2018 Newbie Chat!

[llombardo]

So it's suppise to rain all day tomorrow and my chickens are not the smartest in the rain. So I attempted to prop up the sand box cover to provide shelter(I'm sure they will knock this down), we have the umbrella and I took some of the pine tree branches and laid them across The top to hopefully prevent super heavy rain. It's days like these that I worry about them. I'm pretty sure they won't go in the coop on their own. When I was 5 minutes away I was able to get to them as I saw the weather get bad. Makes me nervous. I keep thinking I can't have wet chickens and its not super warm.

 

[CannedMonster]

Sad sad news. I went out to open the nest boxes today and found Amber dead in the run under the coop. There isn't a mark on her, she didn't have any signs of illness and was roosting like normal when I looked on the camera last night. Was eating and drinking and pooping fine. I can only think the sudden death syndrome or her crooked beak and uneven face may have also meant she had some internal abnormalities too. I picked her up and just sat in the run crying. Never would have thought losing a chicken would affect me so much. My friendly little mind-of-her-own Amber. That's her as my avatar when she was 1 day old. My flock won't be the same without her.
View attachment 1619673 View attachment 1619676 View attachment 1619677

Oh my goodness!
I’m sorry.
I know how you feel as Silkie died suddenly too.

 

[CannedMonster]

I miss my birds!
I never see them.
I leave right before DH let’s them out and get home after they’ve gone to bed.
I can’t wait for the weekend.

 

[CannedMonster]

Oh my gosh! That is not normal, the heat would have beaten them for sure. I get that meat birds have been bred to be obese, but to the point they have to sit to eat, seems way too unfair. Imo I doubt such birds would live very long any way and I can only imagine they would suffer. I really hope Roo won't get any bigger, or at least not much more if there is anymore growing to do, at the moment she is strong on her legs but when she runs she falls over very easily - I'm not wanting to humanise anything but I am obese myself and my legs give way so easily, my legs were the first and most effected so when I see Roo struggle it worries me - as she is now she's fine so if she stays this size I'm sure all will be ok.

I don’t mean to alarm you but Roo should be able to run without falling.
None of my birds fall.
Chickens are very awkward runners in the first place but if they’re trying to go particularly fast they usually leap and fly for a short ways.
Can I ask how often you give them banana?
Bananas have a lot of sugar and little nutrients compared to other items.
I’d compare it to giving cookies to a human child every day.
Some good alternatives are shelled sunflower seeds (my birds love them and will pick them out of their scratch lol), greens (especially if they don’t have grass), squash (you can dice it small or cook it to soften it), raisins and/or grapes, canned tuna, wild bird seed blocks and other things.
I have discovered that banana peels are extremely nutritious and mine will scarf them up as long as I dice them into small pieces for them.
I usually give them the diced peel after I’ve eaten a banana.
Hope this helps!

 

[CannedMonster]

With Pig gone, Manchineel crowed this morning. Him and Lazarus seem to be doing just fine with the absence of their hatch mate.
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The rest of the flock still hasn’t adjusted to them. No introductions anytime soon if at all. I was hoping to integrate another two Ameraucana hens with Lazarus and Manny just to even things out. Oh well. View attachment 1620241

Breeding Wally to your Barred Rock should give you sex linked Olive Egger chicks.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Question: Do you guys breed specific pairs for your eggs or do you just use whichever eggs you get from the nesting boxes? I have 3 Roosters and 30 hens, most of which are all different kinds. I’m wondering if when I start hatching again, if I should just take eggs randomly, or breed specifc pairs...thoughts?

Most of us just got our chickens this year so some of us aren't getting eggs yet and not much brooding has been going on for those who are getting eggs. Maybe if anyone is planning on hatching some they can give their thoughts on your question. I live in the city and can't have roosters.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Breeding Wally to your Barred Rock should give you sex linked Olive Egger chicks.

I hate barred rocks temperaments. I’ll never get them again. Out of all of my breeds, they are the only eggs I won’t incubate. It’d be nice to know their sex right away but I have no desire to breed them. I plan on incubating a batch of all Ameraucana after Christmas if I get my incubator. The batch after that will be welsummer.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I don’t mean to alarm you but Roo should be able to run without falling.9
None of my birds fall.
Chickens are very awkward runners in the first place but if they’re trying to go particularly fast they usually leap and fly for a short ways.
Can I ask how often you give them banana?
Bananas have a lot of sugar and little nutrients compared to other items.
I’d compare it to giving cookies to a human child every day.
Some good alternatives are shelled sunflower seeds (my birds love them and will pick them out of their scratch lol), greens (especially if they don’t have grass), squash (you can dice it small or cook it to soften it), raisins and/or grapes, canned tuna, wild bird seed blocks and other things.
I have discovered that banana peels are extremely nutritious and mine will scarf them up as long as I dice them into small pieces for them.
I usually give them the diced peel after I’ve eaten a banana.
Hope this helps!

Thank you it always warms my heart how you and so many others on here take the time to care about others and our pets, just is lovely especially in this world we live in which is so full of coldness and heartlessness and I thank you for your advice as always and for your level of care. I
didn't know about the bananas being low in goodness so I will make sure I don't over do it with giving them this treat. I usually give them 1 banana between the 8 of them per day but I will admit just lately I have been giving them 2 so I will cut it back to 1 per day unless you think this is too much?
Everything else you have mentioned I already am aware of and regarding Roo tripping over she is able to flutter, jump and run and so far she has always been able to out run all the others and still can and is by far the fastest. I observed the times she has fallen over and so far it has always been that she either slipped on mud or when two or more of the others have appeared in her path and she turns and can lose her footing. I did speak to my breeder friend about this and he has told me that BO's often can appear clumsy bcos of their size and weight but that he is confident there is no need for concern. He said that if she fell for no reason i.e. nothing to trip or slip on then there would be cause for concern, he also told me not to expect her to be as nimble as the smaller chickens bcos a BO's size and weight prevents them from being so, however I continue to monitor her. He has also told me she is actually smaller compared to most BO's and she is smaller than those in the flock she came from. He also told me she won't be able to fly other than the fluttering she can do and that she won't ever be able to jump any higher than she already can (approx 3ft) due to her size but that it is normal but that if she gets to the point of unable to jump as she can now then there is cause for concern. One of my Runners has a similar problem he trips or stumbles daily and appears very clumsy, I have checked this out too and found out it is to do with his height, he is taller than my other drake and although not unusual he is way taller than most Runners and is what we would descibe of a human as being "lanky" plus his feet are more turned more inward than is usual for a duck so is what we would describe a human as being "pigeon toed".
According to the BO growth chart Roo has room to grow a bit more and still be ok for a BO, but it is my worry that she gets bigger than a BO can be and remain healthy. I don't like that she or any of my birds get pushed out by the others but part of me is relieved bcos them doing so results in her unable to get as much of the treats as they do so inadvertantly helps in keeping her weight down. However I have noted your concerns which are valid and I am guilty of sneaking her extra mealworms when the others are otherwise occupied as she hardly gets any of the treats when they are around and sometimes ends up getting none at all but as of now I will no longer sneak her any more treats other than if the others have been such that she hasn't managed to get any at all for a few days.
Roo is growing a lot in confidence and it is making the others nervous so I am keeping an extra eye on them all as I don't want she or any of my flock harmed.
Following your previous advice I have been really good at keeping out of their pecking order stuff, although it has been hard to at times, however yesterday I did some intervention on two accounts bcos I felt it necessary. First instance was that I was in the run cleaning, I could hear my birds but couldn't see them. Whilst cleaning I heard Roo making a peculiar noise, hard to describe but kinda like a cross between a sneeze and a hiccup. Anyway, I noted it but thought perhaps she had the hiccups but then she came into view and I saw she was hyperventilating quite badly and had saliva dripping from her open mouth and her face had turned bright red as it had that time she was ill, at first I couldnt make out what might have happened bcos at the time she started making the noise the others were near me and nowhere near her but when she came into sight of the others they headed toward her at which I realised she isn't ill but was in distress and seeing mud spots on her side, back and chest I realised she had been attacked ( however it was only mud and no blood nor any physical injury) I stood in the way of the others and shooed them away then put the ducks in the run hoping to give her time to calm but she continued to hyperventilate and just having the others around was distressing her more even though they werent going after her so my daughter and I decided to let the ducks out and to put her in the run with Lilah. Being aware that shutting them in the run while the others free ranged could compromise Lilah's status so I decided to give Lilah mealworms in the run in full view of the others in the hope of sending the message that she still is alpha. It worked really well, at first Roo was still nervous but when she realised they couldn't get in she calmed almost immediately. She was completely calm in less than a minute, had stopped making the noise and her face turned back to normal colour and happily helped Lilah eat her mealworms. This is conformation to me that her symptoms were a result of her distress and although I am unable to know what really happened I am convinced that it is bcos for the first time she had the guts to join the others searching for worms behind the run and they had turned on her and perhaps had her cornered so she couldn't get away, if this is the case then my only relief is that they could have done her a lot of damage but they didn't it was they who came away from her first so if they did give her a seeing to they did so then left her alone. Other than the mud spots which were clearly beak marks she has no physical injury, no torn out nor ripped feathers, no blood nor anything of concern other than her distress yet these birds could of killed her if they had wanted to and could do as much damage as they wanted to but they didn't so at least I have that to be thankful for. After about 10/15 minutes I let them both out of the run and so far apart from some chasing her off there has been no more incidents. Also whatever happened hasn't dissuaded her from joining them foraging albeit that they still chase her off and just as I'm typing Roo and Lilah have just had a bunting session but are now again together munching on some vegetables.
The second intervention was with Pedro and Jellybean, since their set to a short while ago, Pedro has been relentless at chasing Jellybean and lately and if I don't wait at least 15 minutes after Pedro has put herself to bed before I put Jellybean to bed, Pedro will attack Jellybean to force her out of the nest box they sleep in but I can't let Jellybean sleep in with Lilah and Roo bcos Jellybean will go at Roo. Last night they were later than usual at going to bed, I had an appointment so had to get them in, Pedro who had already put herself to bed had only been in there for 5 minutes or so, so when I put Jellybean in, Pedro went for her causing Jellybean to come out again, I really needed to get to that appointment so I kept putting Jellybean back in but Pedro kept on at her and got so annoyed she actually physically pecked Jellybean repeatedly so very hard so I gently but firmly held Pedro down so she was in laying down position and held her there until she got the message and calmed down. I didn't like doing it at all but I needed to get to the appointment and it worked for me as there were no more incidents after that and they just went to sleep. Being unable to make any changes I cannot get the much wanted coop I want to get for them so they are still in the rabbit hutch, however the bottom half of the hutch isn't being used other than if I have to go out and no one is available to watch over them while they free range and I put Roo in there so no one can get to her and I believe she is thankful for it as she will go straight in as soon as she sees us putting up the partition to separate the ducks from the chickens. My daughter and I have decided to insulate the bottom half for warmth when tempretures drop at night as we have done so up top and will have that for Roo and Lilah to sleep in, that way if Jellybean and Pedro want to sleep separate they can, I'm just waiting for my daughter's hurt arm to get better enough to do the work needed as I am unable to kneel down nor can bend much and being ground floor kneeling will have to be done. We will make sure Pedro and Jellybean go to bed first before I put the other two to bed down below and I will let Lilah and Roo out first before letting the other two out to maintain Lilah as alpha. Hopefully this will resolve this problem at least until I find out if I get to keep my birds at which if I do we can rethink the coop situation.
Sorry this is so long winded, I don't really know how to say it all without such detail but hopefully I haven't bored you to sleep lol.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I miss my birds!
I never see them.
I leave right before DH let’s them out and get home after they’ve gone to bed.
I can’t wait for the weekend.

Awwwww that's a bummer I'm convinced they miss you too, I can see by your videos they know who you are and I believe our birds see us as part of their flocks so there is no reason for them not to miss you too - roll on summer at least then it will be light enough for them to stay out for when you get home.
Incidentally, how is your new job going, I remember you telling us it's the job you wanted, are you enjoying it?

 

[emrya]

I am planning on hatching some this spring if I get a broody: jubilee orpingtons and LF Blue Cochins.