Recent content by ChitownChick

  1. ChitownChick

    integrating new flock members!

    I have three adult hens (I had a bad year and lost some) and am integrating 4 new pullets. Integrating new flock members is always a turbulent time, but one of my year-old hens is being especially spiteful and brutal, attacking my 7-week pullets with extreme vigor. I'm afraid she might cause...
  2. ChitownChick

    The Ultimate Brooder Design! BUILT-IN DUST FILTER

    I'll look into this and see what I can hack
  3. ChitownChick

    The Ultimate Brooder Design! BUILT-IN DUST FILTER

    Good suggestions. The odors are indeed greatly reduced, but I wouldn't say completely eliminated. The HEPA filter does seem like it could use a change now, it's been about 3 weeks of the chicks being very active, kicking up dust, etc. Considering that these filters aren't exactly cheap, it's a...
  4. ChitownChick

    FUNNY VIDEO: Our hen Chuck wakes up my sleeping husband

    Ok don't judge me *too* harshly; I just thought this was too funny. Today I have a sick husband and and injured hen in "the infirmary" (our den). Husband wa sleeping and I decided to briefly let Chuck (our hen) out of her quarantine cage so she could stretch her legs while I changed the...
  5. ChitownChick

    The Ultimate Brooder Design! BUILT-IN DUST FILTER

    I posted this in the coop design forum, but realized it may be more useful here. My husband and I are designers and fabricators, so we decided to take our brooder to the next level this year. It came out really well so I thought I'd share with you guys! We keep the chicks in a spare bedroom...
  6. ChitownChick

    The Ultimate Brooder Design! BUILT-IN DUST FILTER

    My husband and I are designers and fabricators, so we decided to take our brooder to the next level this year. It came out really well so I thought I'd share with you guys! We keep the chicks in a spare bedroom that I use as a dressing room/big closet. Last year I realized that the chicks...
  7. ChitownChick

    My chicks poop in their water and food. What to do?

    raise the waterer up on two bricks laid side by side. Then the water is at beak level and above butt level, lol. As they bigger, another layer of two bricks to raise even higher! Simple and it works.
  8. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    Here she is recovering in the quarantine room, which is shared with the brooder. Don't worry, I'm keeping her separate from the babies! Although--I wonder if this hormone injection that prevents ovulation is the broody hormone? Because she is very sweetly concerned with the babies, responding to...
  9. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    Thanks for everyone who helped here. Chuck is back home and resting. What happened was, a soft egg broke inside her. She passed most of it naturally, but small shards got stuck and adhered to her oviduct. The vet I found, Dr. Sakas, went in surgically to remove as much of the debris as possible...
  10. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    You really sound like an expert! And I have to say, I think I found a great vet because he said something *very* similar to you. He said that best case scenario he gets the egg out manually while she's sedated, and then gives her a hormone treatment so she won't ovulate for a few months so I can...
  11. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    Thank you everybody, this community really rallies and it's amazing. She is able to poop. I did decide to stop trying to reach inside to get the egg. I did more research and found that she may be becoming an internal layer. She's an ISA Brown and over produces extra large eggs. If I can get her...
  12. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    I feel like she needs to be sedated... any way to do this without a vet?
  13. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    Update: So far no good, I guess I kind of chickened out, and need to try again. I gave her a soak and this time she really relaxed and let me dry her feathers... seemed to actually enjoy it. After, while she was relaxed, I as able to get medicated lube up in her vent, but she started struggling...
  14. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    seems the egg is already broken. and yes, it feels like a *total* disaster. Thanks for the encouragement, and the links to extra info. I'm going to go ahead and give it my best shot now.
  15. ChitownChick

    I'm going in. Please advise.

    Hello all, my 1 year old ISA Brown hen, Chuck, has been eggbound for 48 hours now. I tried soaks, lubricants. I got her to drink a lot of water and eat with calcium, to give her strength. She lays huge eggs, and I had a feeling this one was misshapen or broken by the feel of it. I really love...
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