California - Northern

[Happy Chooks]

I was out tending birds this afternoon while the plumber was repairing more rodent damage to our Plex waterlines. The pigeons had knocked an egg out of the box and I noticed a crack in it. I desired to candle for the heck of it and grabbed the one left in the box also. We have a parlor roller developing nicely. After all the blanks they have sat on it is nice to have one developing. It looks pretty close to hatching also. I happened to position it so I could the head, neck and wings, I've never been able to do that with the chicks.

The plumber thinks I'm nuts, he caught me wandering around talking to the birds and thought I was on the phone. He gave me a strange look when I told him I was just talking to the girls.

We found a Robin's nest with 3 eggs in it. I thought about candling them, but when I got close enough, one of them was rotten and STUNK! So I rethought that and left it alone. I did look at the pretty eggs though.

 

[PetRock]

a couple of better pictures, as the babies were just out romping around again -- these pictures were taken through my front door:

there are FOUR of them, and possibly a fifth -- either that or a young adult who's helping to raise them (not the same as Mama, who's bigger)


so frickin' cute!!!!!!

Adorable!!! How fun to be able to watch them from your front door!

 

[ronott1]

Is anyone hatching this weekend?

I have one going.

 

[debs_flock]

Is anyone hatching this weekend?

I have one going.

I am, but I just got home from moving all the eggs down to CalExpo. Hopefully they will be hatching there.

I got an emergency email from them this morning..................we have LOTS of empty cages, please bring a s**tload of birds to fill up the building. I just dropped off 19 juvenile birds out of a growout pen, some are still peeping like chicks, but they are LF so look like adult bantams to the public.

 

[member 142084]

Anyone having issues of chickens just dying? Seems to be on days that get hot or around them.. I am loosing 1-5 birds a week. ages vary from mature layer, to pullet, even chick. They all seem fine but I go out ans find them just dead. I have had heat kill them before, but not this much :/ They do have shade.

 

[casportpony]

Anyone having issues of chickens just dying? Seems to be on days that get hot or around them..  I am loosing 1-5 birds a week. ages vary from mature layer, to pullet, even chick.   They all seem fine but I go out ans find them just dead. I have had heat kill them before, but not this much :/  They do have shade.

Wow, unless you have thousands, that's a huge percentage to lose. Time to use the free to CA residents necropsy service at UC Davis.

-Kathy

 

[ronott1]

Anyone having issues of chickens just dying? Seems to be on days that get hot or around them.. I am loosing 1-5 birds a week. ages vary from mature layer, to pullet, even chick. They all seem fine but I go out ans find them just dead. I have had heat kill them before, but not this much :/ They do have shade.

Heat stress brings out problems.

Fatty liver disease will present this way with a ruptured liver and death.

There can be many things that will do this though.

Check out the post above from Kathy and click on her links for the free Necropsy service.

 

[caychris]

Heat stress brings out problems.

Fatty liver disease will present this way with a ruptured liver and death.

There can be many things that will do this though.

Check out the post above from Kathy and click on her links for the free Necropsy service.

For those with nipple waterers have you checked to see that the birds still get water ( and does it stay cool enough for them).

I saw my girls pecking at one of the water containers every day but the other day when I checked the nipples one of them had come apart and they were not able to use it.(it didnt let any flow so it didnt drain the bucket) A couple of other times Ive found that one or the other nipple will not flow water when pressed and I have to clean it or adjust it. In the heat especially dont just check the storage tank check the nipples too. They can have all the cold water in the tank but if they cant get it it does no good.

Just thinking of some of the things we take for granted.

 

[member 142084]

Thanks. Is there a time limit for them to accept a corpse?

I hope it's not some bird flu. I do on occasion hear a sneeze, but not all that much. Yeah I had 35 hens/pullets. The ducks are uneffected. I have lost 11 in the last 2 months 6 in the last 2 weeks. not counting chicks. I also lost 3 roosters our of 12. We butchered 7 recently and I found nothing in them but did fine they had bird lice. I have since dusted. again. But di dnot see them in with the hens nor on my ducks who are with the hens.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks. Is there a time limit for them to accept a corpse?

I hope it's not some bird flu. I do on occasion hear a sneeze, but not all that much.  Yeah I had 35 hens/pullets. The ducks are uneffected. I have lost 11 in the last 2 months 6 in the last 2 weeks. not counting chicks. I also lost 3 roosters our of 12. We butchered 7 recently and I found nothing in them but did fine they had bird lice. I have since dusted. again. But di dnot see them in with the hens nor on my ducks who are with the hens.

I've had some die on Friday, stuck them in the fridge and shipped on Monday. If you have a body now, you should ship it today. If you can't ship today, call the lab and ask how to proceed.

-Kathy