Recent content by ccspin

  1. ccspin

    Possible to be egg bound during molt?

    Hello, I have a chicken acting egg bound (tail down, chest high, walks carefully, sits frequently), but I'm in need of some veteran advice. I'm not sure if egg bound is likely, as she's also at the beginning of what looks like a hard molt right on schedule, and already hasn't laid in quite a...
  2. ccspin

    Hawk making daily visits, no success yet...

    I have had the kids outdoors to get after the hawk with noise and projectiles when he shows up in the morning... seems effective so far! The chicken tractor is large enough for the hens to stay in it all day if we leave the house...though they are not happy. They'll move into my fenced garden...
  3. ccspin

    Hawk making daily visits, no success yet...

    Thanks for your reply! My money is on a red-tailed hawk, though I can't be 100% sure. It has a very pale underside, creamy and plain, not reddish like the pictures of a red-shouldered hawk. No dark bars on the underside of the wing feathers that I remember. I do recall thinking it seemed...
  4. ccspin

    Hawk making daily visits, no success yet...

    Hello! We have a hawk (I think a redtail) making daily attempts on our backyard flock of 13 layers. So far he hasn't suceeded or even injured any hens, and we'd like to keep it that way! He usually makes one or two passes and then moves on. Occasionally he has even landed and made hopping...
  5. ccspin

    Don't know what breed or gender you have? Click here!

    No, we have no experience with meat chickens at all, and this chick was a surprise visitor! I have been researching the breed as well, just to see if she has any needs, since we will free-range her with the laying hens if we can. We will probably have her processed one day, but will let her be...
  6. ccspin

    Don't know what breed or gender you have? Click here!

    That's what I guessed, too. Thank you!
  7. ccspin

    Don't know what breed or gender you have? Click here!

    A neighbor found this chick wandering alone on the road, so we will keep it. It seems to be a meat breed. Still making chick peeps, maybe 1-2 months old. Very docile. More definitive ID of it's breed would be welcome...we are more familiar with egg layers!
  8. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Thanks! Looks like our other hen shook off her funk and is back outside as normal. Whew. We can dodge testing for now, at least!
  9. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Thank you, Handy was a particularly endearing hen, and our kids were sad she didn't recover! There is a vet nearby who treats chickens, so we have the option to get poops from the unwell hen tested locally. In your experience is it better/faster/cheaper go with a local lab vs state lab? Do...
  10. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Hello, there! Well, we gave it a week of TLC in the Chicken Spa and she showed absolutely no improvement. We had to cull her last night, and my husband gave her a viking funeral in case of disease. Thanks again for your advice! Another old hen is now acting slightly unwell...reduced...
  11. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Thanks very much for your support! I am also doubting Marek's or worms because of her total lack of a "sick" look (and we have new layer chicks coming in 3 weeks, so of course I'm really hoping her symptoms don't appear in the other chickens, which would make it likely that it IS Mareks!). We...
  12. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Hey, thank you for your reply! Unfortunately, I'm doubting she'll rebound... she should have by now if she was truly egg bound in the first place, I think. She is consuming less food and water, and her poops are infrequent, smelly, and dark green (no blood or worms visible). She appears to...
  13. ccspin

    Flaking, breaking beak beginning to expose the quick

    I know it's been a long time, but the barred rock has mostly recovered her beak, though it has grown back slightly warped at its edges, and is prone to breakage now. I don't know if the quick was damaged or what, but she is back to normal, despite a slightly flawed beak. Thanks for your advice!
  14. ccspin

    Recovery period after being egg bound

    Hello! We have a 3 year old Barred Rock in our mixed flock of 9 hens. She showed symptoms of several possible ailments, but we decided she was most likely egg bound. We treated her with calcium supplementation, Epsom salt baths, and mineral oil in her vent. We had just made the decision to...
  15. ccspin

    Flaking, breaking beak beginning to expose the quick

    Thank you very much for your reply! Yes, all behavior seems completely normal, other than that she turns her head awkwardly to pick up food from the ground. I think it's affecting her foraging some and making her more hungry, she's both first and last at the feeder lately! Thanks for your...
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