Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[User395221]

Watch her but I wouldn't worry yet.

Too late, I'm afraid. I've been worrying all the time..... She's just sitting in there. I just went out there to see where everybody was sleeping and she's still in there..... I hope she's clucky and not sick.

Speaking of checking on everyone after dark, the "silly" chooks are using the perch. They were all scrunched up the end, instead of making use of the length of it. What's with that? They've got heaps of room, and they are sitting on top of each other.

 

[LuckysMum]

LuckysMum ..... that is a lot of good info. in the red part here. And now we know why W.A. don't want sugar mulch in the State.

The mention of Mimosa made me sit up and take notice ( and the do the google bit ), as my grandmother used to grow it - it was one of her many special delights in the garden. We children, were not allowed to touch it, presumably because the leaves fold up when touched, and she didn't want us to use it as a play thing ( as kids would do ). And to think it has become a weed !!

Nana loved the little coloured balls of fluff that were the flowers, and the fern like leaves. ( also called the 'sensitive plant' ).

That is sad, as it is an interesting plant. Does not say specifically that it is poisonous to chickens or animals, but it does contain some toxic components, along with some rare and unusual chemical type elements ( found mainly in the roots ).

Wishing you success with the next lot of hatching eggs you have ( and way many more pullets ).

Cheers .........

Since then, careful consideration had been given to dealing with the sugarcane mulch problem.”
Mimosa pudica, often known as common sensitive plant, has sharp prickles that can inhibit grazing and cause painful wounds.

I thought maybe the prickles, as it says it can inhibit grazing because of the painful wounds the prickles inflict. Maybe that's why your Nana didn't want you playing with it.

Come to think of it I used the mulch in my front garden and had a funny weed grow that I had never seen before I didn't think it was from the mulch, but after reading the agric dept notes, it could very easily have come from the sugar cane mulch.
Just goes to show we can't trust that everything that's recommended for gardens/pets is actually any good at all. Again we have to do our research.

Thanks for the kind wishes (more pullets).

 

[Anniebee]

I'm fairly sure it was her. I think only she and Grace are laying (yet?) and she was in there, and her twitchy bottom end looked like something was happening, and all the others were out in the run (and Grace's eggs are bigger, not teeny weeny like hers). Somebody else would have had to be quick in and out for it not to have been Flossie. I don't usually notice who is doing what, I just open up to look for eggs and take any that appear, but she was in there and making those noises. I hope she's ok and not got any issues. Later on I picked her up and took her to the run myself and she immediately ran over to the feeder and started eating, so she didn't seem sick or anything like that. I did take the fake eggs out in case she was trying to hatch them. I thought it was a fake egg she was on this afternoon, but it was a proper egg.

I am not sure what 'twitchy bottom' means, for your Flossie. But I know what it means for my girls. They tend to stretch when they are allowed out in the morning, shake their feathers out, stretch their wings and flap them, and then waggle their tail feathers ( like a tiny little rapid wag of a dogs tail ). They can do two or three of these waggy tail things .... and as I do not watch them 24/7, cannot say how many times a day they do that. Seems all perfectly normal for my girls - for any others ? - I cannot say.

If Flossie is keen on her food, and runs to eat it - and all else appears normal, I would suggest not to worry too much.

Making noises ..... they make some very odd noises when laying. Some however don't make sounds. Molly RIR 'purrs' when settling down to lay. Mandy 'growls' and then remains silent, and Mindy rarely makes a sound - just gets on with the job, although I have heard her purr and softly cluck a little on occasion when laying.

Many of them would make a good ( but ultra weird ) orchestra.

Cheers .......

 

[User395221]

I am not sure what 'twitchy bottom' means, for your Flossie.

She was sort of pulsating.
Quote: Flossie was making some odd noises, but she didn't lay today.

 

[MyHaven]

I hope you do not mind, but I am updating on LuLu again .. this is not only for my benefit [keeping a record] but you never know, it may help others down the track.

Anyways, between 4pm and when they went to bed just now, there was no head jerking/rolling as such, but just the occasional shake of the head and scratch of the head.  No balance loss.  She walked up the ramp OK and jumped onto the low roost and then high roost without issue … I will check on her periodically through the evening to make sure she is still on it.

As I did not see her take a drink of the antibiotic water during this period, we droppered some more into her beak before bed.

MyHaven Yep, the fox is a possible source also.  Again, so very sorry this is happening.  I understand how hard it would be to cull your birds and I definitely would not be going down that path until I knew what it was.

Also, yes, you probably could replace your flock for what it is costing you but just so that the next batch might get it … yeah, not the smartest comment 

I am guessing they are also not chickeneers?  “replace your flock” is not something we would do on a whim.

I do hope she is ok.

My flocks illness has taught me to keep better records. Eg. I can't say for sure when I first heard a sneeze.

To be clear: My friend wasn't suggesting I cull the whole flock to save money. In fact they have been telling me I haven't been positive enough. (I'm being stoic) the comment was more about how costly the testing exercise is.

 

[Fancychooklady]

[COLOR=FF0000]Since then, careful consideration had been given to dealing with the sugarcane mulch problem.”[/COLOR]
[COLOR=FF0000]Mimosa pudica, often known as common sensitive plant, has sharp prickles that can inhibit grazing and cause painful wounds.[/COLOR]

I thought maybe the prickles, as it says it can inhibit grazing because of the painful wounds the prickles inflict. Maybe that's why your Nana didn't want you playing with it.

Come to think of it I used the mulch in my front garden and had a funny weed grow that I had never seen before I didn't think it was from the mulch, but after reading the agric dept notes, it could very easily have come from the sugar cane mulch.
Just goes to show we can't trust that everything that's recommended for gardens/pets is actually any good at all.  Again we have to do our research.

Thanks for the kind wishes (more pullets).

The common sensitive refers to its sensitivity and its ability to recoil. It's thought that it is less attractive to stock because of its movement when touched.

 

[Anniebee]

OMG What a day, between multiple software issues/failures and LuLu’s illness this is the first chance I have had to take a breath. Thank gawd I finish at 4!

OK, back through those posts I missed to catch up but before then, an update on LuLu .. she is still shaking/jerking her head and very occasionally falling over. Still no discharge of any kind and good colour etc but she did sneeze a couple of times. They all have a sneeze occasionally but just to be safe, I have her on antibiotics. Currently she is mooching around at the back of the garden digging holes but she has spent a lot of time resting today.

I still have no idea what I am dealing with. She is pooping and they look good and because I have not seen her drink, I droppered the antibiotic water into her beak. Definitely no lice and she is a good weight. She ate some mackerel, yoghurt and some meal worms and just managed a sprint across the yard with the rest of the flock when a cockatoo scared them.

potato chip One way to check if she is broody is to put an egg in front of her on the nest box, if she uses her beak to roll it under herself, you most likely have a broody

satay Wow! Wonderful save of Miss Frizz, I hope her improvement continues

Gees Fancy May is turning into the month from you know where! Sorry to hear that you have some fencing to repair but good news that your girl is OK.

Fizzybelle Agnes and Mabel are such little cuties!

Teila ... so hope Lulu comes to complete recovery asap. Guess she might be resting because she needs to keep off her wobbly legs.

I doubt this would be of any help to you, but Mandy Welsummer often rests a lot - ( sun and dust bathes too ), but I find her sitting down in the run quite a bit. She is healthy otherwise ( I think / hope ), and I figure it is because of the size of her. She is one huge chicken, and I think she literally just gets tired bearing her own enormous weight. She is heavy to carry, and I think would be twice the size of little Sonya puppy, who is a lab. puppy, but by no means tiny. In chicken weights, she is twice as big as Mindy - easily. There is nothing I can do to reduce her weight - she is what she is .... a whopper.

None of that is of much help to you, but if Lulu has suffered an injury ( as you suspected in the first place ) then perhaps her resting is part of her recuperation and getting off those wobbly legs. And her head shaking might well be a headache ? ( do they suffer headaches ? ). Dogs shake their heads when they have headaches, for whatever reason.

Oh I know - I keep mentioning dogs along with chickens ( oranges and apples ) .... but when it's all said and done, animals and birds have distinctive ways of dealing with illnesses, tiredness, hunger etc., it's just us who don't know what is what when something seems to go awry.

Good luck with it all .....

 

[MyHaven]

Too late, I'm afraid.  I've been worrying all the time.....  She's just sitting in there.  I just went out there to see where everybody was sleeping and she's still in there.....  I hope she's clucky and not sick.  

Speaking of checking on everyone after dark, the "silly" chooks are using the perch.  They were all scrunched up the end, instead of making use of the length of it.  What's with that?  They've got heaps of room, and they are sitting on top of each other.  

Can you describe how she is behaving now, what colour is her comb, are her feathers fluffed up.

When you say she twitches her bottom do you mean she looks like this

 

[User395221]

Can you describe how she is behaving now, what colour is her comb, are her feathers fluffed up.

When you say she twitches her bottom do you mean she looks like this

Her comb looks normal, she looks normal, she is a bit puffed up and her tail feathers are up in the air (but not quite as "floosie-ish" as your girl, not such a display, but very erect). Once I was out riding and the horse in front had her "girl bits" pulsating. I mentioned it and was told she was in heat. It was sort of like that, where she was "rippling", but all up her sides, not just her vent. That was yesterday, when she laid. She wasn't twitching/rippling today.

She went out and dug in the dirt and looked normal then, but then she went and plonked herself down in the nestbox again. She looks a bit "puffy" on her neck feathers, but I don't know whether that's how she usually looks because I've never really stared at her before she started "acting weird". And she was making funny little chirping/twittering noises/


This is her, today.

 

[MyHaven]

Her comb looks normal, she looks normal, she is a bit puffed up and her tail feathers are up in the air (but not quite as "floosie-ish" as your girl, not such a display, but very erect). Once I was out riding and the horse in front had her "girl bits" pulsating. I mentioned it and was told she was in heat. It was sort of like that, where she was "rippling", but all up her sides, not just her vent. That was yesterday, when she laid. She wasn't twitching/rippling today. She went out and dug in the dirt and looked normal then, but then she went and plonked herself down in the nestbox again. She looks a bit "puffy" on her neck feathers, but I don't know whether that's how she usually looks because I've never really stared at her before she started "acting weird". And she was making funny little chirping/twittering noises/ This is her, today.

She looks clucky to me.

She may not be "full on" yet. I can't say I've looked at any clucky birds vent that closely before to comment on that. With my constantly clucky girls I can tell days before they go clucky that they are heading that way, even when still laying. If she feels hot to touch - I'd say she is simply clucky and you can relax. Her behaviour sounds clucky. My girls run for food and scratch when i lift them off the nest early in the cycle. And their combs become increasingly pale the longer they are clucky. Floosie?