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

[locknest4]

Mamabokbok we have loads of magpies,crows,water birds, willy wag tails, sparrows, weiros, plus many more birds come into our garden and chook yard.
None of them bother us or the chooks. I was really worried that the magpies who are brazen, would beat up the new chicks but I have seen the newies chase them off. Maybe it's because there are 10 chickens in the flock and they all stick together. Also I haven't been putting out people scraps for the girls to eat as it attracts the natives.
Bethan we don't have bantams, but we did get our new chicks from Liz up the road at comps. We have 5 3/4 leghornns and 5 3/4 Austrolorps. They are now in their eleventh week and are in the coop.
It didn't take them long to figure out that getting pooped on isn't much fun last night everyone was jockeying for a position an the perches! Chickens excel at 'following the leader'

 

[Anniebee]

Hey, has anyone had a Magpie attack their chicken? I was just sitting back watching two of my girls scratching on the grass and a magpie aggressively swooped down onto my black bantams back!!!??? I jumped up and yelled at it and ran towards it and it flew onto the fence before I shoo it away completely

so I know it was definitely a magpie and I can't believe it?! My poor girls ran for their coop and are clearly still shaken up, poor little darlings

should I be concerned about magpies with my chooks or could this just have been a mistake of identity or something?

It is nesting / fledgling time for magpies mamabokbok ... most everywhere in Australia. That is, they start in winter - lay their eggs, hatch and defend. It is more than possible that a magpie family has 'moved in' near to your chickens. Somewhere. Search even in the most densest of small trees to find a nest. But don't disturb it. Wear at least a hat while doing so !!!

They will defend to the death anything they 'think' are a danger to their babies. Look also for a clumsy, barely able to fly, juvenile or bubby bird. They leave the nest and stagger around for a few days ( providing all is well ) and eventually find their feathered wings to soar them aloft. Meanwhile, parents are absolutely ferocious.

We had a family of magpies who came to my call - all 3. Mum, Dad ( Bungwing ), and the first of their offspring - a female who was ultimately sterile ( she was permitted to stay ).

I never had any worries with them, as they fed out of my hand, and 'sang' and called the others, when I asked them to. But anyone else on the property - they'd give a perfunctory swoop. Notihng nasty, only a warning.

At worst, they could only peck at your hens combs perhaps and raise blood. .... They are swooping to warn. The magpie you mention, may have decided to have a go - but would most likely not have made much impression through all those feathers ( on your chickens' back ). More alarming would be if they had a go at the comb or eyes.

Keep a watch out, but I doubt they would harm your chickens to any great degree. Perhaps bantams might be seen as fair game for a magpie on the defensive. Doubt it could harm them, tho.

Cheers ........

 

[appps]

@mamabokbok we had three bantams exist happily with 13 magpies a few years back (we were the local crèche it seems). They never bothered them at all. Hopefully it was just a case of mistaken identity.

 

[Anniebee]

So many posts! Hard to keep up with them all.
Deej211 sorry to hear of ur problems with cocci.

anniebee the book on chooks we have by Jackie French suggests filling an egg (insides removed) with a mix of pepper and mustard and giving it to the egg Eater.
Also read somewhere that if you add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to chooks drinking water it helps with hardening eggs. Not sure if it works. We used to add it to chooks water in our early chook keeping days. Didn't seem to hurt them tho.

Thank you locknest4 ..... that is great advice. Will try that. .... especially the bi-carb in the water. And if I find another soft shell, will fill it with mustard etc. to put her off.

Of course, today - she laid an egg outside of her nesting box ( which has straw stacked in it - she didn't kick it out - just sat for a while

) .... and then laid it outside of the box on thick laid wood shavings ... a WHOLE EGG - NO WEAK SPOTS --- PERFECT.

It is interesting that I gave her some of my home brew / mix yesterday. Cooked rice and vegies, handful of rolled oats, handful of bran, some greens chopped up and scratch mix. Am thinking that some of the goodies in scratch mix 'stuck' to the dried rice and other goodies ... and maybe she got some calcium from shell grit, into her silly gullet, that way.

They love making fibbers of us - don't they. Will give her more of the exactly the same tomorrow ... see what happens.

And thanks to Fancychooklady for the golf ball advice. .... will keep that in mind.

cheers all ----

 

[locknest4]

Annibee my fourteen year old daughter decided to lean all over me and see what was so interesting on the iPad. She clapped her eyes on your avatar and went into silky raptures!

The kids have been petitioning me for years to get them silkies. Do silkies integrate well with other chooks? I heard that they aren't much for egg laying but that they go broody often and make good mothers.
Your Mindy is definitely a character! Hope she behaves herself 2moro :/

 

[Anniebee]

satay .. wow, I just got the shudders .. how awful if you had made the decision to put him to sleep. Granted, you would not know what you know now, in that it may be a misdiagnosis .. but yeah, shudders.

I have only ever had to make that decision once with a dog and that was Charlie-Bear whose epilepsy, at 13 years of age, had got totally out of control and was causing her severe convulsions with temporary blindness and it was my decision, not the Vet’s.

Just my humble opinion, but you know Zeus better than anyone and you are really the only one who can judge his pain level etc. Regardless of the diagnosis and what the Vet tells you, the decision on how he is doing should be on your judgement, not a Vet’s.

[I hope I conveyed that correctly]

I feel for you Teila ... and your Charlie-Bear who had epilepsy.

Our cross bred - Shepherd / Kelpie, Jake had epilepsy ... the Vet I was attending at the time knew little to nothing about the subject, ( big grrrrr ) and it was a Sydney Vet by phone call, who put me on the right track. .... All too late unfortunately, as I was subsequently hospitalised for 4 weeks with DVT - ( bad scene ) without having the chance to seek other Vet protection.... and during that time he went into status epilepticus which killed him. ( which is an ongoing non-stoppable epileptic fit that stops the heart ). He was being cared for by others, who did not know quite how to deal with a serious episode - just gave him his meds. etc. for epilepsy. That stupid vet, didn't even know to take blood samples to test the levels of the epi. meds. in his system, which did not go down at all well with the Sydney expert on epilepsy in dogs. Not at all.

He was only 4 years old .... and had he had proper Vet treatment, could well have lived longer - and happily. So I do know the score about epileptic dogs.

You were brave and right to make that decision, especially for a dog at the age of 13 years, suffering from this condition. It would not have been a good outcome otherwise.

I think we should all remember that a 'second opinion' is our right --- and whether it costs an arm and a leg, it doesn't matter - it's for the good of our precious pet, to have the best advice available.

I have other stories about Veterinary advice - to do with cancer. Suffice to say the so called ' exceptional surgeon' used our beautiful Murphy dog, as an 'experiment' for his own glory ---- "no one has ever done such an operation" ( and apparently they hadn't - it was extremely complicated ) .... if ONLY I had spoken up at the time - but was in too much shock about her cancer, to say and stop anything. He later went on to spruik on his own website, his ' glorious achievement ' at the expense of our Murphy girl. Bustard. I have made it plain since, to anyone interested, exactly what I think of this brute.

Enough already ..... but always seek alternative opinions, if you are not sure.

Anniebee....

 

[Anniebee]

Annibee my fourteen year old daughter decided to lean all over me and see what was so interesting on the iPad. She clapped her eyes on your avatar and went into silky raptures!

The kids have been petitioning me for years to get them silkies. Do silkies integrate well with other chooks? I heard that they aren't much for egg laying but that they go broody often and make good mothers.
Your Mindy is definitely a character! Hope she behaves herself 2moro

I so loved this post ... so happy that your daughter had 'silky raptures'.

Little Moppit was Mindy Araucanas' best friend, and was just delightful with her. She never got to laying more than a few small eggs - and died from pneumonia at around age 1 year.

I only know also from a friend, that silkies do integrate well - they are docile and happy little darlings. I believe they have a tendency to broodiness, but little Moppit never got the chance to do the broody bit. Mindy has though - several times, so I lock her out of her housing ( weather permitting ) and give her food and water outside ... breaks the broody bizzo in about 3 days.

The only thing about silkies ( from my own experience ) is never to allow them to remain wet ( after rain / storms ). .... they are fluffy, more than feathered. Ordinary larger chooks have sleek feathers which resist rain water ( a bit like a ducks feathers actually ) ... but a silkie is different - and the fluffy feathers allows wet to get on and through to their rice paper thin skin.

So - if you have silkies at all - keep them dry at all times, and if they get really wet, bring them inside, towel them down and allow them to dry in a warm atmosphere. Otherwise, just towel them off to the best you can, if the weather is warmish - and they can be warm and dry in coops.

That's my only advice about silkies.

Cheers ...

 

[Bethan]

Well i've been slurped in nicely by you guys, most particularly Teila. Had plans to head over Middle Swan area tomorrow anyway & now decided to call in at Coups ... "just browsing" ... right! If they cant guarantee a bantam hen i can see me bringing home another 3/4 leghorn (love them too Locknest). As i understand it im better to get point of lay age for safer integration. Also am mentally working on the safe, slow process for that. I'm excited

 

[locknest4]

Thank you Anniebee for your advice on silkies
I may 'cave' one day and let them have silkies, but they will definitely have to take a more active role in looking after them!
Because currently I am the one doing all the feeding, watering, coop construction and poop shovelling! LOL!

With regards to getting second medical opinions, I totally agree. The last three months I have spent battling ear infections and a ruptured ear drum. I went to the local medical centre for the first six weeks (1 visit each week) with constant pain, loss of hearing and illness. In desperation I went back to my previous GP who had me into an ENT within the hour. I then got proper treatment and am now on the road to recovery.

I realised that if this was happening to my children I wouldn't have allowed it to go on for so long. I guess it goes to show that we need to take care of ourselves as well as the kids. Good to see people are looking after their flock so well, but don't forget to look after your selves as well

 

[locknest4]

Oh I just have to mention that my daughter thinks it's hilarious that the only 'social media' I participate in is BYC!
Apparently being a 'chook' enthusiastic is not cool
I told her that it was an educational, ideas exchanging, forum with good humour as a bonus
"Sigh" ....teenagers... "Eye roll" ,etc...