Recent content by spiderlady

I think it came from a pair of cockerals chicks I got my first year. Hoping for pullets of course lol. They actually both almost died right away from cocci, brought on from the stress of moving to a new place no doubt. But I had them separate from my flock still and treated them with corid and...

Thanks for sharing your experience. Im kind of torn on what to do, because I had aspired to raise pure bred Russian Orloffs, but I cant afford to keep bringing in new expensive purebred chicks (tried that twice!) just to have them die. I would have to scrap what I have and start over. In my...

Ive been losing birds here and there for two years now (since I first got chickens in spring 2015). I had thought Mareks the culprit and have done a lot of research on that disease and the possibility of breeding for resistence etc. However I finally found a vet who would do a necropsy for me...

About the St. Johns Wort: I forgot to say that the reason I believed it was propping my hen up so to speak, is because when I noticed she was starting to act more sick and decided I would have to cull, I didnt do the deed right away. I took her off the herbs first and she went downhill very...

Thanks for sharing your experience lalaland! Its definitely encouraging to hear from others who are/have dealt with this. Is the turkey stuff supposed to introduce a less virulent form of the disease to youngsters to boost their immunity, similar to how the vaccine works? Wouldnt they have to be...

Hi all. Ive been reading through this thread and just want to say thanks and good luck to all who have posted. Im relatively new to chicken keeping and Ive been dealing with this disease since last spring when I started my flock. I was wanting to breed purebred Orloffs but they seem to be more...

I am interested to hear answer to this too. Im newish to chickens but used to have ducks and it seemed to be a reoccurring problem with them. I have chickens now and one of my girls has developed bumbles on both feet. I dont want to fight with it all the time so im wondering if I should cull...

You have it backwards about the yeast im afraid. They do not thrive in a very acidic environment. They like it more neutral. Good bacteria that fight off yeast however DO need the lower ph (higher acidity) to survive. By giving the hen baking soda you are reducing the acidity in her crop, which...

Ya I can see that happening. The one with cheek poofs is our fav. And they are not quite a week old and already those two seem more docile and calm than the others.

Thanks all for the input!

Thanks! We are loving are little "cheeky".

Reasons why I would like one: They are pretty, I like the crowing, and I will want to hatch fresh chicks every spring. Reasons why Im not sure I should get one: An extra mouth to feed and clean up after thats not making eggs, they can potentially become mean and I have a small child, and I have...

I just got 2 EE pullets at a local (AK) feedstore. Im wondering if thery all are supposed to have the "muffs" or poofy cheeks or is there variation? One of mine has really obvious poofy cheeks but the other one looks normal like the others - no cheeks. The other chicks I got to start my flock...

"Oh shoot, I forgot an egg in my pocket and it broke!" Said at school one day when I forgot to empty all my pockets after the morning feed... I got some strange looks from others in the class.

YAY !! You will be staring at eggs for the next many hours, LOL. Congrats, and hope all goes smoothly! Yes he (well it I suppose) is doing good and finally just had his first bit of food. He couldn't handle the regular chick starter cuz it was too big, so i broke it up a little more with a...