and has...

Saranac Lake is often the "cold spot of the nation" so we planned for below zero temps and gusting winds from the beginning...6" of foam board insulation!! And the heat lamp is on a thermostat. The coop is insulated better than our house! Our girls are a little spoiled.

That just made my day! Thank you soooo much!

I was just wondering if you had had any developments. The pre-sickness egg situation sounds just like my Paula Dean (2 yr old Silkie) that died Saturday night. Do any of your other hens have any symptoms? Are you treating any of the other hens preventatively?

My Silkie went very quickly. Being Silkie and just going through a gigantic molt, she was never a great egg layer and often layed "egg in a bag" or none at all. We just saw symptoms on Saturday and then she died Saturday night. If it was Botulism what should I do? They are free range. Scrub...

Ask your local hardware about setting up a heat lamp on a thermostat. It is not very expensive to do and would prevent overheating or freezing, especially if the temperature changes significantly while you are away.

Our girls are free range too, so if it is Marek's it is all over my entire property. We are due for snow and Saranac Lake is repeatedly the cold spot of the nation. Will the freezing temps kill off the remaining contagion? I can deal with the coop, it is the great outdoors that I find daunting.

That definitely looks like my Paula Dean. I have read thte links from UNH and Cornell. The only thing that seems odd is that we only saw symptoms for 12 hours and she was dead that evening. How long have y'all seen symptoms? The other question I have is that all our girls are atleast 18...

I am so sorry. People say "they are just chickens" and we all know that they are more than that.

You aren't alone; I had my first significant sick chicken last night. Make sure there is water nearby, dehydration won't make anything better. BYC member Eggcessive gave me a few links on Marek's disease and one has a bunch of photos. They helped me out...