- Jun 8, 2009
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This is my first post, so please be gentle! ;^)
I have 8 hens (2 buff orpingtons, 6 ameraucanas) and 10 guineas. The buff orpintons and guineas are doing great. The ameraucanas all seem healthy except for one, a runtie hen that just doesn't seem to thrive. Understand--she doesn't appear ill, just not as energetic as the rest. She's always been this way, even when she was very young. She's not put on weight like the rest of the ameraucana hens, and she doesn't smell very good (this is a recent development). Her bottom is sometimes dirty, but not always.
All of the ameraucanas drool from time to time, I don't know why. (Not the buffs--I've never seen them drool, nor the guineas.) The ameraucanas all eat well, are active. They're not quite of age to lay yet. We have a 12x10 chicken yard and a 5x12 coop. I use food grade DE in and around the coop and yard. I'm using the deep litter method for the coop, and it seems to work nicely--no overly bad odors, the litter is mostly dry.
The way the chicken yard is built, it's unlikely that any little frogs or toxic bugs are getting in, but it's not impossible. The two buff hens free range, but I've not allowed the ameraucanas or the guineas to free range yet, since what I've read indicates they're not quite old enough. They're only about 8 weeks old, so not quite full grown. We do throw grass in the yard, mainly for the guineas, who love to eat it. The chickens will peck at the greens, but they're not really as thrilled about them as the guineas.
We don't use any herbicides or pesticides on our property. I've not wormed the hens or the guineas, but most of the folks I know around here with chickens don't, so I'm not sure whether to worm them or not.
Any idea why the ameraucanas drool? And, any suggestions for getting my little runtie hen to thrive? (Or should I assume she has some kind of congenital problem?)
Any assistance or advice is appreciated.
--
amirek
I have 8 hens (2 buff orpingtons, 6 ameraucanas) and 10 guineas. The buff orpintons and guineas are doing great. The ameraucanas all seem healthy except for one, a runtie hen that just doesn't seem to thrive. Understand--she doesn't appear ill, just not as energetic as the rest. She's always been this way, even when she was very young. She's not put on weight like the rest of the ameraucana hens, and she doesn't smell very good (this is a recent development). Her bottom is sometimes dirty, but not always.
All of the ameraucanas drool from time to time, I don't know why. (Not the buffs--I've never seen them drool, nor the guineas.) The ameraucanas all eat well, are active. They're not quite of age to lay yet. We have a 12x10 chicken yard and a 5x12 coop. I use food grade DE in and around the coop and yard. I'm using the deep litter method for the coop, and it seems to work nicely--no overly bad odors, the litter is mostly dry.
The way the chicken yard is built, it's unlikely that any little frogs or toxic bugs are getting in, but it's not impossible. The two buff hens free range, but I've not allowed the ameraucanas or the guineas to free range yet, since what I've read indicates they're not quite old enough. They're only about 8 weeks old, so not quite full grown. We do throw grass in the yard, mainly for the guineas, who love to eat it. The chickens will peck at the greens, but they're not really as thrilled about them as the guineas.
We don't use any herbicides or pesticides on our property. I've not wormed the hens or the guineas, but most of the folks I know around here with chickens don't, so I'm not sure whether to worm them or not.
Any idea why the ameraucanas drool? And, any suggestions for getting my little runtie hen to thrive? (Or should I assume she has some kind of congenital problem?)
Any assistance or advice is appreciated.
--
amirek
