A Bielefelder Thread !

[Sylvester017]

Sorry about your pullet. I had to put down a 5 week old chick that was the size of a 2 day old chick. I did it myself because I knew if I chose to keep chickens and hatch them, I woulf have to deal with it. Can't have DH do all of the hard stuff.

It is so hard when you have attachments to chickens. Schnitzel is one of my first girls, and they are different from the rest of the flock. Right now, she tends to avoid me when before, she would charge at me with all the rest of my girls. This morning, I gave her shot all by myself! The biggest part of it was believing that I could do it, and that I wouldn't hurt her. I tucked her under my left arm, belly up, and with her head behind my armpit. I could hold her feet with my left hand. Parting her feathers was a bit tricky, but I got it done. Then I fussed after her for a long time and fed her mealy worms before I put her down.

I really liked this vet! I've gone to one closer to my house for my cats and dog, but from now on, I may make the 20 minute drive.
Edinburg Animal Hospital in West Windsor, NJ. Jennifer Fanders DVM

I had a good cry over your girl. So sorry.

 

[Sylvester017]

Been away for a while & finally caught up skimming through the posts.
Coop de Grass - so sorry about your recent flock struggles.

I may have mentioned before that my beloved Cuddles fell ill last Sept. She recovered, molted, had a few normal months, then relapsed in Feb, We decided that chicken hospice was our plan. (ovarian issues) My sweet hen died in my arms Sat night. More about it below.
Cuddles. The BEST chicken in the world to me.
April 23, 2014 - May 14, 2016
She died in my arms a few moments ago. Sadness beyond words....






A few days later I wrote this:
To those of you who remember Cuddles, she was a special girl. I had wanted a lav orp for a long time & finally could afford 4 eggs. From those 4 shipped eggs, we hatched 2 chicks: Cuddles & Tank. Cuddles loved to sit on my lap & watch TV. She was always spoiled, but also gave back to me in many ways. I worked with her so she came running & responded to her name (not just the :Ch Ch Chicken call) She followed basic commands like "Go coop" ;"Go run", "Go crate" (travel cage), "up" = jump in my lap. The fun part was when I trained her to peck at targets. I would write words on cards & she would select the card with a tiny red dot. I could ask her the most complicated questions & she always got the answer correct! (to the amazement of many middle school students! LOL) We then went one step further & I taught her to peck at only the Queen of Hearts. As long as I did my part correctly & forced the volunteer to select Q-hearts, Cuddles (my physic chicken) could read their minds & peck at the card they randomly chose. It was so precious to see Cuddles think. She would look back & forth between cards often tilting her head to view at different angles before making her selection. Cuddles often appeared in the local papers & even received "thank you" letters from kids. My DD then decided to work with Cuddles. She tried agility training & got Cuddles to walk through a hoop. That was about it. Let's face it, Orps are not made for agility, but dear Cuddles tried her best to please us.

Cuddles loved the attention. She was fearless of visitors & would let anyone pet & hold her - in hopes that some sort of treat would be given. She loved her treats! Even without food, she jumped up into my lap for attention or simply followed me around the yard - "chatting the entire time.". Our backyard seems so empty & quiet now. I miss my Cuddles.

Back in early Sept, she had some type of severe illness & stopped eating. I dewormed, gave Corid, and even learned how to tube feed so Cuddles would not starve to death. She lived! I followed up with yogurt & ACV. Never sure exactly what it was, but she molted & life went back to normal for a while. In March, Cuddles had a mild relapse. Her abdomen felt swollen & hard. I knew she had something serious. It seemed like her poop was being blocked & her crop was slow. The digestive & poop issues cleared, but the firm abdomen remained. My guess is that she was internally laying or had tumors. We decided that chicken hospice was our plan. It continued to grow, but even when ill, Cuddles was the 1st to greet me every morning. DD & I were away on Sat. When we returned to lock up the flock, Cuddles looked weak. I planned to bring her inside for the night due to the cold. I sat on the sofa with Cuddles in my lap. She briefly seized, then placed her head in the palm of my hand. She looked up at me a drew her last few breaths. It seems that she waited for me to hold her one last time before letting go.

I have other chickens, even other lav orps, but sometimes the brightest stars burn out the fastest. Cuddles was MY chicken, my favorite, my companion, my comforter, & my friend. She was so much more than "a chicken". I guess I'm writing all this because only those who have fallen in love with a chicken can understand how sad I feel right now. RIP my dear, sweet Cuddles.

I can't cry any more. Too sad to lose a special chicken way too soon!

 

[bluejean55girl]

I can't cry any more.  Too sad to lose a special chicken way too soon!

I'm so sorry. Cuddles was indeed very special. I believe that our special pets are waiting for us down the road.

 

[otakalhasas]

I'm so sorry. Cuddles was indeed very special. I believe that our special pets are waiting for us down the road.

So very, very sorry. I have always found great comfort in these thoughts from Billy Graham: "God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in Heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there." A pet is a pet, regardless of species.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Been away for a while font-size:12px;line-height:normal;padding-bottom:0px;">Cuddles. The BEST chicken in the world to me.
April 23, 2014 - May 14, 2016
She died in my arms a few moments ago. Sadness beyond words....






A few days later I wrote this:
To those of you who remember Cuddles, she was a special girl. I had wanted a lav orp for a long time "Go run", "Go crate" (travel cage), "up" = jump in my lap. The fun part was when I trained her to peck at targets. I would write words on cards font-size:12px;line-height:normal;padding-bottom:0px;">
Cuddles loved the attention. She was fearless of visitors font-size:12px;line-height:normal;padding-bottom:0px;">

Back in early Sept, she had some type of severe illness font-size:12px;line-height:normal;padding-bottom:0px;">
I have other chickens, even other lav orps, but sometimes the brightest stars burn out the fastest. Cuddles was MY chicken, my favorite, my companion, my comforter, font-size:12px;line-height:normal;padding-bottom:0px;">
[/SPOILER]

I can't cry any more. Too sad to lose a special chicken way too soon!

So sorry you lost your special chicken. Have lost a couple close ones myself & it's never easy. May your happiness return soon

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Hi all, I am new to Biele's this spring. I purchased a chick trio Easter weekend plus hatching eggs. Upon reading this thread I'm glad to see it wasn't strickly my doing. Out of 12 eggs, 2 I assisted hatching after numerous eggs pipped half way, stopped & died. The remaining eggs where ready, but just never pipped. And of course wouldn't ya know that the 2 I helped are roo's lol. My current problem is that 2 birds out of the trio I purchased are growing spotty leg feathers

Is there a way to breed this out of them or am I basically back at square one? The person I bought them from said she purchased her trio directly from GFF. Just seems odd to me that first generation offspring are throwing spotty leg feathering. But I can honestly say I know nothing about breeding to perfection. If someone has any helpful suggestions, I would love to hear about them, thanks

 

[Red Banks]

Hi all, I am new to Biele's this spring. I purchased a chick trio Easter weekend plus hatching eggs. Upon reading this thread I'm glad to see it wasn't strickly my doing. Out of 12 eggs, 2 I assisted hatching after numerous eggs pipped half way, stopped & died. The remaining eggs where ready, but just never pipped. And of course wouldn't ya know that the 2 I helped are roo's lol. My current problem is that 2 birds out of the trio I purchased are growing spotty leg feathers

Is there a way to breed this out of them or am I basically back at square one? The person I bought them from said she purchased her trio directly from GFF. Just seems odd to me that first generation offspring are throwing spotty leg feathering. But I can honestly say I know nothing about breeding to perfection. If someone has any helpful suggestions, I would love to hear about them, thanks

Could you post a picture?

 

[DesertChic]

You're very welcome. I knew other chicken people would get it!


I moved the chicks into the coop (but inside a rabbit cage) at about 2-3 weeks. When weather was warm enough, I carried them to the run & back for daily grass time. (Took too much time!) Around 6 weeks old, I carried 1-2 chicks & made the others walk. I also dropped tiny treats to keep them near me along the way. After a few days, they got the idea & I just gave them a reward at the end. After a week, they pretty much have it. (Sometimes they have trouble finding the door because the tractor moves daily.) What I didn't show is what happens when I move the tractor to a whole different area of the yard. They arrive at the old spot and start running in circles, bumping into one another, until the new location of the tractor is spotted.

I have nearly all of my adult chickens (around 60 of them) trained to come to me immediately when I hold up a particular blue scoop, which they've learned equates to a treat. It doesn't matter where they are and whether or not each bird can see me, when I hold it up and yell "treat" they come running from every direction, and once they see the scoop they double their speed.

Most people simply don't realize how highly trainable chickens are.

 

[Red Banks]

Quote: Yesterday one of my hens walked to a water bucket that I had just emptied to clean. I went on with my work and she kept walking between the water bucket and me. I put down what I was doing and filled the bucket for her. It is I that is highly trainable and each knows exactly how to get what they need and want from me.

 

[Faraday40]

Yesterday one of my hens walked to a water bucket that I had just emptied to clean. I went on with my work and she kept walking between the water bucket and me. I put down what I was doing and filled the bucket for her. It is I that is highly trainable and each knows exactly how to get what they need and want from me.

My parents' dog is like that. She knows no tricks but has them wrapped around her paw. If she stands by the water cooler & barks twice, it means she wants cold water in her bowl. (It doesn't mean she's out of water. If her water got warm, she wants it topped off with cold water.) I made the mistake of filling her bowl from the tap once. The dog just stared at me, looked down at her bowl, then back up at me. How dare I try to give her room temp tap water????

We have real dogs that will drink water from wherever they find it & eat anything that drops to the floor. I could try to give bottled water to our chickens, but they always seem to prefer to drink from mud puddles.