Very sorry Tankgrl. I never thought I would get attached to a bird but these hens are pretty amazing and really to become a kind of pet. You should rest well knowing that you did everything you could.
Tankgrl,
I just logged on to ask the same thing but mine died within 12 hours of showing symptoms. She was fine all day Sunday. Monday morning she was listless on the floor and wouldn't move much. By evening, she was dead. All the other girls are doing OK but one sounds like she has a cough...
I finally have one hen that is molting and I am glad I saw this thread! Great information - thank you everyone who posted. I will be sure to put more suet out to help them through.
Nice setup Alan. My feed store is telling me that the oyster shell will act as the grit as well since the shell they get is fairly rounded. It doesn't look like you subscribe to that train of thought...
These three are new to my flock too... I didn't notice the frostbite when I brought them home but saw it the next day. We had a warm snap between two arctic blasts that I think set the girls up for this because everything was damp when it got up to 40 for 2 days.
Is there anything to do now...
I noticed the early stages of frostbite on the tips of my RIRs' combs so I took vaseline out to treat their combs as suggested on this site. However, the girls were not happy to have me touching the combs at all. They are fine with stroking their feathers all the way up their necks, but when I...
I don't have a picture handy but this weekend my son and I installed a cat feeder in the coop that we filled with oyster shell. We mounted it on a shelf about 8" off the floor so that bedding doesn't get into it and we made the shelf small enough that I don't think they can get on it to make...
Someone already said it but I will repeat because it is great. If you freeze the grains in small to medium size containers, you can give it to them like a suet block over time.
I started doing this with my grains so that I don't overload them on the sweet grains and they stop eating the layer...
I have introduced artificial light and have the girls producing quite well. However, the laying seems spread over the entire day and starts 3-4 hours after the light comes on.
Does this mean that in the spring they will begin laying in late morning? I leave for work very early and would...
Six actually have gone in the freezer. I was hoping that if it was just one more, maybe I could re-train it. I don't know if I want to try the soap egg or just cut my losses.