California - Northern

[Happy Chooks]

Ok, behavior question for one of my lowest ranking hens. I have seen her walk low with her tail fanned and her wings loose while making a clucking sound. What is she doing??? I see this when I have the chicks playing in their pen next to the big girls, but I don't watch the big girls long enough without the babies there to know if she only does it around the babies. Any ideas?

She is challenging them - letting them know she is above them in the pecking order. Broodies will also do it to tell others to stay away.

 

[juststruttin]

Ahhh, kind of like those spa fish pedicures!!! Good idea. I just read they banned the fish ones in CA (can't sterilize them between customers, LOL), maybe they'd approve geese!

 

[liz9910]

I need some affirmation. I just culled Gary. Many of you recall who he is. Only the neatest rooster ever...gone mean on me. I never did anything to him but over the months it's escalated. The more I chased him off, or put him in penned up time out...the more he seemed determined to stalk me. He only sometimes went after my 9 year old son but completely left my 11, 6 and 4 year olds alone. He also did not go after my hubby or mil. It was getting so bad we were penning him up daily just so I could go outside (we free range). Culling him has my 6 year old messed up and my 11 year old is being fake stoic - he ADORED that rooster. Like...loved him. I feel like a horrible person for doing it. I feel like a horrible person that I can even do it. Who can do that?? Me. No one else in my house. Not husband, not mother in law...nope just Amy. And it's not fun, I don't enjoy and I want to barf. Killing for the table is one thing...this was not that. I just feel rotten. But I know I could not give him away- he could be mean to someone else. I couldn't keep him- he was growing spurs. I wouldn't have a purpose for him- can't breed him, can't let him be with the others (or he'd get me). I swear when I was holding him he knew. He kept staring at my face. It was SO weird. Can I just skip to bedtime? I still have to teach Wednesday church to a room full of toddlers. So not feeling it- probably be good for me though. Thanks for listening. <3

I'm so sorry you had to do that I can't imagine..but you did the right thing IMHO

 

[Ali707]

I've been following the day to day "in the life of California - Northern". Loving all the spring chicks and sorry for those lost, challenged and dispatched.

I want to share a story that I think everyone will find enduring, interesting and maybe educational.

From the hatch before my last hatch of fancy pancy Black Copper Marans from debs_flock and SunnyDawns eggs

I hatched a bunch of my EE's, OE's and Polish. All of them were presold except I came up short by one chick for last order of six. There were a couple who were weak so I didn't want to let them go until I knew they would make it and one of the orders wanted more of the OE's so I let him take them, leaving me with one OE and two weaker chicks. Both of the weak chicks died and I was left with the one OE. I went back and forth on offering the lone chick to one of the families who bought the other chicks but I REALLY want an OE! She has the greatest personality and didn't make a huge fuss about being alone at night. She'd only jump out of her brooder in the evenings to come out on the deck and sit with us but was content with various stuffed animals left over from our kids to keep her happy.

I took her up every morning to socialize with the flock and she was good with them but followed me like I was her mom. Before the Marans hatched she was spending her days outside with the new BCM roo Fire Man and his two Blue Copper Marans hens and coming inside at night, still needing the light to keep her warm.

The Marans hatch was due and I hoped she would integrate with them but wasn't sure which way to send her since she was almost ready to go outside. Of course, she was huge compared to the new chicks but within a couple of days I gave her the chance with them. She seemed so happy to have company more within her age so she found her place.

Since she was a hatched chick she really doesn't have the language to talk to the chicks but as the days went on she took her role serious. When a butterfly went over she made a warning sound and the chicks seemed to take note. When the chicks went back in the brooder after their free ranging time I thought she would go back to the Marans where she had been hanging but she didn't want to be separated from them so she took the cooler end of the brooder or hopped up on the roost to cool off but she didn't want to leave them.

The last week has been so windy that the last couple of days wasn't a good time to let them out to stretch their wings so today I moved them up to the grow out pen. When I got home this evening I collected the crew, with some resistance from the baby mama...she really liked the grow out pen, but she hopped up on the basket she'd been riding on since she was a wee hatchling 6 weeks ago and I put them all back in the brooder. My husband had moved the brooder out of the garage to get his '65 Landcruiser out and I needed help putting it back so I left it without the light turned on.

When we went out to move it in the garage and plug in the light, there was this sweet 6 week old OE with 12, 2 week old Marans tucked under her little wings! When we moved it and turned the light on, little heads popped out from under her wings like she was a seasoned broody! It was truly the sweetest thing I have ever seen.
I worried about so many things with raising a lone chick but I certainly never expected her to turn out to be an incredible mom at 6 weeks!

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it.

I love those kinds of stories!

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Good morning! I had a soft shelled egg this morning but I think I know what is going on I hope you all can tell me if I make sense. Della is my least productive layer but she is also the egg in the egg layer x2 now I think. There have been multiple times when, if you counted eggs per chicken it came out 7 or even 8 for 6 in a 24 hour period but the extras and were membrane only eggs. I think that Della doesn't ovulate regularly and when she does ovulate she sometime releases more than one now she has enough calcium in her system that one of those eggs will be hard shelled but the others will not. Does that sound right?
Quote: I taped our little Missy for months but it just frustrated her so I stopped trying to help her and decided if she could get to food and water on her own then she could live her life. Well, it was fine for maybe the first year...she hopped around on one foot using her wing to stabelize herself. But the bigger she got the harder it was to hop around and she stopped coming out of the coop in the morning, choosing to stay in her spot most of the day, coming out to eat and drink. She looked horrible! Her feathers were mangled from using her wings to beat the ground to get herself anywhere and her belly was bare from dragging on the ground. She was the sweetest girl and loved her physical therapy I would give her several times a week and she always talked sweet to me when I came in the coop and I did put her treats closer to her but still encouraged her to move to get them. It was really hard to watch and I questioned her quality of life. Our coop has a lower level that's a step and she got down below on a hot day and when we put her in that night it was dark (she was a black EE) and when I called for her she did her little twill but I didn't know she was down on the lower level where there's no food and water. The next morning she was dead. She lasted 2 years but I have to admit I was relieved when she passed. It was hard to watch her struggle although she always seemed happy.

That's why I cull if they don't get better within a few days. But everyone has to make their own decisions.

 

[Ali707]

Agree, thanks so much for sharing! Its a very sweet thing to picture.

I got six for six today or maybe i should say seven for six. Another egg in an egg but this time the outer egg was membrane and albumen only, no shell. Inside egg was perfect. Don't know who laid it. Probably Della but her vent looked normal. Last time she was swollen and bruised. Weird eggs r us!

What is in your water out there huh? Could be a whole new offering though. Mutant chicken eggs. They may not sell very well though.

 

[ronott1]

What is in your water out there huh? Could be a whole new offering though. Mutant chicken eggs. They may not sell very well though.

One of my Dorking X Hatchery RIR lays a double yolk egg every once in a while. Everyone loves those but I keep them for myself....

 

[ronott1]

Pam, is Channel 12 at your place today at Noon?

I will send my Daughter a text message soon.

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: I taped our little Missy for months but it just frustrated her so I stopped trying to help her and decided if she could get to food and water on her own then she could live her life. Well, it was fine for maybe the first year...she hopped around on one foot using her wing to stabelize herself. But the bigger she got the harder it was to hop around and she stopped coming out of the coop in the morning, choosing to stay in her spot most of the day, coming out to eat and drink. She looked horrible! Her feathers were mangled from using her wings to beat the ground to get herself anywhere and her belly was bare from dragging on the ground. She was the sweetest girl and loved her physical therapy I would give her several times a week and she always talked sweet to me when I came in the coop and I did put her treats closer to her but still encouraged her to move to get them. It was really hard to watch and I questioned her quality of life. Our coop has a lower level that's a step and she got down below on a hot day and when we put her in that night it was dark (she was a black EE) and when I called for her she did her little twill but I didn't know she was down on the lower level where there's no food and water. The next morning she was dead. She lasted 2 years but I have to admit I was relieved when she passed. It was hard to watch her struggle although she always seemed happy.

That's why I cull if they don't get better within a few days. But everyone has to make their own decisions.

I had a chick that was so bad, I literally had to dip it's beak for every bit of water and carry it to it's food for every mouthful for it's first month of life. It then was able to get around like Pam's Missy. It lived for six+ mos and then I found it dead. It had spent all that time dragging to the food/water and being lifted into it's coop at night. My DH is a marshmallow and refused to let me euthanize it. I was afraid we just prolonged the death with a less than enjoyable life. That's why I've decided no more extraordinary efforts to prolong the life of a chick. If it can't walk well by then, I cull.

And I truly believe only the best and strongest should be allowed to be part of the breeding flock.

In our sheep flock, we had a ewe that had to have her lamb pulled for her last year and we had to bottle raise him (we wethered him). This year, her lamb was stuck again, we put the ewe down as well. That is not something you want in a flock of sheep. You need strong, naturally reproducing animals.

 

[zooweemama]

I have a goose egg wiggling! eeee!