2018 Newbie Chat!

[Cbarr00]

Yes, in fact we have a full grown EE that my coworker just hatched some eggs from. One is enough though! Doing some meat bird for the first time this summer and I’m suspecting that one of them will go with them....

We have 4 suspected cockerels right now and if that's true it means we will only have 6 pullets. this our first time ever with chickens so we've been learning good Roo behavior vs bad Roo behavior so we can decide who's gonna stick around in the end. I'm dreading that since all of them were the first to get named out of our flock because they just stood out to us so much.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Speaking of Cockerels, here’s how my Black Ameraucana Cockerel Wally is looking today. His face feathers haven’t come back yet, but it seems all my Ameraucana are going through a molt on their necks (muffs and beards incoming)

I also took a picture of his “twin” sister Fig to show the differences between the two.

 

[CannedMonster]

Omg guys we had to cull my little chick!

I had to ask my DH to do it.
I picked her up after work and her keel bone was extremely prominent.
She was like a skeleton with feathers and a huge crop.
I realized she was slowly starving to death!

She barely walked around anymore. She would just quietly cheep to herself like she was trying to find comfort.
Omg I can’t even imagine and I feel SO stupid!
I should’ve known if she wasn’t growing like the others that she wasn’t getting nutrition.
But I thought since she was fairly active earlier she was okay...mostly.
I was just bawling my eyes out because she was sweet and pretty and I just couldn’t help her.
I have learned a lot through this.
Please pick up your birds and check their bodies!
Make sure you know their condition.
I’m glad she isn’t suffering anymore and I have 7 healthy vigorous chicks still.
I will always remember this sweet chick...

 

[PNW_Peepers]

@ChooksNQuilts I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[CannedMonster]

@ChooksNQuilts I’m so sorry for your loss.

Thank you Peepers. I didn’t expect this with my first batch of chicks.
It’s hard when it’s a young animal and you’ve nurtured it.
It’s nice that we can share the good and bad with each other.

 

[Cbarr00]

@ChooksNQuilts so many hugs!

 

[PNW_Peepers]

My birds had a near death experience today.. Never use recycled windows!
I woke up this morning and let my girls out like usual, I went back to bed as 6:00am is just a little too early for me. I woke up at 8:00am, & looked outside stunned. Two of my girls were free ranging, I repeat free ranging (I don’t allow my girls to free range as I live next to an eagle sanctuary). I screamed so loud DH woke up. We both jumped to action, rounding up the two escapees .
Juniper one of my Blue Ameraucana had a visible cut on her foot, I cleaned her up and stopped the bleeding with corn starch thanks to @BBZZZZTT post earlier on. I’m going to check on her and clean her up daily to prevent bumblefoot.
Next was finding out where they escaped from and it didn’t take DH long to find and fix our problem(temporarily). We are so lucky only one bird got hurt, & we’re lucky it’s such a minor injury.

We think that the windows weakened over time due to the sun hitting it directly and overheating it. All it took was a good hit from Juniper wanting out to get to the grass.

I put some grass in a suet feeder to keep her eyes in the run for now The other windows as well as this one will be replaced with plexiglass next week.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Yikes!
I'm glad I could help haha.
Amazing that they broke the window!!
Mine are starting to eye up the green grass on the outside of the coop. I've been really trying to train them to come for treats with the sound of my 'scratch can' shaking. I'm going to throw some grass seed down in the coop and cover it with a plastic bin so it has a chance to grow, then let them at it.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

@ChooksNQuilts
I'm so sorry to hear that ( Such a hard decision to make but the right one.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

@BBZZZZTT Yes thank you for the idea! I’m sure they’ll love the grass. My neighbor gave me the idea to give them my grass clippings after mowing the lawn. I own over an acre and have to mow weekly just to keep it maintained. My girls have been helping make a dent in my compost pile.