Bad Luck Bantams

[RoyalChick]

Thank you! We were discussing Willow, who you helped me with months ago when she was having neurological issues. She did show symptoms directly from the hatchery.

Was it Marek’s?

 

[thecatumbrella]

Was it Marek’s?

I forgot to have her tested before she was euthanized, unfortunately. But it would have been a long shot, like you said.

 

[SkyAJK]

I want to give you a big hug as I read through your posts of this chicken difficulty!! A big hug

You are spending a great deal of time and a lot of care for your flock to know them individually so well.

I am on my 3rd cup of coffee reading all parts stories of your flock. As I read through it, I want to come over and take some of your flock home temporary to give you a short break and together we will work out what to do next.

Early this year, I went through such flock trouble like you are now, I draw a diagram of my flock who did what, and I ended up with 2 flocks instead of 1. 1 individual hen sleep in the garage at night and join the flock in the morning. Each changes take time for the flock to settle and sometime I did let the bully go on so long room to hide and no blood. I put in temporary divider in the coop, make sure it completely dark also so they don't see each other.

The broody hen is good, she sits quietly so that give your flock time to settle, broody hen is aggressive so she could also cause some disturbances in the flock that what my broody hens did.

I am so glad you shared your stories, and I hope thing will workout for your flock sooner. You got the love for your flock so it will come out good in the end. Hang in there we are all with you on this.

 

[Slothinc]

Wow, I cannot believe all that you have been through!! I love that you still have a sense of humor in your posts despite everything that has happened. I was always skeptical of the sexed bantams from Meyer. Now even moreso. It is definitely possible that they are getting injured or trauma from the vent sexing. Not saying that has been the cause of your problems, but I am glad that you are talking about this. I won’t feel bad telling chick buyers that bantams shouldn’t be vent sexed.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Wow, I cannot believe all that you have been through!! I love that you still have a sense of humor in your posts despite everything that has happened. I was always skeptical of the sexed bantams from Meyer. Now even moreso. It is definitely possible that they are getting injured or trauma from the vent sexing. Not saying that has been the cause of your problems, but I am glad that you are talking about this. I won’t feel bad telling chick buyers that bantams shouldn’t be vent sexed.

Same. Meyer sells Splash Ameraucana (and several other) breeds of bantams that I want. And if all goes well with my order next month, I intend to get some one day. However, I do think I'll stick to straight run. Getting all cockerels would be unfortunate, but I'll rehome them and it will all work out. I figure I don't have any higher risk of all males from them as I do from the bins at TSC.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I want to give you a big hug as I read through your posts of this chicken difficulty!! A big hug

You are spending a great deal of time and a lot of care for your flock to know them individually so well.

I am on my 3rd cup of coffee reading all parts stories of your flock. As I read through it, I want to come over and take some of your flock home temporary to give you a short break and together we will work out what to do next.

Thank you, Sky! I know you've been having troubles as well. I wish our chickens could understand that all is well, there's plenty of resources, and they're safe. I appreciate that you read through the saga!

Wow, I cannot believe all that you have been through!! I love that you still have a sense of humor in your posts despite everything that has happened. I was always skeptical of the sexed bantams from Meyer. Now even moreso. It is definitely possible that they are getting injured or trauma from the vent sexing. Not saying that has been the cause of your problems, but I am glad that you are talking about this. I won’t feel bad telling chick buyers that bantams shouldn’t be vent sexed.

Thank you, Sloth. It's been a ride for sure. If we ever add to the bantam flock, I might looked into sex-linked breeds that can be determined at hatch. I've seen a couple through specialty breeders.

 

[thecatumbrella]

~ COOP PLANNING ~​

Dandelion says "Good morning!" from ISO (aka, the isolation partition), and shows off her nesting trug.

Also caught Hornet bopping Poppy on the head in the background, a new development in the pecking order. This just reinforces the idea that we need to buy time while they're at point-of-lay. Personalities can change. For instance, Clover, the lowest ranking bird, also happens to be the heaviest. She could start laying eggs and decide to throw her weight around, even over Dandy. Problem solved? Or does that create its own issue?

Okay, coop stuff. I know what I want to build (or purchase): a 8-foot wide by 5-foot deep walk-in. Single roost bar over shelf, with nesting boxes and an integration/broody/bully cage underneath for nighttime use. Am I going to procure this within the next month so that Dandelion can reintegrate at bedtime? No. No, that's impossible. My husband already blew through his vacation time helping me put out other chicken fires this year, and believe it or not, I have a full-time job as a chronically ill person. I mean, technically I could work myself like a dog and go outside to build all day, every day. Do I want to do that for 4 little muppets that can't get along? Not really. If anyone's familiar with the spoon theory, I'm just completely out of spoons.

This leaves me with the bleak option of investigating other prefabs. Yes, I just threw up in my mouth a little. It would be a stopgap until I can erect the coop of my dreams (which could still happen before winter), and needs to meet some very specific criteria:

• Sufficiently ventilates for winter: I really don't see a situation where it needs to work for next summer. If the real coop's not done by then, we're in dire straights over here.
• Mouse proof: My run is NOT mouse proof, unfortunately, and there's nothing I can do about that short of building another run. We're working to clear the population that found the stupid sunflower seeds, but I live in the woods... we have mice in our car, FFS.
• Raised roost bar: It's harder to throw punches in the air, and the recipient can always jump down to escape and readjust.
• 12" of roost space per bird: I can take advantage of the fact that I only have 4 bantams.

I'll report back if I find anything promising. Otherwise our backup options are:

• Keep using the Eglu Cube as is, and pray I can find birds that get along at point-of-lay.
• Take the nesting box wall out of the Cube and extend the roost bars. This would almost be close to the floor space of the Eglu Pro, but I wouldn't get the vertical space I want. They would also need an alternative nest box solution.
• Give up and start over in the spring. This would gut me. I do have several fantastic rehoming contacts, and I know the girls would be okay, but I'm selfish. We've come so far and I want this to work.

(My covered run, with the Eglu Cube and ISO area at the far end)​

 

[ChickenChick46]

~ COOP PLANNING ~​

Dandelion says "Good morning!" from ISO (aka, the isolation partition), and shows off her nesting trug.

Also caught Hornet bopping Poppy on the head in the background, a new development in the pecking order. This just reinforces the idea that we need to buy time while they're at point-of-lay. Personalities can change. For instance, Clover, the lowest ranking bird, also happens to be the heaviest. She could start laying eggs and decide to throw her weight around, even over Dandy. Problem solved? Or does that create its own issue?

Okay, coop stuff. I know what I want to build (or purchase): a 8-foot wide by 5-foot deep walk-in. Single roost bar over shelf, with nesting boxes and an integration/broody/bully cage underneath for nighttime use. Am I going to procure this within the next month so that Dandelion can reintegrate at bedtime? No. No, that's impossible. My husband already blew through his vacation time helping me put out other chicken fires this year, and believe it or not, I have a full-time job as a chronically ill person. I mean, technically I could work myself like a dog and go outside to build all day, every day. Do I want to do that for 4 little muppets that can't get along? Not really. If anyone's familiar with the spoon theory, I'm just completely out of spoons.

This leaves me with the bleak option of investigating other prefabs. Yes, I just threw up in my mouth a little. It would be a stopgap until I can erect the coop of my dreams (which could still happen before winter), and needs to meet some very specific criteria:

• Sufficiently ventilates for winter: I really don't see a situation where it needs to work for next summer. If the real coop's not done by then, we're in dire straights over here.
• Mouse proof: My run is NOT mouse proof, unfortunately, and there's nothing I can do about that short of building another run. We're working to clear the population that found the stupid sunflower seeds, but I live in the woods... we have mice in our CAR FFS.
• Raised roost bar: It's harder to throw punches in the air, and the recipient can always jump down to escape and readjust.
• 12" of roost space per bird: I can take advantage of the fact that I only have 4 bantams.

I'll report back if I find anything promising. Otherwise our backup options are:

• Keep using the Eglu Cube as is, and pray I can find birds that get along at point-of-lay.
• Take the nesting box wall out of the Cube and extend the roost bars. This would almost be close to the floor space of the Eglu Pro, but I wouldn't get the vertical space I want, and they would need an alternative nest box solution.
• Give up and start over in the spring. This would gut me. I do have several fantastic rehoming contacts, and I know the girls would be okay, but I'm selfish. We've come so far and I want this to work.

View attachment 4205529

(My covered run, with the Eglu Cube and ISO area at the far end)​

Dandelion is just so darn cute!!

 

[DSJMHenDen]

First of all, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about your flock adventures in this thread. I'm sorry that it has been a distressing time. I empathize as I feel like I've had quite the roller coaster ride intro to chickens myself this year. I felt like I got tossed in the deep end not knowing how to swim, but thinking that reading about swimming was sufficient. I've wanted to throw in the towel so many times, but being so financially invested has pushed me through to somewhat sunnier times. I only became a chicken owner in January, so I always caution of my inexperience in my comments

Ideas that have worked for me that might be worth a shot, I mean can't hurt at this point right, haha
*could you add an additional layer of board to your lovely dust bath areas? I have a similar thing for a visual break.
*I'm not really familiar with your coop, but could you shove a piece of cardboard to kind of divide the roost bar? I read about it on here, and when I integrated my little girls, we kept it for a bit to keep the hens from chasing them off the roost. It would be a cheap and easy option, and nowadays, who doesn't have extra boxes laying around
* 5x8 are my same coop dimensions. If you are planning on a walk in, I would highly suggest looking into a shed. It was a beast to build, but I'm not a real experienced builder either.
* One of my girls favorite thing is an old kids playhouse thing we found on our local classifieds for like 10 bucks. Technically it's a pirate ship play house, but it gives them lots of little hidey spaces and vertical area. Plus, it's plastic, so easy to spray the crap off haha.

Your little monsters are so cute. I hope any of this is somewhat helpful, and I look forward to following what is to come.

 

[thecatumbrella]

First of all, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about your flock adventures in this thread. I'm sorry that it has been a distressing time. I empathize as I feel like I've had quite the roller coaster ride intro to chickens myself this year. I felt like I got tossed in the deep end not knowing how to swim, but thinking that reading about swimming was sufficient. I've wanted to throw in the towel so many times, but being so financially invested has pushed me through to somewhat sunnier times. I only became a chicken owner in January, so I always caution of my inexperience in my comments

Ideas that have worked for me that might be worth a shot, I mean can't hurt at this point right, haha
*could you add an additional layer of board to your lovely dust bath areas? I have a similar thing for a visual break.
*I'm not really familiar with your coop, but could you shove a piece of cardboard to kind of divide the roost bar? I read about it on here, and when I integrated my little girls, we kept it for a bit to keep the hens from chasing them off the roost. It would be a cheap and easy option, and nowadays, who doesn't have extra boxes laying around
* 5x8 are my same coop dimensions. If you are planning on a walk in, I would highly suggest looking into a shed. It was a beast to build, but I'm not a real experienced builder either.
* One of my girls favorite thing is an old kids playhouse thing we found on our local classifieds for like 10 bucks. Technically it's a pirate ship play house, but it gives them lots of little hidey spaces and vertical area. Plus, it's plastic, so easy to spray the crap off haha.

Your little monsters are so cute. I hope any of this is somewhat helpful, and I look forward to following what is to come.

Hi there! I appreciate the read and the thoughtful suggestions! You've clearly had to work through the kinks yourself, and I'm happy to hear things have smoothed out since.

I normally have 18" walls on my dig boxes for visual blocks, but scale them down to 6" when someone's in the isolation area. They can get very distressed if they lose sight of the flock. I do have the option to add a small divider to the roosts if I remove the nest box wall. In fact, it would be part of the build for extending the roosts! Good to know that something so simple worked for you, and it honestly gives me more confidence in that option going forward. So thank you! And I LOVE your playhouse idea! We'll be doing a run remodel this fall to adapt for the smaller flock, and this is something I will definitely look into.