2018 Newbie Chat!

[BBZZZZTT]

After the scare with the fox earlier Belle seems to have cracked her beak.

She probably knocked it on hardware cloth or something trying to run away.

I was hoping she would perk up by now but she's still just kinda hypoactive and puffed up.
She ate a bit from my hand and I left some food right next to her and saw her picking at it, so I know she physically can eat.
I saw her drinking from the water earlier too.

Should I be worried??

 

[PNW_Peepers]

After the scare with the fox earlier Belle seems to have cracked her beak.

View attachment 1483381

She probably knocked it on hardware cloth or something trying to run away.

I was hoping she would perk up by now but she's still just kinda hypoactive and puffed up.
She ate a bit from my hand and I left some food right next to her and saw her picking at it, so I know she physically can eat.
I saw her drinking from the water earlier too.

Should I be worried??

Get some electrolytes in her ASAP, I keep nutri-drench on hand for my sick girls. I’m sure she’s in shock from the attempted attack. I’d post in the emergencies forum on it, I’m sure you’ll receive and expert response promptly!

 

[BBZZZZTT]

I gave her some electrolytes this morning. She seems like she is snapping out of it, I'm at work again but she's dustbathing with Moana and Kida on the chicken cam.

I fed her a couple of handfuls of food from my hand earlier and she had no problem eating.
I am trying to keep an eye on her from the cam to make sure she is still eating from the feeder, in case her beak is bothering her.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

I gave her some electrolytes this morning. She seems like she is snapping out of it, I'm at work again but she's dustbathing with Moana and Kida on the chicken cam.
View attachment 1484104

I fed her a couple of handfuls of food from my hand earlier and she had no problem eating.
I am trying to keep an eye on her from the cam to make sure she is still eating from the feeder, in case her beak is bothering her.

Awesome!!!! So glad she’s doing better, try giving her boiled egg every evening too, that will boost her protein intake and help her heal faster. If you find that she’s struggling to eat later on you can always ferment the feed making it softer for her to eat! So happy they’re all okay after a fox visit.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Awesome!!!! So glad she’s doing better, try giving her boiled egg every evening too, that will boost her protein intake and help her heal faster. If you find that she’s struggling to eat later on you can always ferment the feed making it softer for her to eat! So happy they’re all okay after a fox visit.

And she DID lay an egg today.
So maybe she's just moping.

 

[CannedMonster]

Flock Update:

Frodo and Birdie went to live at Kat’s house two nights ago.
He was just not fitting in here with wanting to be the alpha roo and all.
He caused a lot of chaos.
Constantly chasing Angus and trying to control everyone; causing Agatha & Emily to become nervous and skittish.
Things have been relatively peaceful since he left.
Now that he’s gone, Silkie (who I found out is a cockerel) is starting to assert himself with the bantam pullets.
Looks as though Cricket is the dominant bantam pullet.
Birdie was just too nervous and flighty for me to even want to keep although she’s a good layer.
I just don’t want my other birds picking up on her flightyness.

So now Silkie has 6 little bantam pullets and today I will be putting them all in the walk-in coop with Loki, Angus and the other 6 LF birds.
They’ve all been free ranging together for weeks and are used to each other.

I’m going to use the prefab as a grow out coop for my 12 chicks.
This should allow the rest of the flock to see and not touch on a daily basis as they feather out.
I’m going to just keep them in the coop part first because they’re not fully feathered yet and I also don’t know if it’s safe for them to jump down to the run. I want them to feel familiar and safe in the coop before they even go into the run.
They have to be capable of negotiating the ramp to get back into the coop because I really don’t want to be trying to catch chicks in the near darkness to get them into the coop lol!

Since Frodo’s departure, Loki and Angus have continued to gain confidence and I even witnessed both of them (on separate occasions) breeding a Wyandotte as well as Red.
However, the older girls still chase and kick them as much as they can but it often looks rather half hearted lol.

I’m very pleased that both cockerels leave Agatha and Emily alone but they are still skittish from constantly being chased by Frodo.
I believe they are fairly close to POL as their combs and wattles are larger and much redder. They will be 18 weeks on Monday.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Guess who’s in the broody breaker for round two?!?

This girl just won’t quit, three weeks went by since her last broody fit. She laid one egg yesterday and today she’s broody again. Don’t let this sweet face fool ya, tough girl attacks me when I touch her!

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Guess who’s in the broody breaker for round two?!?
View attachment 1487283
This girl just won’t quit, three weeks went by since her last broody fit. She laid one egg yesterday and today she’s broody again. Don’t let this sweet face fool ya, tough girl attacks me when I touch her!

It is a sweet face!
She looks so smug like she knows she's misbehaving. xD

 

[BBZZZZTT]

SO.
I have had an eventful week. The cracked tip of Belle's beak came off completely, after I tried superglueing it. 9.9 I was worried she wasn't eating, because I never seemed to see her at the feeder. But last night I checked her crop and it was full. Today she laid an egg. So she is fine. Beak is a little short but it'll grow back.

In other news, the fox was in the neighbors yard the other night and husband chased it away. We reinforced our underground predator proofing significantly, and got a small radio to play talk shows in the coop at night. So far it isn't bothering the chickens. He read that the sound of human voices will also be a deterrent to foxes. He was very worried about the fox, it was really sweet of him to help me out

I also saw a rat on my chicken cam overnight. Just one, but if I saw one there are many more I'm not seeing. I got a rat trap and planting mint around the coop. Every little bit helps

And now for my favorite troublemaker Kida.

Kida has not been laying eggs. She seems healthy and she is not broody and nothing is going on so for over a week I've just been letting it go, because I had other issues at the forefront of my mind. Today after I put them back in the run from a bit of free ranging, Kida mounted Moana. I brushed it off because I know it can be a dominance thing, and I know she's not a rooster. Then I remembered a thread I came across many months ago when I was reading up and preparing for getting chickens. It was about a hen who, in the absence of a rooster, stopped laying eggs, and mysteriously fertilized eggs started appearing from the other hens. That's right, hens can actually sex-change given the right environment.

While I know it is really a long-shot, I'm going to be watching her very carefully.

 

[GoldenAcres6]

New chick farmer
Got my coop for Christmas, which was finally built this weekend ...woohooo
We have 7 freedom mix from royal king .. sadly one didnt make it
Four cinnamon queens, which seem to have there own way in the flock
Four California white .. one is a total queen, must say she living up to the name the other seem to be doing just fine them self .
This seems to be a learning curve with raising such difference between birds types .... what are some tips , ideals or ways that others seem to use in raising them ?