Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[thedragonlady]

First...you might want to NOT buy chickens from an auction and expect to get a good bird. Around these parts the only chickens that wind up at auctions are culls and chicken mill products, so you can expect to have chickens that are not in the best of health.

Second...the advice to throw medicine into these inferior and unhealthy birds will only yield birds who need medicine to keep good health. Please don't compound your mistakes by making more of the same. Two wrongs won't make a right....you'll be very lucky indeed to have a good flock from poor beginnings and crutching husbandry methods.

Third...now that you've made the initial mistake, the only recourse is to cull the obvious poor doers and feed optimally for the rest and give it time to see who thrives, who does not. Those that do not should be killed and eaten or killed and fed to the dogs/buried/etc. BOSS and chick treat shouldn't be anywhere near unhealthy young birds and certainly not loads of high powered medicines either. At this point they need to develop their own immunities and they need optimal nutrition to do so...not treats. If you had a malnourished young human would you include candy in their diet?

Never give a med unless you are sure the animal HAS the need for it....if you want to take fecal samples and have them analyzed(or otherwise waste your money and time)then do so, then treat accordingly if treating your flock for intestinal parasites is going to be part of your husbandry methods. If not, then wait and see how the flock does on good nutrition and time, good management and culling the inferior specimens. If you want a strong flock out of the mess you bought, the only way to identify the strong members will be those who are given the normal, good care~this does not include drowning them in meds~and thrive on that care. Those that do not thrive on normal, good care are the ones you should remove...these will never make really good chickens that will produce for years to come. Yes, there are always exceptions but who wants to gamble on that?

Time, sunshine, fresh water and good, healthy nutrition and husbandry is enough for any flock....the ones that do not do well with that level of care are not worth your time.

As a rule of thumb for the future~if you are feeling overwhelmed while taking care of chickens, you either need to get rid of chickens and never try it again or settle down, take a breath and realize you are dealing with chickens....merely chickens. It's not Life in the ER or any other melodrama...it's merely chickens and they are tough, resilient animals or they are animals that die easily~either way you have little control over that. What you cannot control needs to be let go....chickens are for food, enjoyment, fun, etc...if you are feeling stressed then the chickens are not good for your life and need to go.

It's relatively simple.....sit down, go the beginning of the thread, read, drink a cold beverage, settle in and learn from some folks who can teach you how to not feel "overwhelmed" or make you feel panicky over your chicken purchase and new interest.

,

Several things you mention above worry me.

A Newbie has found herself in trouble, merely because she is a Newbie to chickens, and you choose to chastize her,after the fact , for her ignorance in buying auction birds. I do not think she should be punished further by watching these obviously already mistreated birds die off due to a laissez faire attitude on this thread, when she has asked for help. What a "welcome to poultry keeping" idea that is!

You assume that these are inferior birds just because she bought them at an auction. It is rare, but possible to buy very nice birds sometimes, if you are not a Newbie, and know what you are looking at. I know as I had to get my start in Silkies from auctions and traders' rows.

I am in full agreement in culling weakly chickens that have had access to Normal good care, good nutrition, fresh air and sunshine.These birds did NOT, but they now have an owner who wants to help them out. What is the sin in that? We see abused and malnourished dogs every day at our Shelter, who through no fault of their own, have been dumped in horrible condition. Many go to owners who will treat them, and become lovely, long lived dogs.

There is a difference in philosophy here. I will try to help any critter who needs it, barring varmits, whom I will help to heaven.

 

[fowlman01]

Nah...we're all kind of old to be caterwaulin' over chickens, so there isn't much to be fighting over nowadays. I think everyone pretty much accepts that this thread is a little...um...ah...different? We don't really like drama and we're pretty secure in our own methods, so we don't feel too drawn into defending them or touting them too overly much. We just say "this is what works for me and from reading the thread it also seems to works for many of the OTs"...take it or leave it. It's lovely to know that you can say that and mean it....advice freely given and with no strings attached.

Kind of refreshing, huh?

"this is what works for me" is key........what works for me may not work for you because of location, management, climate. feed, type of chicken etc, etc......you name it. Most of it is common sense and trial and error. For those who read this thread and haven't seen me say it before.......The only thing in my chicken medicine cabinet is an ax.

Walt

 

[deek]

Beekissed- Not sugar coating advice and being helpful without insulting the poster can go hand in hand. The opinion that TheDragonLady offered was just not your opinion. I thought all OT were contributing given their vast experience. Perhaps the poster can make up their own mind.

First...you might want to NOT buy chickens from an auction and expect to get a good bird.

The poster already has them in their backyard. Pointing out their mistake doesn't help with the ones already there.

Second...the advice to throw medicine into these inferior and unhealthy birds will only yield birds who need medicine to keep good health. Please don't compound your mistakes by making more of the same. Two wrongs won't make a right....you'll be very lucky indeed to have a good flock from poor beginnings and crutching husbandry methods.

Perhaps the poster isn't thinking of breeding at all and they are just for egg production.

Third...now that you've made the initial mistake, Goodness, gracious, keep telling them of their mistake. the only recourse is to cull the obvious poor doers and feed optimally for the rest and give it time to see who thrives, who does not. Those that do not should be killed and eaten or killed and fed to the dogs/buried/etc. BOSS and chick treat shouldn't be anywhere near unhealthy young birds and certainly not loads of high powered medicines either. At this point they need to develop their own immunities and they need optimal nutrition to do so...not treats. If you had a malnourished young human would you include candy in their diet?

Never give a med unless you are sure the animal HAS the need for it....if you want to take fecal samples and have them analyzed(or otherwise waste your money and time)then do so, then treat accordingly if treating your flock for intestinal parasites is going to be part of your husbandry methods. What if they had decided that preventive measures was part of their husbandry? They are wasting their time and money...If not, then wait and see how the flock does on good nutrition and time, good management and culling the inferior specimens. If you want a strong flock out of the mess you bought,yet another stab at the poor soul that has already made a mistake. the only way to identify the strong members will be those who are given the normal, good care~this does not include drowning them in meds~and thrive on that care. Those that do not thrive on normal, good care are the ones you should remove...these will never make really good chickens that will produce for years to come. Yes, there are always exceptions but who wants to gamble on that?

Time, sunshine, fresh water and good, healthy nutrition and husbandry is enough for any flock....the ones that do not do well with that level of care are not worth your time. This is a great way to tell the poster something helpful.

As a rule of thumb for the future~if you are feeling overwhelmed while taking care of chickens, most people when they begin anything new are overwhelmed at first...the poster is just trying to make good sound choices given her already known mistake...there's much information to go through. you either need to get rid of chickens and never try it again or settle down, take a breath and realize you are dealing with chickens....merely chickens. It's not Life in the ER or any other melodrama...one more time, tell the poster that they are melodramatic and that there isn't a problem if they just cull. it's merely chickens and they are tough, resilient animals or they are animals that die easily~either way you have little control over that. What you cannot control needs to be let go....chickens are for food, enjoyment, fun, etc...if you are feeling stressed then the chickens are not good for your life and need to go. I guess pyschoanalysis of the poster will help them deal with their problem.

It's relatively simple.....sit down, go the beginning of the thread, read, drink a cold beverage, settle in and learn from some folks who can teach you how to not feel "overwhelmed" or make you feel panicky over your chicken purchase and new interest.

Do you think the original poster, with an issue, will sit down, go back to the beginning of their thread, and sip on a cold drink?

 

[Beekissed]

Several things you mention above worry me.

A Newbie has found herself in trouble, merely because she is a Newbie to chickens, and you choose to chastize her,after the fact , for her ignorance in buying auction birds. I do not think she should be punished further by watching these obviously already mistreated birds die off due to a laissez faire attitude on this thread, when she has asked for help. What a "welcome to poultry keeping" idea that is!

You assume that these are inferior birds just because she bought them at an auction. It is rare, but possible to buy very nice birds sometimes, if you are not a Newbie, and know what you are looking at. I know as I had to get my start in Silkies from auctions and traders' rows.

I am in full agreement in culling weakly chickens that have had access to Normal good care, good nutrition, fresh air and sunshine.These birds did NOT, but they now have an owner who wants to help them out. What is the sin in that? We see abused and malnourished dogs every day at our Shelter, who through no fault of their own, have been dumped in horrible condition. Many go to owners who will treat them, and become lovely, long lived dogs.

There is a difference in philosophy here. I will try to help any critter who needs it, barring varmits, whom I will help to heaven.

If you care to start with the first few pages of this thread you might get some answers that will clear up any confusion about the replies to this post. Any new participant to this thread who does not understand the advice given can really avoid confusion if they start at the beginning and then choose to participate thereafter by making a more informed choice.

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed- Not sugar coating advice and being helpful without insulting the poster can go hand in hand. The opinion that TheDragonLady offered was just not your opinion. I thought all OT were contributing given their vast experience. Perhaps the poster can make up their own mind.

Ditto the previous post...please read the first few pages to clear up any confusion about the advice given. The poster then has the liberty to either post, knowing the nature of the thread and the advice given here or to move along where they will feel more comfortable. Your choice.



Quote:
Again, if you read the first few pages, you will find that we are quite up front about how we feel about the advice we give. It's free and it's there for the taking...or not, your choice.

 

[deek]

Ditto the previous post...please read the first few pages to clear up any confusion about the advice given. The poster then has the liberty to either post, knowing the nature of the thread and the advice given here or to move along where they will feel more comfortable. Your choice.




Again, if you read the first few pages, you will find that we are quite up front about how we feel about the advice we give. It's free and it's there for the taking...or not, your choice.

Being upfront and belittling someone are two different things. I have read ALL of the pages.

 

[Beekissed]

And yet....you're still here.

 

[MagicChicken]

Sarah,
Try adding a 1/2 handful of Calf Manna per bird to your feed. You won't believe the difference.

Thanks. I'm going to try it.

 

[thedragonlady]

If you care to start with the first few pages of this thread you might get some answers that will clear up any confusion about the replies to this post. Any new participant to this thread who does not understand the advice given can really avoid confusion if they start at the beginning and then choose to participate thereafter by making a more informed choice.

I have read ALL of the pages, and I have no confusion about any replies to this post. I will continue to give a newcomer to chickens my best advice if asked.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I'm not an OT, but I've found in my 7 years experience that adding a "sand box" under the roosts is a great way to catch poop and make it easier and quicker to clean. This is what works for me and allows me to clean out the coop less. I don't want to spend the time I could be enjoying my birds scooping out poop, know what I mean? I'm about to get some DE and see if adding it to the sand will help keep the smell and nastiness down so that I can clean it out even less.