Recent content by danfan

  1. danfan

    Comment by 'danfan' in article 'Deciding To Free Range Your Flock'

    @LestersFlat - to combat winter boredom when they are back inside, throw some extras in the coop: hang a cabbage from the ceiling; put in a large pumpkin (cut some holes in to get them started); hang a birdseed ring; throw in scrap veg from the kitchen; layer in some leaves bagged up from fall...
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  2. danfan

    Comment by 'danfan' in article 'Deciding To Free Range Your Flock'

    I wanted to comment on the guardian dog idea. We've had chickens for 3 years, and my dog for 8 years. My dog is part german shepherd, part lab. When we first got the chickens, her typical dog response was to chase them and try to kill them. She will kill wildlife if left to it, and the chickens...
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  3. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    Great I will try that. I have all of those in the cupboard. Not sure I am comfortable emptying her crop though, especially reading I could do damage if I do it wrong. I will try the other options first.
  4. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    No apology needed! Hope you've found your answer too! Well Mrs Jiggles.... the overall crop area this morning wasn't hard like last night. Her whole crop is hanging low as it always does, but she does have a small hard area in there (compared with the other girls, but fairly normal for her)...
  5. danfan

    Poultry Dust?

    I sprinkle DE in the fresh sawdust when we do a clean up. It needs to be the food grade DE (Diatomaceous Earth)
  6. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    I am going to check her crop first thing in the morning. I never thought about doing it early. Like I said, she's always been big and wobbly, but I got a good feel of it tonight so I will compare it in the morning.
  7. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    Anianna - I will read through the link, thanks. Yes, she has access to grit, and has a pretty well rounded diet with supplements too. Images, it's hard to tell at that angle. I am going to try to get a video of it tomorrow. she's put herself to bed for the night now, so I can't get a pic...
  8. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    I was looking at some wry neck photos, but I thought that was a permanent thing? Like the wind changed and they stick like that? She can still get her neck straight, but does the wiggle thing for minutes at a time. Maybe I will video it tomorrow if I get time.
  9. danfan

    Poultry Dust?

    I put the powder in a stocking and tie off the end. then someone holds the chicken while I dab all over, under wings, around the butt etc. Most is nasty if it gets on your skin or you breathe it in, so watch for the wind blowing it on you and cover your skin.
  10. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    Not that I have noticed. The kids said they haven't noted that either. I will add it to things to watch for.
  11. danfan

    Picking Feathers and making them bleed and sores???? HELP

    I use Blu-Cote, about the only thing I could get at my feed store & it works very well, like the no pick stuff I am sure. When mine don't have much outdoor time, I give them things to keep down the boredom - like I throw in a large cabbage or pumpkin, something that takes hours and hours and...
  12. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    ahh thanks! I will watch more closely. Like I said, I hadn't noticed it so much until now but my daughter notices every details of each chicken. It almost looks like she's doing the attitude head/ neck roll. I will read up on AE too. On the off chance that she does have a blockage, I just...
  13. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    No, not tremors. By twitch I mean more like something she can't stop doing than tremor/ twitchy. Ok, the best I can describe is it looks like a strange dance, her head dips to the right then kind of "S" wiggles back up. Repeatedly. Then she'll stop and eat.
  14. danfan

    Strange neck behavior

    I have Golden comets that are 2 1/2 years old. One of them has always had an excessively large craw - so big & wobbly that we named her Mrs Jiggles when she was just 6 or 8 months old. Well Mrs J has developed a strange neck twitch - my kids said before Christmas but I've only recently noticed...
  15. danfan

    The origins of the chicken bans?

    I suspect it's 'all of the above'. In our area, you need 5 acres or more to have chickens, which came about after farmland turned into subdivisions. We cannot even put up fences without permits, or & in the subdivisions they cannot even hang the laundry out (because that implies you can't afford...
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