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  1. alaskafarmgirl

    What are the causes of a nasty poopy bottom?

    I have the same problem with one of my red sex link hens, she's two years old. She seems uninterested in food -- looks otherwise healthy, but feels thin around the breastbone. How do I fix her up?
  2. alaskafarmgirl

    It's cold out, and I need to adjust to bird #s & problems

    Quote: From another friend, Alaska Farm Girl, you are doing GREAT! You're making adjustments to keep your flock alive and happy, so keep up the good work! I feel the same way, but the needs of my chickens drives me out of bed and out to the coop; and it's dark (until 10:30 a.m. here), COLD...
  3. alaskafarmgirl

    It's cold out, and I need to adjust to bird #s & problems

    m.kitchengirl : I am a GIANT wimpy baby about cold. I am also perpetually cold, no matter what (frighteningly low blood pressure). My biggest concern when I moved to Maine was how I would do on these winter mornings, lugging water buckets to the ducks (lots - have to fill that pool), and...
  4. alaskafarmgirl

    Am I gonna really have to vaseline their combs??

    Hi, I live in Alaska. A tree, base more than 12" at the trunk, cracked at the trunk during a wind storm in November -- there were -30 degree winds after that. The tree crashed through the coop roof, and we have a gaping hole and branches in the coop. Our weather has been extreme this year...
  5. alaskafarmgirl

    Can chickens eat pork?

    I fed my chickens some leftover pork loin, cooked, chopped up. That was this morning. Tonight, one was dead. Maybe ate too big of a piece and choked? I don't know -- what does the forum group think?
  6. alaskafarmgirl

    Chickens in Alaska?

    Hi -- I live on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska (about 160 miles from Anchorage). I was gone for 4 days, and found out it was 14 below zero (farenheit) for a couple of nights, and the heat lamp had gone out. I use a 75-100 watt red flood light in the roost, on a timer that comes on from 7:30...
  7. alaskafarmgirl

    Coldest night yet - heat lamp for one night?

    Quote: My coop is not insulated, except by some bales of hay on the windy side. I live in Alaska. I use a 75-watt red floodlamp, with an aluminum hood that comes with the ceramic socket as a set. I turn it on when the temps in Alaska are expected to drop below 5F or will be below zero, and...
  8. alaskafarmgirl

    Heating the Chicken coop in Winter.. Any suggestions

    P.S., I also give them about 2 cups of mixed grains/scratch daily, along with 16% layer pellets that are always available, and other treats in the late afternoon sometimes for carbo loading (instead of scratch). I only give them that much scratch in the winter. They forage in the summer, and...
  9. alaskafarmgirl

    Heating the Chicken coop in Winter.. Any suggestions

    Quote: I agree that unnatural heat is mostly never necessary. I live in Alaska, and we've had a mild winter -- in the 40's during the day (unbelievable) and the lowest at night has been -14F. I have a 75-watt red floodlamp, the kind used for outdoor lighting, plugged into a timer. I only...
  10. alaskafarmgirl

    Coop full of problems! Disease, lice, picking, egg eating. HELP!

    Quote: I know this is an older post -- how are your hens doing? I have experienced problems when I put different flocks together, or add or subtract a chicken. It disrupts the pecking order, and the hens tend to cluster with their old friends -- I've never gotten a truly "integrated" flock...
  11. alaskafarmgirl

    When to put an egg eater back with the flock??? SHOULD I EVER???

    I'm sorry you felt compelled to impose your "feelings" on how I chose to deal with a significant problem in my own coop. If you want to diaper your hens and cuddle up with them in your own home, I applaud you for your compassion. I raise chickens for eggs. They are not my pets. My logic is...
  12. alaskafarmgirl

    Can I give my hen prednisolone?

    I know this is an older post, and I hope your chick made it -- mine has done very well on methylprednisone for humans, weakened dosage by having expired a few years ago -- but it seems to help to have given her 2 mg. every other day for 6 days. Now I'm cutting back to 1/2 mg. for 2 days, then...
  13. alaskafarmgirl

    Can I give my hen prednisolone?

    Great to find your post -- my injured bird seems to be doing better with an expired 2 mg daily dose of methylprednisone, which I've given to her every other day for 6 days. I'll cut back to 1/2 mg daily for a couple of days and stop, but she is so much better now. I've been searching...
  14. alaskafarmgirl

    Oh, NO! Raw egg eating chicken!

    I have taken a completely new attitude after reading this and other posts about egg eating. I used to put mine out to pasture, literally, and let nature run its course, but after reading some of the ideas on this forum, I changed my approach. My hens were born on March 10, 2010, raised...
  15. alaskafarmgirl

    My chickens ate my neighbors grapes!

    I love this idea! Bobbing for grapes -- great for Halloween. Quote: You want to have a really fun time? Put the frozen grapes into a bowl of plain yogurt and let them dig for them! It's totally HILARIOUS! They get the yogurt on their beaks and look like they're doing one of those "got...
  16. alaskafarmgirl

    Amazed at pullet empathic behavior

    When my injured bird, Crippy, first got hurt, another hen became her buddy, and would bring her leafy greens from outside the coop -- when Crippy could not make the journey outside. It was memorable, and remarkable. Animals know much more than we give them credit for, and chickens are no...
  17. alaskafarmgirl

    Just want some reassurance - lame hen incapacitated

    I checked Crippy's symptoms for Marek's and she didn't meet the criteria. She's improving every day. I started her on 2 mg of prednisone yesterday, so I'll give it to her daily for a week, cut down the dose and ease her off. So far, so good. I think she broke her back or thigh; it's been 6...
  18. alaskafarmgirl

    My chickens ate my neighbors grapes!

    The second my chickens see grapes, they go CRAZY -- they jump up and grab the bag right out of my hand. I feed them grapes all the time. They're fine -- they play Grape Soccer -- it's fun to watch. I also give them popcorn balls, which they LOVE. And they play Tether Lettuce all the time...
  19. alaskafarmgirl

    Prednisone -- anyone tried it for injured hen?

    Hi, has anyone tried a very low does of Medrol (methylprednisone) to ease joint pain to encourage healing? If so, what dosage would you recommend? Crippy is much better, but the extra boost of steroid, I'm thinking, may put her over the top and truly solve the problem. What do you think? I'm...
  20. alaskafarmgirl

    Just want some reassurance - lame hen incapacitated

    Greyeyes, it sounds to me like you're doing all you can do. Yes, how is she today? If she's not better in 3-4 weeks, then she may not heal, but I'd give her the chance. I thought mine (I named her Crippy) was a goner, but she's so amazing and resilient. Keep up the good work, and she'll...
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