***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Scrapperval]

We are new to chickens as well. My husband just built a hen house and the RIR's love it. He made it 15 x 20 so to us it is pretty big. Put a poop floor under your roost, will make cleaning so much easier. And I have read where some people prefer sand instead of pine shavings for the floor but we used pine shavings. I just lightly rake it every other day or so. Also when our girls first began to lay our nesting box came with nesting pads. I highly recommend these, saves on more shavings, or straw. The nesting pads come right and you can just clean them with the water hose. Very seldom do the girls even poop on them.

We thankfully had an old "outhouse looking building" that we cleaned out and use it for the "sick" chickens. It is a good 1/2 acre apart or more from any other chickens. I know because I have to walk it all the time, lol. And we have our old dog pen with a dog kennel we use for our baby ameraucanas with a light on them.

Needless to say I have fallen in love with all the chickens. I'm just frustrated about buying some "cute" chickens and one if not two are sick. I know we will have to cull the polish, just no way around it. I've never culled a chicken and am dreading it. My husband wants no part of it, which is funny to me since he is an avid deer hunter.

 

[TipihlowLadies]

We are new to chickens as well. My husband just built a hen house and the RIR's love it. He made it 15 x 20 so to us it is pretty big. Put a poop floor under your roost, will make cleaning so much easier. And I have read where some people prefer sand instead of pine shavings for the floor but we used pine shavings. I just lightly rake it every other day or so. Also when our girls first began to lay our nesting box came with nesting pads. I highly recommend these, saves on more shavings, or straw. The nesting pads come right and you can just clean them with the water hose. Very seldom do the girls even poop on them.

We thankfully had an old "outhouse looking building" that we cleaned out and use it for the "sick" chickens. It is a good 1/2 acre apart or more from any other chickens. I know because I have to walk it all the time, lol. And we have our old dog pen with a dog kennel we use for our baby ameraucanas with a light on them.

Needless to say I have fallen in love with all the chickens. I'm just frustrated about buying some "cute" chickens and one if not two are sick. I know we will have to cull the polish, just no way around it. I've never culled a chicken and am dreading it. My husband wants no part of it, which is funny to me since he is an avid deer hunter.

Just part of having chicken's most hunters have no problem since most of us who hunt have been quail or bird hunting as long as its food not a issue .

 

[miohippus]

We are new to chickens as well. My husband just built a hen house and the RIR's love it. He made it 15 x 20 so to us it is pretty big. Put a poop floor under your roost, will make cleaning so much easier. And I have read where some people prefer sand instead of pine shavings for the floor but we used pine shavings. I just lightly rake it every other day or so. Also when our girls first began to lay our nesting box came with nesting pads. I highly recommend these, saves on more shavings, or straw. The nesting pads come right and you can just clean them with the water hose. Very seldom do the girls even poop on them.

We thankfully had an old "outhouse looking building" that we cleaned out and use it for the "sick" chickens. It is a good 1/2 acre apart or more from any other chickens. I know because I have to walk it all the time, lol. And we have our old dog pen with a dog kennel we use for our baby ameraucanas with a light on them.

Needless to say I have fallen in love with all the chickens. I'm just frustrated about buying some "cute" chickens and one if not two are sick. I know we will have to cull the polish, just no way around it. I've never culled a chicken and am dreading it. My husband wants no part of it, which is funny to me since he is an avid deer hunter.

you should post the photo of your polish here also; it doesn't look like i had imagined it from your early post. i looked a your photo on the other thread and it looks like he might be missing the eye entirely. He may not be sick it could be from an injury but i'm not an expert on those things but some one on here may have more knowable than me.

 

[Scrapperval]

Miohippus, that is a good idea, I will post pics of them later today. As far as his eye being put out, that is certainly a possibility however, it just looks as if there is a film of cheesy stuff over the eye. I spend every afternoon for about and hour trying to get that stuff out, using polysporin as a previous post suggested. Even went to the feed store and bought Nixall to spray in the eye. Both products help but as of yet very little stuff has come out of his eye. Poor chicken

 

[Kyzmette]

OMG POOR CHICKEN!!!!!!

 

[Scrapperval]

Took some pics of the newbies. The polish wouldn't cooperate as well today, he is catching on to our daily routine of cleaning out his eye.

right bad eye and good left eye

 

[Ksane]

No wonder you wanted them, they're adorable! I vote 'injury' on that eye also. I'm pretty sure their tears ducts are connected to their sinuses just like us. If there's an infection in there perhaps that would explain the gurgling you heard.
1/2 cc Tylan 50 would be a better dose ft an average sized bird. It's not strong stuff so you have leeway with it.

 

[Scrapperval]

They have been on tylan 50 injectable since Sunday night. But I was only giving them 1/4 ml. Will up it tonight to 1/2! And thank you for admiring them as much as I do.

 

[miohippus]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/828087/polish-roo-with-bad-eye#post_12096955 here is a link to the other photo Scrapperval polish's eye

 

[NanaKat]

Scrapperval, when you examine the cockerel's eye do you see any of the pupil of his eye? when I enlarged the photo, the white looks more like the inside lids of his eye...not a cheesy matter that would suggest an infection. It looks more like the internal eyelids have been been damaged . They may block the pupil and it will atrophy. I had a one eyed turkey that was a great forager ad lived a nice life until he went into the freezer. I have also had a blind EE that lived the last few years of her life on the roost...with her ow nest, feeder and waterer.