California - Northern

[Deerling]

Contact CAHFS.ucdavis.edu and find the closest lab to you for a fecal test. Ask them to check for worms and cocci. You can mail in the sample and they charge $10.50. The test will tell you if there are worms and if the treatment worked. There may be a vet that can test too. Treat based on the test.

While waiting, give her a teaspoon of plain yougurt and pro biotics like save a chick pro biotic.

Puffed up is never normal.

Good looking flock!

I was afraid of that. Thanks, Ron. I'll do this tomorrow. Apparently there's an avian vet in Petaluma, so I'm going to call and ask if they can do the testing without a visit fee. If not I'll do the ucdavis one.

Thank you for sharing your pictures. These cheered me up after my horrible afternoon (see story below...)
Yeah!!

A few weeks ago I told a story about seeing an adolescent bobcat stalking my hens but my DH scared it away before it had a chance to do anything... well, I wasn't so lucky today. I got complacent because I hadn't seen it since and was getting lazy about sheparding the girls around the yard (DH hasn't put up the chicken run yet). Luckily I was sitting inside where I could half watch the chickens and I heard a screach, I looked up and a bobcat grabbed one of the girls and ran up the hill. I ran after him yelling and he dropped her. I was sure she was going to be dead but she was just in shock. She has at least one huge gash on her neck, I'm sure there is a matching one on the other side. I put her in a pen inside the coop and am gathering the courage to clean out the wounds per these instructions on post #6:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/723550/large-flesh-wound-new-pictures-added
Tomorrow I'm going to try to locate some penicillin G, I really hope they have it at our feedstore. I'm mad at myself for getting lazy, this didn't need to happen.

I just hope I can help her get better.

Aw, I'm so sorry. How tough. We have seen a bobcat in our yard twice. You did a wonderful job responding to their clucking and saving your hen! Try not to beat yourself up. This isn't the same, but a few months ago my one year old almost fell out one of our windows. It's a one story house but it's built on a slope and some of the windows in the living room are over these weird concrete stairs that lead into the wall of the house (I think because the old house burned down and they built the new one on its foundation? Still weird). Malcolm climbed up on the couch, pushed out the screen and was hanging halfway out the window. I heard him cry and ran to get him (I had stepped into the next room for a split second) and ran across the living room as he slipped further and further out the window. I felt scared and guilty for days. But I told you that just to say near misses like that happen to everyone, and moms and chicken moms (and I know you're both) (and dads, too!) could feel guilty all the live-long day and night if we let ourselves, but you responded to your hen's cry and saved her life! That's really wonderful. It's good we can learn from our mistakes, of course, but at the end of the day we have to be gentle with ourselves.

Pictures?

Bresse First egg:



Not bad for a first egg! 33G

This is the Bresse that laid her first egg today:




It was easter, so who couldn't resist a Lamb and the Lion picture:

I love it when you post pictures!! Is that one of the RIR babies? Man they are cool. And kitties

I love kitties. That one looks like a sweetie pie, too! What's its name? That Bresse is sure a pretty girl.

 

[Ali707]

Pictures? It was easter, so who couldn't resist a Lamb and the Lion picture:

Awwwww. What a good kitty!

 

[threadgeek]

Quote: Thank you for the kind words. That must have been terrifying to see your boy hanging out the window and I'm so glad it was only a near miss. I am a perfectionist and have a tendency to beat myself up for mistakes, but being a mother is teaching me to accept my faults and limitations. I cleaned the neck wound out, it was the only major one but it is huge. I'm concerned about her comfort level for both pain and being separated from the other hens. She is in the coop with them but in a small wire cage, I'll have to see tomorrow if she is showing signs of stress. I'm sorry your hen is still having trouble and hope you can figure out what is wrong with her.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

love the cat/chick pic Ron

So we had a intense thunder storm yesterday with a bit of accumulating hail. Lots of lightning and thunder I guess.
Our 2 labs somehow hoped the fence and ran off

They are old dogs (10)
and One is terrified of Thunder. I feel so bad for them. It was nice when we left to Roseville yesterday. She was probably really scared. The other one just follows her. We live by Eldorado National forest so I am hoping they are around here somewhere and did not head east.

 

[PetRock]

Our Easter:

Good ol' Balthazar


Malcolm and Buffle


Our Partridge Cochin roo. We call him Dino-Baby right now. The Polish in the background is one of Clementine's special girls. She's so sweet, Clementine named her Cotton.


Ducks! Rapunzel ripped off her back toenail yesterday. I put corn starch on it and it stopped the bleeding. Seems fine today.


Ms. Coulter, the Sultan. She's a weirdo, but I kind of like her.


Much loved SLW Huckle.


Our cat, Scout, hanging out on the dirt pile with the chickens.


Malcolm in time-out for throwing dirt clods at the chickens, but BO roo Gilbert is visiting him anyway


More chickens mob the hill and chase Scout off (she's in the top right corner)


Colombian Wyandotte, Anne





Iorek Byrnison is kind of ridiculous looking, but he broke up a squabble today. He's going to be a good roo.

Cute chick pics! I love the two with Malcolm and his little feathered friends!

 

[PetRock]

We have a chick!!! Should I take it out and put it in the brooder? No one else has pipped, and I don't want her to kick her friends.

Congrats on the chick! I had one little quail hatch yesterday and quite a few have pipped but no other ones out this morning. The poor little one is hiding underneath the paper quail egg carton thing. I cut the tops of all the bumps and she has just been tunneling underneath all the other eggs. I hope more hatch out today so she has company!

 

[PetRock]

Pictures?

Bresse First egg:



Not bad for a first egg! 33G

This is the Bresse that laid her first egg today:




It was easter, so who couldn't resist a Lamb and the Lion picture:

Congrats on the Bresse egg, Ron! My trio are out at the farm. They came from the same place as your pullet so hopefully the girls will be laying soon!

And love the kitty/chick pic!!! I wish that my cat was so mellow. She just turned a year and she is a tiny terror!

 

[tommysgirl]

I love all the pics. Deerling the one of your little boy in timeout made me smile. Is he sitting on a bucket? Forgive me for saying something that many may not agree with but he sounds like a total BOY!

threadgeek, I hope your hen is fine today. We had a coyote on the property yesterday morning and my flock was furious with me for not letting them out of the run until we were all home and the Easter festivities had calmed down enough that we could keep a close eye on them. I agree with what Deerling said about mishaps all of us with kids and animals have stories like yours so we empathize...we don't judge. It's harder to have empathy for yourself I know. When my favorite hen got into our neighbors yard and was killed by their JRT I was sick, But my husband, the wise and wonderful, reminded me of how happy Shirley's short life had been and free ranging (and meal worms) had been the biggest part of that. Doesn't sound as good coming from me but it made me feel better to realize that though things happen when you free range hens, it's still the best thing and happiest thing.

Congrats on Quail Babies!

Last night I started out drooling over silver penciled rocks then I ended up looking at different chicken breeds...I do that way more than is NORMAL and came across Icelandic Chickens... They are added to my dream flock list.

I am a researcher by nature...teacher by trade and I think I love chickens so much in part because unlike with dog breeds or colleges or vacation destinations that I have researched,...In reality I have the ability to....over the course of my lifetime actually OBTAIN the ones that I want! It's the coolest thing to realize that. Of course I am limited by space and time as to what I can have right now but dang if I want Icelandics or Brabanters or Dorkings or Mottled Javas or SFH....and I do...I can have them...maybe not all at once but eventually and that is really a satisfying thought.

I love the way my red black and white hens look against the green grass. I look forward to seeing the rainbow grow.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

My Bresse pullet laid her first egg today!

Now I need to get a Rooster ......The new ones are a month old now.......

Woot! Congrats!!

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Sweet! I love old livestock catalogs.

Hopefully this makes you smile like it did me but I am easily amused, 1934 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog...

Len