Washingtonians

[UrbanEnthusiast]

Also, since I joined this site I've had the word "mutt" in my signature to describe one of my own chickens, for cryin' out loud! LOL!

 

[Flaming Chicken]

We actually don't live on the west side...we're in Okanogan (North/Central Washington)...sagebrush, wildfires, etc.

No, no one does rattlesnake proofing here. I'm not sure how we'd do that with hundreds of acres? LOL We do keep the grass/weeds mowed down. We don't have any piles of wood or rock piles around. We keep everything picked up and cared for. I think he might have got bit up on the county road or back behind our property which isn't ours. We mow a swath of about 16' wide behind our house (as a fire break). Eventually, we'd like to purchase that property so we can take care of it because it's neglected now.

The vet cut a bunch of stuff off his head and packed the hole with antibiotic salve. She said to keep an eye on it. He's got 1,000mg of antibiotics (daily). She said if he gets worse or swells again really bad to bring him back. He's already acting like he's feeling better. I had to make him stay on the porch when I just went out & fed/watered all of the animals.

Poor dog! Reallly close to the eye socket too. I hope he recovers well.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: She was/is my black austrlorp and now she is a nice bird. He isn't afraid of them and still picks them up

he's a very tough boy

but it was disturbing enough for me to change the chicken rules around our home and pay much more attention to the chickens around the kids. After that I vowed we would never have a mean bird. Ever. Hope that helps influence your decision with your rooster; I would give it one week of trying to train him to respect your son and cull him after that

Do you really want to perpetuate mean genes?

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: I'm glad he's acting better. That looked awful!

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
Very pretty dogs! We have a Pomeranian mix, with Sheltie, Pekingese, I can't recall what else. He looks like a little fox. He is the least favorite of my dogs because I'm not fond of the little emperor personality, the yapping he is prone to do on occasion and his delicate ways that make him not want to go outside to go potty on rainy days.

However. He is a great lap warmer, a good "watchdog" who does his darnedest to keep all squirrels out of the yard and has been DH's constant and loyal companion for the past 12 years. He adores DH and looks to him like he's king of the universe. I suppose that's just about one of the most important jobs in the world and he does it well.

 

[Imp]

Gosh, those pictures of your dog Heather look terrible. Glad he's going to be OK.


On mean roosters. I'm not allowed roos, but I don't think I'd like being wary and afraid in my own yard. I do have a BO cockeral now that will need to go away soon.

I have read several threads, over the years, that start off "My uncle/grandpa/neighbor lost an eye to a chicken"
I will not let any chicken close enough to my face to get pecked in the eye. If for some reason one is close; I cover my eyes.

Russ

 

[Flaming Chicken]

Thank you all for your replies. Yes Mikeyb I did know the answer to my question. I guess I just needed to make sure I wasn't jumping the gun so to speak. I remember my moms VERY mean production red rooster. That sucker would hide in the bushes and wait for anyone to come out and then would attack from behind with his crazy ninja legs flying! It was kind of funny unless he made contact. I told myself when I decided to get chickens, that I would never keep a rooster like that. The silkie roo I have won't come up and take treats from me and tries to keep the girls away also. And one of the hens is acting more and more terrified of him. Is that normal? She doesn't want to go near him even to get the meal worms she loves so much. Thank you all for helping me to stand firm on my "no mean roos" rule. Now to figure out when to make chicken soup!

Jessica- I am glad that your son is ok. I remember seeing those pics. My son is fine with the chickens as long as they stay on the ground. He doesn't like it when they start fluttering around, so when the rooster attacks he always runs away. I don't want him to be afraid to go in the chicken yard with me, or have something happen if he sneaks in by himself.

Shyla

It's hard to know where to draw the line with roosters. I have had about 14 nice roosters and 1 meany! The mean one would attack my daughter when she was 4 and it took all the fun out of having them. Once he left, we could relax and enjoy our girls. Since then most of our roosters have been very sweet.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I hope that he recovers completely!! It is a real blessing that the bite didn't happen on his muzzle (where most bites hit).

Snake proofing is on the dog. It trains him to recognize the scent of a rattler (they have a very distinctive, musky, scent) and to get away from it before the snake even rattles. This way the dog can be anywhere and if it scents a snake it gets away from it. Works great when you are walking too as the dog will let you know and you won't step on a snake. This is very popular training in the desert southwest.

Sheila

OHHHH....that makes sense....not sure....but I highly doubt we have anything like that around here. He's really smart and probably won't mess with any snake again....I hope....

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Poor Guy!!! I had a Lab that I took with me everywhere! Years ago over in Eastern Washington I think it was around Vantage or just past there I stopped at a rest stop and that silly dog got away from me and off into the brush.. He tangled with a Rattle Snake and ended up bit in the upper leg... It did look much worse than it actually was and he was OK too. The vet I took him too Gave him Vitamin shots at the office along with the other meds.. Then told me to give him a liquid B-complex half dropper. It seemed to really help him heal . Something about the B vitamins work to support the nervous system that is affected by the venom and helps with pain. You can buy it over the counter and it might be worth asking your vet what they think of it for your dog and his size... I hope he heals up fast and steers clear of those rattles from now on
Heheee Funny you should mention these breeds You know I just added 4 Wyandotte chicks to my brooder and Golden Laced Cochins are on my Radar too. Hehee I just told hubby that I wanted to build 2 new coops this fall Instead of just one.. One for layers and one for "Rare Breeds". He looked at me strangely and said "But you don't have that many chickens" I smiled and replied " Yet" See he is kinda between a rock and a hard place because I really wanted to get a pair of Goats this year.. and He firmly said "NO" I hate goats and dont want them around here!" So I told him he had to give me a comprimise... So his idea was that he would take 2 weeks off in September and help me build a whatever coops and pens I wanted and I could fill them to my hearts desire with Chickens... just so long as I dont get goats.....

Well, I have a very nice pair of GLC's that need a good home. I am just getting completely out of single-combed birds. They just don't do very well here in the winters and since I show, I'm concerned about looks and I can't show birds with frozen off combs without losing points. LOL Anyway, good luck on those coops...I've found it's easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Gosh, those pictures of your dog Heather look terrible. Glad he's going to be OK.


On mean roosters. I'm not allowed roos, but I don't think I'd like being wary and afraid in my own yard. I do have a BO cockeral now that will need to go away soon.

I have read several threads, over the years, that start off "My uncle/grandpa/neighbor lost an eye to a chicken"
I will not let any chicken close enough to my face to get pecked in the eye. If for some reason one is close; I cover my eyes.

Russ

Yeah, he's getting a really good bath and brushing tonight and coming into the house. We have to have our fan on high and lock him in the bedroom or he'll start barking in the middle of the night at any little noise. Gotta love those Anatolian genes! LOL