Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Gerry2011]

Hey Dingle, welcome to BYC. Glad you caught on right away, but the truth is, many people don't. Also there are situations that arrise that have a lot of folks stumped. Now I get really frustrated with the day in and day out repetitive questions, just like a lot of folks. However, I'm here to help and not throw stones at newbies. If it gets under my skin, I just move along and pay no mind. Ya might wanna start in the front part of this thread and get the skinney from the get go. Lots of good stuff there. Most of the end of the thread is devoted to helping those who need it or are confused about a certain detail. Make yourself at home, but don't be too rough on those that can't figure it out for themselves.........Pop

That's one of the best things about BYC...no smartalecky responses to what appears to some of us not so bright questions. We all have been there somewhere sometime

and it sure doesn't hurt just to answer the questions nicely.

 

[hannahransom]

Some of us newbs love the OT advice.

My chicken is barely limping today I had a second layer start yesterday (but the egg was soft shelled). It's all so new and exciting!

Thanks for the rooster advice. The person who has the rooster said they kill all of their mean roosters, so I am hoping that is true. The rooster is 6 mo., though, so I realize that might not be old enough to tell. I would really like to have my own fertile eggs eventually, and someone to keep his girls together for my own sanity and so that I don't need to spend 1/2 hour tracking one of them down.

 

[scottcaddy]

I thought this would be a good thread but so far all I see is people jawing about nothing chicken related.
I am an old timer with 1 year of chicken raising. My sage advice is that chickens are chickens and will do what chickens have been doing for centuries.
Why isn't my chicken doing this yet? How come they do this. What if they.... Give them food, water and shelter and they will give you eggs and a great deal of pleasure. Don't sweat the details.

Good to see you, hope you stay around!
And may i say that I read alot, and set on my hands (it's hard at times)

 

[loanwizard]

Not really asking for advice but just kind of sharing. I hatched out a batch of 8 the other day and one was dried in the egg but still kicking so I decided to help. It seemed to work ok but I discovered 2 days later that it can't stand up. Hatch day was Thursday. This weekend I watched her and helped her water (nipple waterer 5 gal bucket) twice per day. I was waiting for nature to take its course, but she is still kicking, even with chicks walking on her and only getting water when I help her.... to that point I did add a small plate with water in it. I am amazed she is still alive. I plan to take her out of her misery tonight after work. On a chick, just dislocate the neck? I am not sure why I haven't done it yet. I butchered 4 roosters over the weekend so it isn't like I am squeamish, just... I don't know. I feel like I am prolonging her pain and discomfort, basically her inability to survive on her own out of some macabre fascination. Is there something wrong with me?

 

[Cass]

Not really asking for advice but just kind of sharing. I hatched out a batch of 8 the other day and one was dried in the egg but still kicking so I decided to help. It seemed to work ok but I discovered 2 days later that it can't stand up. Hatch day was Thursday. This weekend I watched her and helped her water (nipple waterer 5 gal bucket) twice per day. I was waiting for nature to take its course, but she is still kicking, even with chicks walking on her and only getting water when I help her.... to that point I did add a small plate with water in it. I am amazed she is still alive. I plan to take her out of her misery tonight after work. On a chick, just dislocate the neck? I am not sure why I haven't done it yet. I butchered 4 roosters over the weekend so it isn't like I am squeamish, just... I don't know. I feel like I am prolonging her pain and discomfort, basically her inability to survive on her own out of some macabre fascination. Is there something wrong with me?

Of course you can do what you want...but I always give the "underdog" a full week before decideing it's fate...and I have had some real miracles and a couple I helped to heaven.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

ive helped so many outa the shell through the yrs. (even though i know better) and ive never had any survive in the long run. most never could walk as you describe. i quit helping them this past yr. its natures way of culling the weak and infirm. when we try to alter the natural way of things we never truly win. if the hen had hatched it. the chick would never lived to make it outa the shell and those that struggle to come out never make it more than a couple days of trying to keep up with the hen. the best method is to try an raise them a natural way. let the weak die. its hard to do, ive tried to not do this. as described above, but truth hurts at times. just like real life.

when little like this you take a pocket knife and just cut off his lil head. much easier, simplier, and less messy when little.

 

[flocksalot]

A couple of years ago I helped one out of the shell after Ms. Broody decided she had enough and quit sitting. It was really cool to be able to show my at the time 6 year old how they come out of the shell and what they look like. She was a beautiful little teeny chick and momma took her back no problem. We named her Harriet. She was always smaller than her siblings and took to being her momma's shadow. When she got older Daddy took her as his new favorite hen, much as we were against it. She fared very well until she was about 18 months. One day last fall I found her dead in the nest box. She had been laying beautiful sky blue eggs just like her momma for over a year and was without a doubt one of my prettiest girls, but she was never going to out live my strong healthy girls. She did however do well for a short time, and some people never keep hens longer than we had her.

I also got a teeny tiny little forced hatched chick last summer that had not absorbed it's yolk sac and had it's umbilical cord still hanging. The poor things head was three times the size of it's body. It couldn't stand up and the other chicks would run all over it. I'm a softie, so I stayed up until 2 AM giving him drinks of sugar water and vitamins. The next day the little fart could still barely stand, but really wanted to run with the crowd. He would go up onto his tippy toes to not fall over, but he stayed up. He caught up to the other chicks quite quick and then became the tallest of the bunch. I had so hoped he would be a she, but a he is he. He is a awesome looking ameraucana rooster. If we only have him for a short time I would be shocked as he is as healthy as a horse and one hugh boy. He is almost as big as my Wellsumer rooster and his Welli cross sons. So far his progeny are vigorous and strong pipping and zipping before the others even start. They practically come out of the shells running. They are up and pecking every thing inside the incubator long before they are dry. And to think I would have none of them if I hadn't given him a helping hand.

 

[loanwizard]

Well, the little thing is gone now.... When they cannot get to the water or out of it for that matter, their time is limited. Yesterday afternoon my girlfriend went home and gave it some water. When I got home it was matted and wet and struggling without being able to lift its head. I took it outside and dislocated its heads from its shoulders. Then I got in trouble for not doing it more humanely.
Way I look at it, the humanity went out the window when I discovered it wasn't healthy and going to make it in the first place. That's also why I have a DNR order on myself.

 

[flocksalot]

Well, the little thing is gone now.... When they cannot get to the water or out of it for that matter, their time is limited. Yesterday afternoon my girlfriend went home and gave it some water. When I got home it was matted and wet and struggling without being able to lift its head. I took it outside and dislocated its heads from its shoulders. Then I got in trouble for not doing it more humanely.
Way I look at it, the humanity went out the window when I discovered it wasn't healthy and going to make it in the first place. That's also why I have a DNR order on myself.

It was over in like what a half second? How more humane can you get? Hope someone can do that for me when the time comes.

 

[bobbi-j]

Well, the little thing is gone now.... When they cannot get to the water or out of it for that matter, their time is limited. Yesterday afternoon my girlfriend went home and gave it some water. When I got home it was matted and wet and struggling without being able to lift its head. I took it outside and dislocated its heads from its shoulders. Then I got in trouble for not doing it more humanely.
Way I look at it, the humanity went out the window when I discovered it wasn't healthy and going to make it in the first place. That's also why I have a DNR order on myself.

You did the right thing, and as humanely as possible. Sometimes a "clean" death = "humane" in peoples' perspective.