California - Northern

[juststruttin]

A bear broke In On a side of the yard the the motion detector does not reach and before we could locate her she ate 2 pita pinta , 3 olandsk and a faverolle - all hens . :-(((((((((. Finally decided to go for the hot wire on top fence runner now to figure how to ground it so it gets them when they're not touching the ground. They kind of hop up the post

Oh Candy, Really sorry to hear about your loss. I can't even imagine having to deal with keeping birds safe from Bears.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

We're going camping tomorrow. So of *course* I step in a hole on the way to fill the chickens' waterer and feeder to last until we get back

 

[ronott1]

We're going camping tomorrow. So of *course* I step in a hole on the way to fill the chickens' waterer and feeder to last until we get back

Did your sprain your ankle?

Have fun camping!

 

[BCollie]

Alright, so I brought this up probably over a month ago and never really figured out what was wrong. It's getting worse so I'm bringing it up again and hopefully someone will know what is happening go my birds. Their feathers are breaking so all that's left is the downy stuff under the feathers. It is worst on my Speckled Sussex, the feather loss has now spread up her neck and to the side of her wings. I mean, look how bad this is. She's supposed to have brown and white feathers covering her back, like this:

BUT instead, she looks like this!

It is also happening to my Light Brahma and just a little TINY bit to my Blue Andalusian. My Splash Andalusian is unaffected. I have checked the birds over very thoroughly and there are no creepy crawlies on them anywhere, not down where the feathers touch the skin, the vent, nowhere. Even the coop is free of bugs, except flies. I can't figure out what is going on here! ANY ideas?

 

[ronott1]

Alright, so I brought this up probably over a month ago and never really figured out what was wrong. It's getting worse so I'm bringing it up again and hopefully someone will know what is happening go my birds. Their feathers are breaking so all that's left is the downy stuff under the feathers. It is worst on my Speckled Sussex, the feather loss has now spread up her neck and to the side of her wings. I mean, look how bad this is. She's supposed to have brown and white feathers covering her back, like this:


BUT instead, she looks like this!



It is also happening to my Light Brahma and just a little TINY bit to my Blue Andalusian. My Splash Andalusian is unaffected. I have checked the birds over very thoroughly and there are no creepy crawlies on them anywhere, not down where the feathers touch the skin, the vent, nowhere. Even the coop is free of bugs, except flies. I can't figure out what is going on here! ANY ideas?

Treat them any way.

They look like that.

 

[debs_flock]

I would suspect mites and they only come out at night, then hide in cracks and crevices in the coop during the daylight. I'd clean the coop, spray it thoroughly, Sevin dust it and put in all new bedding. I'd probably treat the birds with ivomectrin too just to be on the safe side.

Do some research on mites.

 

[SpringPeeper]

There's several big family gatherings I can't attend this month, so from now until almost the Fourth of July I've got quadruple the chicken chores or more. When all the family members return it will be about time to start transferring some of the birds I've been growing out for them over to their properties as well. It's going to make caring for my own flock seem so quick and easy lol.

 

[casportpony]

A bear broke In On a side of the yard the the motion detector does not reach and before we could locate her she ate 2 pita pinta , 3 olandsk and a faverolle - all hens . :-(((((((((. Finally decided to go for the hot wire on top fence runner now to figure how to ground it so it gets them when they're not touching the ground. They kind of hop up the post

So sorry for your losses!

-Kathy

 

[PetRock]

Alright, so I brought this up probably over a month ago and never really figured out what was wrong. It's getting worse so I'm bringing it up again and hopefully someone will know what is happening go my birds. Their feathers are breaking so all that's left is the downy stuff under the feathers. It is worst on my Speckled Sussex, the feather loss has now spread up her neck and to the side of her wings. I mean, look how bad this is. She's supposed to have brown and white feathers covering her back, like this:


BUT instead, she looks like this!



It is also happening to my Light Brahma and just a little TINY bit to my Blue Andalusian. My Splash Andalusian is unaffected. I have checked the birds over very thoroughly and there are no creepy crawlies on them anywhere, not down where the feathers touch the skin, the vent, nowhere. Even the coop is free of bugs, except flies. I can't figure out what is going on here! ANY ideas?

I have had this happen to some of the lower hens in the pecking order. When I don't have a resident cock keeping order and protecting his girls, my top hen and her few enforcers jump some of the other girls and act like they are mating. They break the feathers on their backs and sometimes pull out feathers on their necks just like a cock would do. When Zorro was here in town, there were no problems and enough girls that they didn't show any wear from mating. But now that he isn't here, a few of the lower girls are showing some signs of feather breakage on their backs by their tails. I've caught top hen and enforcer #1 jumping them. I sure wish that I could keep a rooster here in town!

 

[AlpineButterfly]

Adventures in Foster Broodies, part 5

The babies are growing up! Climbing on mom, learning to navigate the ramp, jumping on logs. Sybil gives them treats and calls them when there's something new to scratch at.