Colorado

[megshenhut]

Question for y'all: so, I just had to euthanise my last 2 Polish hens on Friday due to the same issues the other 2 had to be euthanised for in July (prolapse vent, egg shell breakage inside). Again, none of the other hens are showing any of the same issues. My question is, can this type of thing be a genetic problem? They were never consistent/reliable layers & had always had issues to some degree, but I guess I'm just trying to find a reason other than my being a crap owner for what happened to them. I dusted/cleaned for external parasites & will be starting a dewormer this week, as well as reintroducing layer pellets into their all flock feed for the remaining birds just to be on the safe side.

I'm pretty broke up about this. They were the first hens I bought after Odysseus adopted me & started treating me like his hen. Having to decide to euthanise hasn't gotten any easier despite how crappy this year has been by giving me ample practice.

Uzi, please don't beat yourself up. I think you are a great bird owner. Polish are not a hardy breed at all from what I've learned. It may be genetic, certainly seems like the line of birds you bought had all the same issues.

 

[COChix]

Hola Colorado family, been awhile since I posted an update about our young cockerels we hatched hatched 04/1/16 (from what I recall, will have to double check that). Anyhoo, we are particular to the grey one. We have one in isolation (the splash) as he was beating up on one of our Broodies and she was not happy. They are tid-bitting for the hens, wing drops, crowing tons and trying their best to win the girls over. Our farm girls are ruthless and often attack them, they still are put in their place by the hens, for now. Will be processing two of them in an about a month.

They all are very handsome.....

Hope everyone is doing well, we are in the middle of harvest season and swamped...will check in and catch up in about a month.

 

[carolynm]

Three eggs appeared in the nests yesterday....W00t!! To determine the new layer, I set up a trail cam in the coop. Worked great! Buffy the Orpington it is I'm up to 3/6 laying now, yay Also got 1000 photos of Whiskey the EE keeping everyone's eggs warm for them...how nice of her. She doesn't seem super broody yet but looks like she's trying...sigh.

A trail cam-great idea! I have an IP cam I use for my goats/sheep at lambing/kidding never thought to use it with the ducks to see who is laying.

At the moment if just one of my ducks would be laying I'd be ecstatic. Anyone have ideas on bringing ducks back into lay after August molt? I have a light on from 4:30 am -7:00 am-should I up the hours?

 

[Robilyn81]

4 eggs in the box today! Waiting for a new egg is so exciting! Pleased to see both EE laying in shades of blue/green. If the Welsummer would pitch in we'd be all set

 

[Mtn Margie]

Congrats! Looks like they are doing great. Happy breakfasting!

 

[ragschickens]

4 eggs in the box today! Waiting for a new egg is so exciting! Pleased to see both EE laying in shades of blue/green. If the Welsummer would pitch in we'd be all set

Those are beautiful! Can't wait for the day we have multiple eggs We still only have 1 girl laying, but luckily her eggs are getting bigger. First egg and 7th egg...

 

[chicks4jansk]

Could use some help - any tips, tricks, etc would be greatly appreciated.
We purchased a home which came with livestock (chickens). Our county allows up to 4 hens, and no roosters. Unfortunately we get a notice today from our HOA that it's against their rules to have any backyard poultry. I'm wondering why this didn't come up earlier as the previous owners had the chickens for approximately 4 years. Any way to fight this?

 

[luckied]

Could use some help - any tips, tricks, etc would be greatly appreciated.
We purchased a home which came with livestock (chickens). Our county allows up to 4 hens, and no roosters. Unfortunately we get a notice today from our HOA that it's against their rules to have any backyard poultry. I'm wondering why this didn't come up earlier as the previous owners had the chickens for approximately 4 years. Any way to fight this?

HOAs (Home Owners Association) have to abide by all county laws but then can have additional laws they have added to the neighborhood. That being said the first thing you need to do is find a copy of the HOA bylaws/covanance to see where this is written. These bylaws should have been given to you either before or at closing. The sellers might have had them against the bylaws or might have been grandfathered with once a sale goes through all current bylaws must be followed by the new owner.
Sorry for you trouble, hope it all can get corrected.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Beautiful eggs!

Mine are molting so I am down to maybe 3 a day on a good day.

HOA's can be a real pain to deal with. I would agree with getting a copy of the bylaws and wonder why they were not provided PRIOR to the sale. For many people what is in the bylaws makes the decision about whether to buy in that neighborhood or not.
I am sure there are petitions and permissions one could attempt to get.

Personally I never could abide someone telling me (for a fee that I would be paying no less) what I can and cannot do on my property. I have seen some really snobbish things in bylaws and yes those did make the decision for me on whether I wanted to grace their neighborhood with my presence.

 

[chicks4jansk]

HOAs (Home Owners Association) have to abide by all county laws but then can have additional laws they have added to the neighborhood. That being said the first thing you need to do is find a copy of the HOA bylaws/covanance to see where this is written. These bylaws should have been given to you either before or at closing. The sellers might have had them against the bylaws or might have been grandfathered with once a sale goes through all current bylaws must be followed by the new owner.
Sorry for you trouble, hope it all can get corrected.

Thank you. The bylaws indicate no livestock. I'm hoping to argue that the chickens are considered pets and not raised for breeding and/or selling of eggs/meat. Not sure how much weight that'll have but I'll do what I can. Perhaps with enough neighbors signing a petition, city ordinance, and maybe neighboring HOA's that allow it will suffice to overturn this ordinance. Crossing my fingers!