Australorps breed Thread

It is possibly a feather thing ? Some people trim the feathers away from their eyes ....poor things ..so they can see better

Actually, her feathers don't cover her eyes at all, so I don't think this is it. I'm still leaning towards either neurological or ear some kind of ear problem. It's really hard to check her ears while she's still so small.
 
Actually, her feathers don't cover her eyes at all, so I don't think this is it. I'm still leaning towards either neurological or ear some kind of ear problem. It's really hard to check her ears while she's still so small.

Does she have mareks symptoms?

She may also have a vaulted skull that does not protect the brain. If so, I have read about treating them with aspirin to reduce brain swelling.
 
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Does she have mareks symptoms?

She may also have a vaulted skull that does not protect the brain. If so, I have read about treating them with aspirin to reduce brain swelling.

No Marek's symptoms at all. In fact, no respiratory symptoms whatsoever. She's healthy, active, eats really well, is gaining weight and growing as well as my other two male Silkies....just the head bob. She looks like she's banging out to rock music a few times per day.

Vaulted skull? Hmm.....that's one I haven't heard of. I'm going to have to research that one! Thanks!
 
I hope you never have a problem with coyotes.  I think they are the primary scourge in this part of the country.  Without dogs, the only way we could have chickens is cooped or to try and make very large pens...which, despite what many think...is NOT free-range.  

If it ever came to that, we just wouldn't have chickens. Hell, if we had any sense, we'd get rid of 90% of what we have now and give ourselves a life!  lol


[COLOR=FF0000]EDIT:[/COLOR]  Seriously, before we ever let our lives get into a rut, we WOULD eliminate all but layers enough for us and whatever meat bird we finally decide is best for us...be it the Dark Cornish or one or more of the hybrid crosses we're working on for caponizarion.  As things stand right now... We're all pretty darned content. 

:thumbsup  
is having dogs the only way to keep coyotes away? We do have them in MD. My friend trapped one in her pool gate and the humane society did not kill it, but set it free due to some preservation project. If we had known that the coyote would have been dealt with differently by her or a neighbor. If a dog is the only way, we must invest soon. We have been looking into Great Pyrenees and we're going to put it off another year. Should we?
 
is having dogs the only way to keep coyotes away? We do have them in MD. My friend trapped one in her pool gate and the humane society did not kill it, but set it free due to some preservation project. If we had known that the coyote would have been dealt with differently by her or a neighbor. If a dog is the only way, we must invest soon. We have been looking into Great Pyrenees and we're going to put it off another year. Should we?

I can't think of any other way than keeping dogs of ample size, power and WILL to take on larger predators, especially in dealing with coyotes. We have a lot of dogs..because we like dogs. In fact, we have a lot more dogs than we need.

You don't have to have a monster sized dog to deal with coyotes but if you're going to have just one dog, the Pyr. would NOT be my choice unless you get it from bonafide working stock and get it no later than 8 weeks of age. AND...don't make it a pet, at least not right off but allow it to grow up in the chicken area, but in a way that it can not harm the birds in it's youth.

There are people on here who know a lot more about standard LGDs than I. for working face-to-face with our chickens, we use a non- traditional breed and we use Larger somewhat dangerous dogs to run at-large during the night when the chickens and other dogs are safely locked up.
 
I can't think of any other way than keeping dogs of ample size, power and WILL to take on larger predators, especially in dealing with coyotes.  We have a lot of dogs..because we like dogs.  In fact, we have a lot more dogs than we need.  

You don't have to have a monster sized dog to deal with coyotes but if you're going to have just one dog, the Pyr. would NOT be my choice unless you get it from bonafide working stock and get it no later than 8 weeks of age.  AND...don't make it a pet, at least not right off but allow it to grow up in the chicken area, but in a way that it can not harm the birds in it's youth.

There are people on here who know a lot more about standard LGDs than I.  for working face-to-face with our chickens, we use a non- traditional breed and we use Larger somewhat dangerous dogs to run at-large during the night when the chickens and other dogs are safely locked up.
We only were into that breed bc we have friends that use them for breeding and guarding. I think we need a dog anyway.
 
is having dogs the only way to keep coyotes away? We do have them in MD. My friend trapped one in her pool gate and the humane society did not kill it, but set it free due to some preservation project. If we had known that the coyote would have been dealt with differently by her or a neighbor. If a dog is the only way, we must invest soon. We have been looking into Great Pyrenees and we're going to put it off another year. Should we?

We have sheep and electric fencing... and they absolutely hate it.... one shock is all it takes!!!
lau.gif
Never lost even one to coyotes!!!
We also have a friend that uses a GP to guard their chickens and the thing is the coyotes got smart.... one tackles the GP and the other one goes for chickens!!!
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Hope that this is helpful and Merry Christmas MK
 
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is having dogs the only way to keep coyotes away? We do have them in MD. My friend trapped one in her pool gate and the humane society did not kill it, but set it free due to some preservation project. If we had known that the coyote would have been dealt with differently by her or a neighbor. If a dog is the only way, we must invest soon. We have been looking into Great Pyrenees and we're going to put it off another year. Should we?

Having dogs definitely helps, but if you don't leave your dogs outside to guard the area while you sleep the coyotes can still be a problem. Our dogs are indoor dogs, but still wake us up when coyotes get too close to the house. We'll be investing in electric fencing soon, but for now the triple fencing layer we have has helped considerably. (We fenced in our back yard, have a large enclosed run, and also an enclosed coop within the run). And we have guns....and have used them repeatedly to eliminate persistent problems.
 

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