Washingtonians - Page 7678  

Question... the girls have been in the coop most of this week.  I put one roost bar 18-20" above the floor going one way and another roost 3" off the floor going the opposite way (like the top of a "T") for Drama, my Light Brahma.  I hoped Drama would roost there.  The coop is small, so I really didn't think it would be a problem because she could sit on her roost and look up at the other two.

The new set-up is very similar to how the brooder was set up.  Drama would sleep on her lower roost, while the other two slept up above.

A couple of days ago, when she was sitting on my lap, I noticed she reeked to high heaven.  Last night I sat out and watched them go to sleep before their auto door shut.  Turns out, Rhodie and Caunnie sit on the top roost and Drama sits right beneath them on the floor - right in the poop zone.    No wonder my lap bird reeks!

Any suggestions on what I can do?  I want to hold my girl, but, wowza, I don't want to smell that!

And... can chickens be washed?  If so, how?
 

Woke up to two dead chocolate Orp chicks. One was buried in the straw with a broken neck. One looked like it was sleeping. The other was peeping in loneliness.

They were JUST FINE last night at 10pm, and there was no power outage and no sign that anything got into the brooder.

This week is just killing me!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirewifeJess 

Aw, that's adorable!!

 

Hey itsren/Renee!! Guess what? We finally get to meet tomorrow! I'm apologizing in advance. The house will NOT be up to par with my normal standards. It's a filthy mess right now because all I want to do is work outside. Must be a symptom of having backyard chickens? Any way, try not to judge too harshly, I'm tired LOL

I'm looking forward to it!

No worries Jessica, we are a very busy family, too.  With all the coop/run work that has been going on, everything is behind at our house.  "Mom, I don't have any clean {insert clothing article}" has been a common statement from the kids this week.  I'm feeling very tired and overwhelmed myself.  It is going to be nice to just walk away from it and visit with you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judges4 

Woke up to two dead chocolate Orp chicks. One was buried in the straw with a broken neck. One looked like it was sleeping. The other was peeping in loneliness.

 

They were JUST FINE last night at 10pm, and there was no power outage and no sign that anything got into the brooder.

 

This week is just killing me!

Oh no!  I am so sorry.  How old were they?  Could they have gotten into a fight with each other?

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsren 

 

Oh no!  I am so sorry.  How old were they?  Could they have gotten into a fight with each other?

They were a couple weeks old. I can't imagine how they could have gotten into a fight and done that. And the one was just laying on the straw with  no sign of injury.

I am really ready to give up on this. Lost $225 in less than 24 hours. 

I have some bantam chocolates hatching right now and some in the upcoming weeks if you are interested. 

You need to make sure and quarantine the remaining chocolate you have from your other birds, just in case.  You might want to send them in to Puyallup for necropsy too.  That way you can let the seller know if there is a problem.........

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judges4 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirewifeJess 


Yup...you've convinced me. No dog! That's the last thing I need. My almost 4 year old daughter still pees herself many times a day and YDS is nowhere near potty trained. I DEFINITELY don't need to be training a dog whilst training 2 kids too Nope, I'll wait until the kids are teens and let them take care of the dog chores

I can completely understand your decision. My kids are 3 & 5.

It is, however, possible for you to find a good older dog. We got Nala in January, and she'll be 2 next month. After the puppy disaster, we settled on an older dog and searched for the exact breed we wanted. Breeds are predisposed to behaviors. Some are hunters, some are headers, some are guards.... And older dogs are not as difficult as puppies. We worked with a great placement agency. We didn't end up getting a dog from them since Nala showed up as perfect as could be, but I know someone who did.

Anyway, just saying that it is possible to get a great dog who requires little work and still take care of cats, fish, chickens, kids, house.........man, no wonder I'm tired!!!

Myself I would prefer to get a pup rather than an "older dog" (and I don't think you mean much older). Now keep in mind I AM NOT NOR DO I CLAIM TO BE A TRAINER. However those who have seen my animals may say otherwise. If you get the older dog you risk inheriting bad behavior. I feel it easier to teach what is acceptable and what is not. Rather than to stop old /bad habits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicken Rustler 

Myself I would prefer to get a pup rather than an "older dog" (and I don't think you mean much older). Now keep in mind I AM NOT NOR DO I CLAIM TO BE A TRAINER. However those who have seen my animals may say otherwise. If you get the older dog you risk inheriting bad behavior. I feel it easier to teach what is acceptable and what is not. Rather than to stop old /bad habits.

I completely agree. It took a long time to vet the dogs available. The agency we worked with actually did that, too, and had a "sample" time for the adoption to make sure the fit was right. We were able to work that out with Nala, keeping her one day at a time until we knew it would work. We also worked closely with our trainer/boarder to find the right dog. It does take time and effort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pips&peeps 

I have some bantam chocolates hatching right now and some in the upcoming weeks if you are interested. 

 

You need to make sure and quarantine the remaining chocolate you have from your other birds, just in case.  You might want to send them in to Puyallup for necropsy too.  That way you can let the seller know if there is a problem.........

I appreciate that!

We have some chocolate and b/b eggs on order that we've already paid for, but I'm so not sure I want to spend any more money on this. It's pretty likely this little baby won't make it, either from some inherited problem or from being alone for a week while we're gone (the neighbor will take care of it, but she can't be here all the time), so that's another loss.

Sigh.

Send them to Puyallup? Is there an agency there that does the necropsy?

WADDL - Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/