My story.... Its a long one, so grab a coffee!
I believe it all began my first year raising chickens. I didn't know about biosecurity and I "rescued" 6 battery hens from a meat farm down the road (I was so impatient with wanting eggs). I put them in with my 3-4 month old chickens. All was well...
My incubator is failing and this poor guy was the only survivor from 12 eggs. It was severely shrunk wrapped and went almost 48 hours before I finally candled and decided to help him. I got him out and he is very lively, but has membrane dried and stuck to his eye and wing. I tried coconut oil...
I purchased her bred and I am getting ready to start listing the babies. I am curious what color would she be considered? She has a black undercoat with brown tips. She is supposed to be full New Zealand.
thanks!
I just incubator hatched these guys 5 days ago. I got the MOST special chick ever (that we have hatched). Its got spots, different colored eyes, speckled beak, and an awesome beard <3
But... this morning I noticed a cross beak developing. Its lower jaw feels very loose. It is eating and...
What do you all feed your rabbits daily?
We are new to meat rabbits and looking to minimize feed costs.
Right now they are getting unlimited 2nd cut orchard grass, about 1 cup of wheat fodder (grass, seeds, and roots), and approx 1/2 cup pellets. They also have mineral and salt wheels (but...
I read an article yesterday (https://blog.meyerhatchery.com/2021/02/worming-your-flock-why-how-when-and-with-what/) about deworming the whole flock by using 3mL/gallon Safeguard in their water. I mixed up a full 5 gallon bucket and actually used it to wet their mash instead of as drinking water...
Thats what my husband thinks. I wanted to see what you all thought. Last night 9 out of 10 chickens were killed or missing. My coop is an old well house and the chickens sleep on a roost bar over 6 feet high. I found the lone survivor still on the roost bar this morning.
I found 3 bodies on the...
I know this is odd, but has anyone else noticed their chickens smelling like maple syrup? I had an old rescue hen (I am not sure her age) pass away last week, she smelled very much like maple syrup. I opened her up and everything looked normal, she was just thin.
I also put down another hen...
Well I have two that are acting off. I am sorry for the long post, but I want to include all the details.
The First is Mary Lou. She is a RIR/EE mix approx. 6 months old. I found her one morning holding her leg up. I immediately inspected her - found no external injuries or blood, or swelling -...
I have a hen I found yesterday with very puffy watery eyes, sinus, and roof of mouth. I am trying to give her Tylan 50 orally, but she can't close her mouth and swallow. I can't find exact dosing info for injection. She weighs 5.5lbs and is a 7 month old Freedom Ranger.
She currently can't eat...
I have a almost 4 month old bantam who is gasping. It started about a week ago with a small chest rattle, and he has been gasping like this for about 3 days now. I have brought him inside and provided vetRX (initially thinking it was respiratory), but looking him over, he has no other symptoms...
Hey guys, I came across something curious and was wondering anyone ever tried it and how did you do it?
My kids were watching The Backyard Scientist on YouTube and he did an episode about electrocuting your meat to tenderize it (already processed, not live animals). He claimed Ben Franklin...
My Susan is a rescue from a meat farm, so I don't know how old she is. She was laying fine until about a month ago. I started getting soft eggs in the nest box and suspected it was one of the rescues and they were about to retire (I have her "sister" Suzette who stopped laying all together and...
My son and I were looking on Ebay and spotted some eggs for sale. Upon looking at the pic of the parents we saw this one with a weird clip in its nose. What is that for? Google couldn't tell me.
PS... we are not buying these eggs LOL
I have a concrete building which used to be an old bathroom (our property used to be a campground, so picture those dirty park bathrooms with dim lighting LOL). I converted into a chicken coop and I have three pens inside. One leads out an automated chicken door to a .5 acre run, my layers and...
I had this RIR hatch this morning about 4 hours ago. It's very lively, but has a large bloody mass hanging off it's rear. I have not removed it from the Bator since others are still hatching. So I apologize for the blurry pics thru the glass. Please advise if I should help him some how or let...
Hey Guys. I am getting together my process for milking my goats and I found the PERFECT sized pot to milk into. Unfortunately it's Teflon coated instead of stainless steel. It's also seamless and has a lid.
Is it ok to milk into a coated pan? I have googled and googled and can't figure it out...
Well to add to my bad luck with my chickens this year... now I've got a strange lump on one of my pullets. I noticed a few days ago that she was holding her wing weird and some of the feathers were sticking up at the shoulder. She isnt very friendly, but today I finally got ahold of her.
What...
I decided its time to harvest my 3 Capons. They have been free ranging since 6 weeks and some are pushing a year now. I've penned them up and intent on "fattening" them a bit and restricting their movement so they can "soften" a bit. I've read on other threads a blend of meat bird mash and...
I apologize for the long story, but I'd like you to have the whole story.....
So I have had some bad luck lately. I've had 3 cockerals pass away with similar symptoms. I have lost one about once a month for the past 3 months (first was in July, then august, then today). So here is what is...