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

Howdy folks
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Yikes! I need a holiday!

Sparky I am so very sorry to hear of your loss
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Fancy as always, beautiful picture of an adorable little one.

OldMacDonalds I am so sorry to hear of your losses also
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Sadly I am not able to help with a reason and will defer to the experts.

Quick visit, no news, so much to do and so little time!
 
Hello Fellow Aussies Would love some advice, I've read sooo many things on the BackYard Chicken forums that i'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm currently raising 4 week old Silkie Bantams in a hired brood box in my garage. I originally had 6 chicks (2 x Splash, 1 x Black, 3 x White) however lost 1 x white chick within 24hrs and a 2nd white chick a week later. They did not have pasty butt or appear to have respiratory problems, they just died :hit Yesterday I noticed my last white chick (Named Pigeon) was sneezing and wiping its beak a lot. I checked for running nose, bubbles in eyes, watery eyes but there was nothing. I gave it sugar water and some plain yogurt (no additives). Last night it got worse, the chick is no longer sneezing but sort of makes this weird cheap on a regular basis and it also looks like its struggling to take a breath. Not panting as such but making an effort to gulp a breath. I jumped on here and researched like crazy, i've checked temp which is sitting at 28 with not much fluctuation as brood box is in a closed in area. All other chicks seem to be fine, active, eating and drinking. I've given its some hard boiled egg and some more plain yogurt and sugar water. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? Should I buy something from vets? If yes, what do you recommend? Thanks so much Below is pic of Pigeon mid gasp.
Sorry for your loss. Are they 4 weeks old or 4 x week old chicks ? By 4 weeks of age mine are usually outside all day and in for the night. I don't use wood shavings anymore as I lost a few to choking. How big is the brooder and do they have plenty of room to get away from the heat ? Easy rule of thumb is, huddling together means they are cold, panting and constant cheeping usually means they are too hot.
 
Sorry for your loss. Are they 4 weeks old or 4 x week old chicks ? By 4 weeks of age mine are usually outside all day and in for the night. I don't use wood shavings anymore as I lost a few to choking. How big is the brooder and do they have plenty of room to get away from the heat ?
Easy rule of thumb is, huddling together means they are cold, panting and constant cheeping usually means they are too hot.

Agree with fancy, Mine are out on the grass full time from 3 weeks even in the middle of winter which can get down to -4c or so over night.
 
Hi FancyChook Lady and Satay

Thanks so much for the advice, the company I purchased them from said I could only take them out for half days when they're 4 weeks old then they go outside full time at 5-6 weeks.

My 4 x Silkie's turned 4 weeks old yesterday so I took them outside for their first grass adventure. Little pigeon huddled under all the other girls legs but she did have a few moments where she popped up and took a peck at the grass.

The brood box is about 100cm x 50cm and the company I hired it from said it would be large enough for 6 x silkies. I have 2 x electronic temperature gauges with one at either end of the box. The box has a combination of perspex and wire mesh doors for ventilation. I've never seen them get really cold (bunched up) or really hot (panting), they all seem to meander somewhere in the middle or towards the cooler side.

I'm pretty certain the wood shavings were the cause of Pigeons problems so I'm hoping now they've been removed and she's on antibiotics that she'll start to get better. She wasn't as laboured with her breathing this morning but still isn't 100%. She has started eating again which I take is a good sign. I mixed up some chick starter with plain yogurt which she seemed to like.

I'll take your advice and leave the girls outside during the day. Being new to raising chicks I was worried they might get too cold but it sounds like i'm overthinking it. I really appreciate everyones help
 
Hi FancyChook Lady and Satay

Thanks so much for the advice, the company I purchased them from said I could only take them out for half days when they're 4 weeks old then they go outside full time at 5-6 weeks. 

My 4 x Silkie's turned 4 weeks old yesterday so I took them outside for their first grass adventure. Little pigeon huddled under all the other girls legs but she did have a few moments where she popped up and took a peck at the grass. 

The brood box is about 100cm x 50cm and the company I hired it from said it would be large enough for 6 x silkies. I have 2 x electronic temperature gauges with one at either end of the box. The box has a combination of perspex and wire mesh doors for ventilation. I've never seen them get really cold (bunched up) or really hot (panting), they all seem to meander somewhere in the middle or towards the cooler side. 

I'm pretty certain the wood shavings were the cause of Pigeons problems so I'm hoping now they've been removed and she's on antibiotics that she'll start to get better. She wasn't as laboured with her breathing this morning but still isn't 100%. She has started eating again which I take is a good sign. I mixed up some chick starter with plain yogurt which she seemed to like.

I'll take your advice and leave the girls outside during the day. Being new to raising chicks I was worried they might get too cold but it sounds like i'm overthinking it. I really appreciate everyones help

Sounds like you are doing a great job. Just to put your mind at ease be sure to give them a covered area or a box to hide in and get out of the wind.
Welcome to BYC.
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Good morning folks
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Worked on site yesterday so, as always, playing catch up
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Had a coffee meeting with my bosses and everything on track for the relocation. They are very much OK with it and even talking of replacing my existing tower with a tablet/dynadock/new monitors etc.

Hubby leaves on Monday
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Fishies have moved to their new home and the ponds are ready to put in the car. The car has new shoes and has been serviced for the trip.

The compost bin was dismantled yesterday .. much to the chookens delight .. bugs as far as their eyes could see and their little bellies could handle
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Dusty woke us up at 5AM yesterday morning, crowing!
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Oh, remember Porter, the fledgling Koel [Cuckoo]? We have another one! Same parents, Magpie Larks and we have named this noisy little one Nattie
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Chucky popped by yesterday for a rare visit also; it was nice to see him.

Anyways, so much to do and so little time .. back to it!
 
Hi everyone. On Saturday I took my son for a 1/2 hour driving lesson. All was fine before I left, all the chooks were out on the lawn going in and out of each others runs. When I got back my little Mille Fleur was dead. Just lying on the pavement, my other son was home and it was found not far from his room he said there wasn't any noise. When we picked it up is head flopped so we assumed a broken neck. As she was quite feisty and willing to take on a bigger chook. I thought perhaps she had pecked Bear (German shepherd) and he had picked her up and accidently broken her neck. The girls share the shade with him when its hot he's never hurt them. Occasionally he might nip their tails if the granddaughters are trying to catch them.
Today my son went out to feed and water them at lunch time and found my Araucana dead in the fenced and netted run. She was next to the undercover perchimg area in the run, he picked her up and he said she was stiff but her head flopped. Is it possible it is unrelated or do some chooks have floppy heads when they die. We had quite a lot of rain, thunder and lightening last night, could she have broken her neck falling of the perch in fright. Or is there some condition that does this. Thanks for any help.
 
Hi everyone. On Saturday I took my son for a 1/2 hour driving lesson. All was fine before I left, all the chooks were out on the lawn going in and out of each others runs. When I got back my little Mille Fleur was dead. Just lying on the pavement, my other son was home and it was found not far from his room he said there wasn't any noise. When we picked it up is head flopped so we assumed a broken neck. As she was quite feisty and willing to take on a bigger chook. I thought perhaps she had pecked Bear (German shepherd) and he had picked her up and accidently broken her neck. The girls share the shade with him when its hot he's never hurt them. Occasionally he might nip their tails if the granddaughters are trying to catch them.
Today my  son went out to feed and water them at lunch time and found my Araucana dead in the fenced and netted run. She was next to the undercover perchimg  area in the run, he picked her up and he said she was stiff but her head flopped. Is it possible it is unrelated or do some chooks have floppy heads when they die. We had quite a lot of rain, thunder and lightening last night, could she have broken her neck falling of the perch in fright. Or is there some condition that does this.  Thanks for any help.


So sorry to hear of your loss.

I think that dead chooks tend to have floppy heads but others with more experience in such matters will confirm, I'm sure.
 
LuckySmum so sorry to hear you have lost two chicken....so so sad.
Teila ....sounds like you employer values you....
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I am bit fascinated on what type of work you do?

OldMacDonald I hope pigeon is recovering well

My girls; Madge, Tillie, Black Betty, Milly and Molly are being very contrary not laying for days at a time and some days I find feathers then other days none...not sure what wrong with them! They have vegetarian layer pallets and shell grit at their disposal all day every day. Garlic in one water feeder and Apple Cidar Vinegar in the other. Morning tea is usually yogurt with chia seed or tuna a couple of times per week. Daily greens left overs and purpose grown silver beet or chard. In the afternoons they get wheat, black sunflower seeds and dried meal worms ... mine aren't ready yet! Is there anything else I should be doing!
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Good morning folks
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Aaaw LuckysMum I am so very sorry to hear of your losses
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Sadly sudden death happens and unless they are sent for a necropsy, a definitive cause may never be known. One sudden death always makes me keep an even closer eye on the flock but I have never experienced two close together and that would be concerning. Still, with the number of chickens you have, it could still be a coincidence. I wish I was able to help with a reason but I will have to defer to those more experienced.

I do hope that you do not lose any more. All I can suggest is to keep an eye on them and look for even the slightest sign that things are not right. Chickens are really good at hiding the fact that anything is wrong, sometimes right up until it is too late to do anything.

All of my gals that have passed have had floppy heads when you pick them up and I believe it is just because once gone, the neck/head is not able to support itself.

Susan your gals could just be going through a gradual moult. Blondie is doing that at the moment. Piles of Blondie feathers in the coop and run but she does not look any different. Cilla is also losing feathers and she too does not look much different. But, looking closely at both of them, they have pin feathers under the existing feathers.

On the other hand, when Dusty moults, she drops heaps and looks ready for basting
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Could they be moulting? Have you checked for pin feathers? Be careful if you are picking them up to check, those pin feathers can be very sensitive and they do not much like being picked up when moulting.

To answer your question, I work in IT and I am in the Triage Role for our company’s specialised software and other IT issues. So, basically, I am the first point of contact for over 1,000 users via the Helpdesk or phone. On average, 50 Helpdesk tickets per day. If I can fix it quickly, I do and if it looks like it might take a while, I can escalate it to another team member who is not on the front line and has more time to investigate. Plus, I do research and troubleshooting before escalation to a Developer if required.

I am one of the lucky ones who enjoy what they do. It can be stressful and frustrating, especially during an outage of some description, but all in all, a good job. I have been with the company for coming up to 17 years.
 

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