Chicken rant

[BirdBrain22]

I just need to vent. Does anyone else feel like the chicken gods are against them. I got chickens for the first time in spring. I had to treat them for cocci multiple times. One turned out to be a rooster, we couldn’t rehome him so now we are keeping him. We got to older pullets to keep a good hen/rooster ratio. Then we had to go through all the steps of acclimating and introducing new hens and separating our horney cockerel.
Then one of the new hens showed signs of cocci right after the we introduced them. We treated her and she was doing better. Then our rooster broke his beak we had to find a vet that takes roosters. Then another hen started limping and can’t roost. I’ve been keeping an eye on her the last few days to see if it’s just a minor injury but she still isn’t roosting. Now today I found some blood in a stool in the coop again. Oh and all of our hens just started laying but I can’t eat the eggs because the one hen was treated for cocci with a strong antibiotic. I can’t eat her eggs for three weeks from the end of the antibiotic. I can’t tell her eggs apart from the other hens, I can’t separate her cuz our cockerel is in the smaller coop. Also today I found a dirty crumbled up egg shell in the run as well. So are the chickens going to start eating thier own eggs now? Oh and one of the eggs in the nesting box had some poop on it which isn’t a good sign either. I just feel defeated. Is this normal or a serious case of bad chicken luck, I don’t know. I’m really starting to feel hopeless. I change thier water every day clean the coop and run out at least once a week. I don’t know what I could have done differently to prevent any of this from happening. School just started back up for me and winter is around the corner. How the heck am I going to manage these chickens

 

[3KillerBs]

I just need to vent. Does anyone else feel like the chicken gods are against them. I got chickens for the first time in spring. I had to treat them for cocci multiple times. One turned out to be a rooster, we couldn’t rehome him so now we are keeping him. We got to older pullets to keep a good hen/rooster ratio. Then we had to go through all the steps of acclimating and introducing new hens and separating our horney cockerel.
Then one of the new hens showed signs of cocci right after the we introduced them. We treated her and she was doing better. Then our rooster broke his beak we had to find a vet that takes roosters. Then another hen started limping and can’t roost. I’ve been keeping an eye on her the last few days to see if it’s just a minor injury but she still isn’t roosting. Now today I found some blood in a stool in the coop again. Oh and all of our hens just started laying but I can’t eat the eggs because the one hen was treated for cocci with a strong antibiotic. I can’t eat her eggs for three weeks from the end of the antibiotic. I can’t tell her eggs apart from the other hens, I can’t separate her cuz our cockerel is in the smaller coop. Also today I found a dirty crumbled up egg shell in the run as well. So are the chickens going to start eating thier own eggs now? Oh and one of the eggs in the nesting box had some poop on it which isn’t a good sign either. I just feel defeated. Is this normal or a serious case of bad chicken luck, I don’t know. I’m really starting to feel hopeless. I change thier water every day clean the coop and run out at least once a week. I don’t know what I could have done differently to prevent any of this from happening. School just started back up for me and winter is around the corner. How the heck am I going to manage these chickens

Welcome to BYC. I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a rough time with your first birds and aren't getting the joy from them that you should.

I don't know anything about treating diseases, but there are people here who do. The best place to post this sort of problem is the diseases forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

If you show us photos of your coop and run, give us their dimensions, and tell us how you're managing the manure, etc. we might be able to help you figure out how to create the healthiest possible environment going forward.

 

[Sussex19]

Things do tend happens all at once, so hopefully you've had all the bad luck for now.
With the egg shell you found, its quite usual for new layers to have the occasional soft shell egg, which my hens always think are irresistible, but this has never caused them to become egg eaters.
And poop in nesting boxes is fairly normal, maybe one of them is sleeping in it?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome, and so sorry for your difficult summer with these birds.
And listen to @3KillerBs !
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

And it's good to vent! We all do it sometimes, and it helps...

 

[kcan2]

This is the place to come for helpful answers! Eventually you'll beat the curve and get ahead of all of this. It sounds like you have some great cleaning habits established for your flock.
I have a simple wire dog crate I got from Marketplace for $10 that I use to separate a hen when I need to. Just an idea in case you don't want to wait 3 weeks on eggs!

 

[BirdBrain22]

Welcome to BYC. I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a rough time with your first birds and aren't getting the joy from them that you should.

I don't know anything about treating diseases, but there are people here who do. The best place to post this sort of problem is the diseases forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

If you show us photos of your coop and run, give us their dimensions, and tell us how you're managing the manure, etc. we might be able to help you figure out how to create the healthiest possible environment going forward.

Thanks for your encouragement. Here are a few pics of my set up. I was cleaning the coop so that’s why the floor and the roosting bars are gone.

 

[3KillerBs]

How many birds are there, total?

What are the dimensions of the coop and run?

The run seems spacious and airy -- very important for good health. Adding some "clutter" might help with social issues as the flock matures: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

I hope you got assistance with the cocci issues on the other section of the forum.

 

[bjdewell]

I just need to vent. Does anyone else feel like the chicken gods are against them. I got chickens for the first time in spring. I had to treat them for cocci multiple times. One turned out to be a rooster, we couldn’t rehome him so now we are keeping him. We got to older pullets to keep a good hen/rooster ratio. Then we had to go through all the steps of acclimating and introducing new hens and separating our horney cockerel.
Then one of the new hens showed signs of cocci right after the we introduced them. We treated her and she was doing better. Then our rooster broke his beak we had to find a vet that takes roosters. Then another hen started limping and can’t roost. I’ve been keeping an eye on her the last few days to see if it’s just a minor injury but she still isn’t roosting. Now today I found some blood in a stool in the coop again. Oh and all of our hens just started laying but I can’t eat the eggs because the one hen was treated for cocci with a strong antibiotic. I can’t eat her eggs for three weeks from the end of the antibiotic. I can’t tell her eggs apart from the other hens, I can’t separate her cuz our cockerel is in the smaller coop. Also today I found a dirty crumbled up egg shell in the run as well. So are the chickens going to start eating thier own eggs now? Oh and one of the eggs in the nesting box had some poop on it which isn’t a good sign either. I just feel defeated. Is this normal or a serious case of bad chicken luck, I don’t know. I’m really starting to feel hopeless. I change thier water every day clean the coop and run out at least once a week. I don’t know what I could have done differently to prevent any of this from happening. School just started back up for me and winter is around the corner. How the heck am I going to manage these chickens

Geez, when it rains, it POURS! I'm so sorry you're going through this, but just keep on track and before you know it, this will be behind you. I have two large dog pens in my shed that I use from time to time for my dog, I wonder if you have any friends, schoolmates, coworkers, family, etc., who might have a dog pen just sitting around not being used. If not, it might be a good idea to get one that's large enough to use when you need to separate a hen, since the rooster is using the one you have. Good luck, I hope things turn around for you and your flock real soon!

 

[BirdBrain22]

How many birds are there, total?

What are the dimensions of the coop and run?

The run seems spacious and airy -- very important for good health. Adding some "clutter" might help with social issues as the flock matures: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

I hope you got assistance with the cocci issues on the other section of the forum.

There are 5 hens total our coop is small 12 square feet. We are looking into converting a shed into a coop before winter. We also have a rooster, but he is separate from the hens right now. Though he talks to them and can interact with them through the run fence, just can’t touch. The hens are getting along better except for the cocci. They have been on Corid again 1.75 teaspoons per gallon for three days. Still some runny poops and intestinal lining. I’ve been spot cleaning the coop everyday and laying down Cyprus mulch over the stools in the run area. Sorry for the delayed response. It seems every time they come off corid everyone gets cocci again. I’m hoping cleaning the coop and run daily will help.