2018 Newbie Chat!

[Cbarr00]

Been trying to catch up the last week! Life has been so busy this month! So many changes and new things happening. Love the updated pics of everyone's flock!

Ugh my 3 bottom girls Cricket(ss), DJ(ee), & Frida(ee) are all getting their tail feathers torn out. I noticed a couple weeks ago DJ had only 2 tail feathers but with everything going on haven't really had a chance to look. Then DH tells me Cricket is missing all her tail feathers. I go out and DJ has a scabbed up tail end and almost no saddle or tail feathers. Cricket has no tail feathers. Looks like a rumpless chicken. And while Frida isn't nearly as bad she is definitely missing saddle and tail feathers. I'm pretty sure the bully is a BSL named Glimmer. I can see the distance all others take to stay away from her. DH saw a BSL go after a tail feather but of course can't tell them apart. Lol. So I'm going to put her in the prefab for a bit and knock her down some and give the girls a chance to heal. I'll be making q trip to tractor supply to get them all fixed up as well. If she doesn't calm down with this feather picking she'll be in freezer camp. I'd rather be one less chicken than have so many girls hurt.

 

[llombardo]

Been trying to catch up the last week! Life has been so busy this month! So many changes and new things happening. Love the updated pics of everyone's flock!

Ugh my 3 bottom girls Cricket(ss), DJ(ee), & Frida(ee) are all getting their tail feathers torn out. I noticed a couple weeks ago DJ had only 2 tail feathers but with everything going on haven't really had a chance to look. Then DH tells me Cricket is missing all her tail feathers. I go out and DJ has a scabbed up tail end and almost no saddle or tail feathers. Cricket has no tail feathers. Looks like a rumpless chicken. And while Frida isn't nearly as bad she is definitely missing saddle and tail feathers. I'm pretty sure the bully is a BSL named Glimmer. I can see the distance all others take to stay away from her. DH saw a BSL go after a tail feather but of course can't tell them apart. Lol. So I'm going to put her in the prefab for a bit and knock her down some and give the girls a chance to heal. I'll be making q trip to tractor supply to get them all fixed up as well. If she doesn't calm down with this feather picking she'll be in freezer camp. I'd rather be one less chicken than have so many girls hurt.

Blue kote will help heal and stop pecking.

 

[CannedMonster]

Been trying to catch up the last week! Life has been so busy this month! So many changes and new things happening. Love the updated pics of everyone's flock!

Ugh my 3 bottom girls Cricket(ss), DJ(ee), & Frida(ee) are all getting their tail feathers torn out. I noticed a couple weeks ago DJ had only 2 tail feathers but with everything going on haven't really had a chance to look. Then DH tells me Cricket is missing all her tail feathers. I go out and DJ has a scabbed up tail end and almost no saddle or tail feathers. Cricket has no tail feathers. Looks like a rumpless chicken. And while Frida isn't nearly as bad she is definitely missing saddle and tail feathers. I'm pretty sure the bully is a BSL named Glimmer. I can see the distance all others take to stay away from her. DH saw a BSL go after a tail feather but of course can't tell them apart. Lol. So I'm going to put her in the prefab for a bit and knock her down some and give the girls a chance to heal. I'll be making q trip to tractor supply to get them all fixed up as well. If she doesn't calm down with this feather picking she'll be in freezer camp. I'd rather be one less chicken than have so many girls hurt.

I agree with you.
I’m completely over keeping problem birds.
I’m not going to feed them when I can get more production out of others.
I have one SS that lays very poorly.
All her eggs are extremely thin shelled and often break because she lays from the roost.
I can’t sell or rehome a bird with problems like that. We’ll probably have to send her to freezer camp.
All my SS lay small eggs.
I also have too many broodys.
They take up the favorite nest boxes but don’t lay any eggs.
One thing I’ve learned is that bantams are way more likely to go broody.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Just popping by to tell you all that I lost the fight to keep my birds and have been ordered to remove them from the property within four weeks or legle action will be taken to have our girls seized. Needless to say I am heart broken.
I am not going to take them to the Chuckery, where the ducks are because although the owners take great care of their birds and all animals under their care, the fact that one of my drakes is among the 30 birds stolen from them I no longer veiw this as being a safe place even though they have told me they have increased their security. However, I have been fortunate in finding a very good home for them with a member of this BYC who is willing to take them in and keep them throughout their life time. He never culls nor rehomes his hens and has only ever rehomed one cockerel who was too aggressive with his girls plus a threat to his kids.
He lives quite far from me about 230 miles or so away from where I am but is happy to send me videos and pictures regularly plus has given me his number for me to ring or text whenever I feel the need to.
My daughter and I have been looking for somewhere else to live where chickens are permitted although we have been unsuccessful so far - due to various reasons - I have told him this at which he has promised me that if at anytime my circumstances change and I want them back he will give them back because he understands and knows how much they mean to me. The Chuckery also promised me I can have my ducks back at anytime but also that they will keep them throughout their lifetime if I don't take them back, so my daughter and I are continuing our search for a new home even if it takes years to find one, so it is my hope that one day I will have all my birds back although I know I'll never get Jughead back now he has been stolen.
My daughter and I have been replying to adverts of drakes for sale in the area and surrounding area he was stolen from, in the hope of finding him but nothing has come of it so far and I am doubtful it ever will.
I thank all of you for all the help and advice you have shared with me over my time here on BYC and I wish each and every one of you all the success in the future with your birds and in all areas of your lives. I cannot tell if I will visit here again in the future but for now it is too difficult for me to be around anything to do with chickens and ducks as I am heart broken and dont know if I will ever heal from this.
My three year old grandson is heart broken too, Roo is his chicken and he has had her since she was two weeks old, he still tells us regularly that he misses the ducks and wants them back and today when we told him the chickens have to go to a new home he told us he's going to stand in front of the door so "the man" can't take the chickens away so I then had to explain to him it will be me who will take them to their new home and it is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He is only 3 and doesn't understand the world and it's ways yet but understands enough to know he will be without his Roo and the other three and it is hurting him. It is all so very very sad.

 

[llombardo]

Just popping by to tell you all that I lost the fight to keep my birds and have been ordered to remove them from the property within four weeks or legle action will be taken to have our girls seized. Needless to say I am heart broken.
I am not going to take them to the Chuckery, where the ducks are because although the owners take great care of their birds and all animals under their care, the fact that one of my drakes is among the 30 birds stolen from them I no longer veiw this as being a safe place even though they have told me they have increased their security. However, I have been fortunate in finding a very good home for them with a member of this BYC who is willing to take them in and keep them throughout their life time. He never culls nor rehomes his hens and has only ever rehomed one cockerel who was too aggressive with his girls plus a threat to his kids.
He lives quite far from me about 230 miles or so away from where I am but is happy to send me videos and pictures regularly plus has given me his number for me to ring or text whenever I feel the need to.
My daughter and I have been looking for somewhere else to live where chickens are permitted although we have been unsuccessful so far - due to various reasons - I have told him this at which he has promised me that if at anytime my circumstances change and I want them back he will give them back because he understands and knows how much they mean to me. The Chuckery also promised me I can have my ducks back at anytime but also that they will keep them throughout their lifetime if I don't take them back, so my daughter and I are continuing our search for a new home even if it takes years to find one, so it is my hope that one day I will have all my birds back although I know I'll never get Jughead back now he has been stolen.
My daughter and I have been replying to adverts of drakes for sale in the area and surrounding area he was stolen from, in the hope of finding him but nothing has come of it so far and I am doubtful it ever will.
I thank all of you for all the help and advice you have shared with me over my time here on BYC and I wish each and every one of you all the success in the future with your birds and in all areas of your lives. I cannot tell if I will visit here again in the future but for now it is too difficult for me to be around anything to do with chickens and ducks as I am heart broken and dont know if I will ever heal from this.
My three year old grandson is heart broken too, Roo is his chicken and he has had her since she was two weeks old, he still tells us regularly that he misses the ducks and wants them back and today when we told him the chickens have to go to a new home he told us he's going to stand in front of the door so "the man" can't take the chickens away so I then had to explain to him it will be me who will take them to their new home and it is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He is only 3 and doesn't understand the world and it's ways yet but understands enough to know he will be without his Roo and the other three and it is hurting him. It is all so very very sad.

How did this all come about? I sure hope you do pop in every now and then, you are one of my favorite people with or without birds. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and hoping you find something that can ring you all together again. Do not give up, there is something out there that is exactly what you need.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

How did this all come about? I sure hope you do pop in every now and then, you are one of my favorite people with or without birds. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and hoping you find something that can ring you all together again. Do not give up, there is something out there that is exactly what you need.

Thank you so much hun you are one of the most kindest, loveliest, caring people I have ever met and you have brought so much joy to my life with your wonderful caring ways and how much you love your animals. You have reminded me how much I love reading everyone's posts in this thread and following everyones progress and how your flocks are doing and growing, I love the pics and posts and also I've received a lot of support, good advice and help from you guys which I am so grateful to all of you for, so I have plenty of reason to stay, I just need a little time to try get my head around all this first.
Hopefully I will be able to post some pics of their new home once I get them there.
As for why this had happened, the housing company received further complaints about us have our chickens. This time the complaints are of smell and excessive flies. When the representative came here and told us this I took him outside and into the run and asked what he could smell to which he replied "There is no smell what's so ever." As for the flies which there are some and always is around here as we are in heath and woodland, I told him chickens do not attract flies, it is filth, poop and foods attract flies. I also pointed out that I poop pick daily and he didn't see any poop laying around because there isn't any. Unfortunately for me I had given my girls some vegetables and melon earlier that day which they hadn't eaten all of ( they tend to go back to it and eat it over the course of the day) there were flies on the veg and melon, however I pointed out that they are in my garden and if there is nothing for the flies to go after they wouldn't bother to go there in the first place, so whoever has an excess of flies must have food or perhaps their dogs poop around for the flies to want to go there in the first place. We are inundated with pigeons around here, there is pigeon poop every where and he saw for himself a cluster of flies but they were on pigeon poop and he could see that.
The rep said that even though he agrees with all this, the fact is chickens are not permitted in this area and whoever has complained has requested the company enforce the covenant so the company has no choice but to take action and have given me four weeks to remove them from our property. I am in talks with the lovely people who are taking them in and so far looks like we will be taking them on Saturday 2nd June. You don't know how much I wish I lived near to you so you could have them but as the saying goes "It is what it is" and there's nothing else I can do.
Thank you once again for your kindness and support hun, means a lot to me

 

[llombardo]

So I have decided that Duke wants to kill me. He is way bolder then Prince, so I'm grabbing him Sunday night and bringing him back in the house and putting the two older girls out there. I'm hoping they got over their meaness and this goes smoothly. The coop will be made for all girls to stay together and the two boys seperated from them and each other. I will let Prince visit ofr let a couple of the girls visit him on a regular basis. Duke is poop out of luck. He will have a good life but not where he can attempt murder(me).

On a good note I got a text today that someone got me a 100 ft roll of hardware cloth for FREE. So now I have the shingles and the hardware cloth. I'm pretty sure I can get most of the wood free too. This might turn out ok.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Thank you so much hun you are one of the most kindest, loveliest, caring people I have ever met and you have brought so much joy to my life with your wonderful caring ways and how much you love your animals. You have reminded me how much I love reading everyone's posts in this thread and following everyones progress and how your flocks are doing and growing, I love the pics and posts and also I've received a lot of support, good advice and help from you guys which I am so grateful to all of you for, so I have plenty of reason to stay, I just need a little time to try get my head around all this first.
Hopefully I will be able to post some pics of their new home once I get them there.
As for why this had happened, the housing company received further complaints about us have our chickens. This time the complaints are of smell and excessive flies. When the representative came here and told us this I took him outside and into the run and asked what he could smell to which he replied "There is no smell what's so ever." As for the flies which there are some and always is around here as we are in heath and woodland, I told him chickens do not attract flies, it is filth, poop and foods attract flies. I also pointed out that I poop pick daily and he didn't see any poop laying around because there isn't any. Unfortunately for me I had given my girls some vegetables and melon earlier that day which they hadn't eaten all of ( they tend to go back to it and eat it over the course of the day) there were flies on the veg and melon, however I pointed out that they are in my garden and if there is nothing for the flies to go after they wouldn't bother to go there in the first place, so whoever has an excess of flies must have food or perhaps their dogs poop around for the flies to want to go there in the first place. We are inundated with pigeons around here, there is pigeon poop every where and he saw for himself a cluster of flies but they were on pigeon poop and he could see that.
The rep said that even though he agrees with all this, the fact is chickens are not permitted in this area and whoever has complained has requested the company enforce the covenant so the company has no choice but to take action and have given me four weeks to remove them from our property. I am in talks with the lovely people who are taking them in and so far looks like we will be taking them on Saturday 2nd June. You don't know how much I wish I lived near to you so you could have them but as the saying goes "It is what it is" and there's nothing else I can do.
Thank you once again for your kindness and support hun, means a lot to me

I am so very sorry! But I am glad you found a fellow BYC'er to take them. I will miss you and the stories of your flock. If you can manage to stop in and say hi here and there, we'd all love to see you. But I completely understand your sorrow and need to distance yourself from chicken and duck talk. Once again, I will miss you.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

So I have decided that Duke wants to kill me. He is way bolder then Prince, so I'm grabbing him Sunday night and bringing him back in the house and putting the two older girls out there. I'm hoping they got over their meaness and this goes smoothly. The coop will be made for all girls to stay together and the two boys seperated from them and each other. I will let Prince visit ofr let a couple of the girls visit him on a regular basis. Duke is poop out of luck. He will have a good life but not where he can attempt murder(me).

On a good note I got a text today that someone got me a 100 ft roll of hardware cloth for FREE. So now I have the shingles and the hardware cloth. I'm pretty sure I can get most of the wood free too. This might turn out ok.

That's too bad about Duke. But wonderful about the hardware cloth! That stuff is expensive.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Jade is over her broodiness. I unblocked the bottom nest box a few days ago and she never went back in. Then today she laid an egg! I'm really fortunate that it was so easy to get her back to normal. Maybe she just wasn't that committed.