Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

OK, let's not jump to conclusions. Can you do a necropsy on the dead bird? This weather has everyone in an uproar. The sudden temp changes are hard on everyone (feathered and not). Certainly that is a possibility, but I would be cautious of using meds when the birds are already stressed with the cold unless I was sure about the problem.

You will figure it out. You are one of the go-to people on this list when problems with flocks rear their ugly heads, it is just really hard to stay objective when they are YOUR birds that are suffering.

I could do a necropsy. I don't know that I *want* to! LOL I would want to do it outside and it's sooooo cold. The body is bagged and in my trash. It's frozen through. I had thought about that, though. I am just thinking a disease is unlikely. But worms really sounds more like it fits the more I think of it. I never noticed any worms in poop-- BUT they are all in very thick shavings and I don't even see the poop. I agree, it might be very hard on them to worm when it's this cold. But worried that if the rest of them have worms so severly-- I should catch it now before they rest start loosing weight or something happens to them. Sigh. Thank you, I feel better for your advice. And usually I am very proactive, I'm all prepared for colds and sniffles... but this blind sided me! There was no heads up on being sick. So thinking this out, must have been internally and we all just had that conversation on how Wazine is great for in between Ivermectin and how Wazine doesn't catch everything. I've never used anything BUT Wazine... so they've never really had a "good" worming.... right? To think I could have prevented this. Just makes me angry with myself.

I'm glad your birds were okay even with their light out. I'd have done the same thing-- trooped out there at 6am too. I've been checking on the silkies since my hen died. I went out there late, late last night to get one last look before I could finally go to bed. I'm worried about them.

 

[michelleml]

Its been freezing for a few days and with no electricity in coop water is freezing. I noticed my roos comb has turned black on his points. Is there anything I can do? I covered it in vasiline but not sure if it will help.

Going to need to get a de icer for horse & donkey water also cause I cant keep it from freezing

Stay warm its going to be freezing again for us

 

[lizzyGSR]

I have another question about my injured goose. Considering his/her wound is on the foot and that geese don't tend to be very careful about where they walk, how do I tell if the foot is infected? What do I need to look for if a problem starts? The wound isn't very big and looks to have scabbed over now, but I'm still concerned about possible infection/problems in the healing process.

Also, I was planning on putting them back outside today. We have several inches of snow on the ground and there is ice where the snow has been trampled and around the water bowls. Is there any reason I shouldn't put the injured goose and his/her friend back outside?

 

[JosieChick]

Danz- SO sorry about your little olansk dwarf hen, such a bummer. I hate losing birds.

Trish-Sorry about your maran hen and the dog.

I lost a foundation bird of mine that I have been using to start my flock today. I paid $100 for her. Sigh. I'm so glad I have gotten a lot of chicks out of her, but I had BIG plans for her this Spring. She was going to help with my black project. I'm so sad. I don't think it was the cold that killed her though.

Anyone have any ideas on what killed her? I noticed yesterday that she was not feeling well. She was hunched over and by herself. I picked her up and she was light weight! So thin!!! I immediately sprinkled her down with Sevin dust along with everyone else. I was hoping it was mites and she'd be fine. But today she must have died during the day while I was gone. That's the only "symptoms" I have to work with. Light weight and by herself and acting depressed. Obviously not eating. Everyone else seems fine. I checked crops tonight on all the silkies, and they've all been eating. The water NEVER froze, so it's not lack of water or lack of food. Both have been full. Disease???? Or mites???? Or maybe she just wasn't doing good in the cold???

Oh, so sorry! How sad. I lost one of my really nice black cochin boys a few weeks ago and it was devastating. His necropsy and histopathology came back as inconclusive from K State. The only thing noted was that he was on the thin side (so hard to know when they are so fluffy) and he appeared to be having crop motility problems. He was indeed impacted when I lost him and may have been several times in the past and I didn't know about it and he went without for a while before it managed to clear on its own which weakened him.

I dont know what it was about today. I am sorry to everyone who has lost a bird today. Darn it all. I just lost the one chick and everyone else is doing fine. I sure hope tomorrow is better but like others I am terribly worried about the birds tonight. It is so cold out there and my coop walls are not all the thick. I just have to keep reminding myself that they do much better in the cold than the heat and I need to give them more credit. But like a mother,, I will worry until I open that coop door and see everyone run out.
I hope everyone had a good christmas besides the loses of birds. Merry christmas dear BYC friends, stay warm tonight.

Sorry about your little chick. Most of my birds are in single walled plywood or metal buildings and they do great. Just think big, fluffy down coats. Plus they stick their heads under their wings and sit on their feet so they are probably pretty toasty even when we are freezing our tails off!

I could do a necropsy. I don't know that I *want* to! LOL I would want to do it outside and it's sooooo cold. The body is bagged and in my trash. It's frozen through. I had thought about that, though. I am just thinking a disease is unlikely. But worms really sounds more like it fits the more I think of it. I never noticed any worms in poop-- BUT they are all in very thick shavings and I don't even see the poop. I agree, it might be very hard on them to worm when it's this cold. But worried that if the rest of them have worms so severly-- I should catch it now before they rest start loosing weight or something happens to them. Sigh. Thank you, I feel better for your advice. And usually I am very proactive, I'm all prepared for colds and sniffles... but this blind sided me! There was no heads up on being sick. So thinking this out, must have been internally and we all just had that conversation on how Wazine is great for in between Ivermectin and how Wazine doesn't catch everything. I've never used anything BUT Wazine... so they've never really had a "good" worming.... right? To think I could have prevented this. Just makes me angry with myself.

I'm glad your birds were okay even with their light out. I'd have done the same thing-- trooped out there at 6am too. I've been checking on the silkies since my hen died. I went out there late, late last night to get one last look before I could finally go to bed. I'm worried about them.

You could send her to K State for a necropsy. Your vet can get you the necessary info and how to ship her. It could possibly give you valuable info about her death. The gross necropsy is free so all you have to do is pay to ship her (which usually runs around $30 for overnight) and if you want further testing you need to write on the form to contact you to authorize histopathology or recommended further testing.

I have another question about my injured goose. Considering his/her wound is on the foot and that geese don't tend to be very careful about where they walk, how do I tell if the foot is infected? What do I need to look for if a problem starts? The wound isn't very big and looks to have scabbed over now, but I'm still concerned about possible infection/problems in the healing process.

Also, I was planning on putting them back outside today. We have several inches of snow on the ground and there is ice where the snow has been trampled and around the water bowls. Is there any reason I shouldn't put the injured goose and his/her friend back outside?

If she were mine and I had a place to keep her in for a few days off the snow and ice I would. That way the scab can heal up and she won't tear it off and start bleeding again. If the wound doesn't look like its getting smaller, clean and dry it may be infected. Look for oozing, pussy discharge, edges of the wound turning white or curling out and really red angry looking open sore if it isn't healing. I bet if its scabbed over she will heal up fine and not have any trouble with infection.


Belated Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Stay warm!

 

[chicken danz]

I could do a necropsy. I don't know that I *want* to! LOL I would want to do it outside and it's sooooo cold. The body is bagged and in my trash. It's frozen through. I had thought about that, though. I am just thinking a disease is unlikely. But worms really sounds more like it fits the more I think of it. I never noticed any worms in poop-- BUT they are all in very thick shavings and I don't even see the poop. I agree, it might be very hard on them to worm when it's this cold. But worried that if the rest of them have worms so severly-- I should catch it now before they rest start loosing weight or something happens to them. Sigh. Thank you, I feel better for your advice. And usually I am very proactive, I'm all prepared for colds and sniffles... but this blind sided me! There was no heads up on being sick. So thinking this out, must have been internally and we all just had that conversation on how Wazine is great for in between Ivermectin and how Wazine doesn't catch everything. I've never used anything BUT Wazine... so they've never really had a "good" worming.... right? To think I could have prevented this. Just makes me angry with myself.

I'm glad your birds were okay even with their light out. I'd have done the same thing-- trooped out there at 6am too. I've been checking on the silkies since my hen died. I went out there late, late last night to get one last look before I could finally go to bed. I'm worried about them.

I second all of what Josie said. I do have some input though which might give you some sense of comfort so you can stop blaming yourself. First in order to kill a hen I would think it would take over 2 months to grow enough worms to do that. After you worm there is a chance of eggs being left in the intestine and reinfecting. But if all the live worms were killed a couple months ago I seriously doubt that enough worms would grow to kill her this soon.
I've had a couple birds that died for no obvious reasons. You couldn't tell they were thin because of their feathering. If her crop was empty she had probably quit eating which is a sign of disease normally. In the birds that I had that were thin that I have disected myself I have found two different things. One would be an abnormal colored liver indicating a liver disease. The other would be an enlarged heart. Both of those things indicate a problem or disease I doubt I could have treated in any way. I have never found worms in their intestine. And you can't dispute the cold and changing weather. Especially on a small bird that isn't known to be real resistent to the cold. That would have nothing to do with her loosing weight unless she got ill when the weather changes first began. If she was just sitting quietly on a nest or something you probably wouldn't notice. I'm very sorry but you have to quit beating yourself up.
I am doing the same thing over my olandsk hen. I knew she wasn't feeling good Christmas eve cause she is usually running around and she was just sitting. I keep thinking if I had brought her in and given her a shot or something she might be okay.

Its been freezing for a few days and with no electricity in coop water is freezing. I noticed my roos comb has turned black on his points. Is there anything I can do? I covered it in vasiline but not sure if it will help.
Going to need to get a de icer for horse & donkey water also cause I cant keep it from freezing
Stay warm its going to be freezing again for us

Nope, I would just leave them alone. It is frostbite. As long as it isn't an open wound or gets infected (which I haven't ever seen) it will either eventually heal or that part would fall off. It isn't something that physically hurts them normally. You just wouldn't be able to show them. I had read that many big breeders dub combs at hatching so they don't have to worry about frostbite defacing their birds. Every winter I end up with a few roos with frostbite and it looks terrible for awhile but they've never had any problems from it. I have one pen where they can sleep inside but they all choose to sleep outside under an old carport roof. I always have some frostbite there.

Quote:

I have another question about my injured goose. Considering his/her wound is on the foot and that geese don't tend to be very careful about where they walk, how do I tell if the foot is infected? What do I need to look for if a problem starts? The wound isn't very big and looks to have scabbed over now, but I'm still concerned about possible infection/problems in the healing process.

Also, I was planning on putting them back outside today. We have several inches of snow on the ground and there is ice where the snow has been trampled and around the water bowls. Is there any reason I shouldn't put the injured goose and his/her friend back outside?

Again with Josie on her answer. I was going to say watch for swelling and/or puss. If you have something to wash it out a couple times a day like veterycin, betadine, or even peroxide that might be good PM... although knowing geese it won't probably make much difference. My take on this is that the snow and the cold is probably a good thing cause it helps kill some germs and it might help keep her feet cleaner than if she had access to water to jump in.

Danz- SO sorry about your little olansk dwarf hen, such a bummer. I hate losing birds.

Trish-Sorry about your maran hen and the dog.
Oh, so sorry! How sad. I lost one of my really nice black cochin boys a few weeks ago and it was devastating. His necropsy and histopathology came back as inconclusive from K State. The only thing noted was that he was on the thin side (so hard to know when they are so fluffy) and he appeared to be having crop motility problems. He was indeed impacted when I lost him and may have been several times in the past and I didn't know about it and he went without for a while before it managed to clear on its own which weakened him.
Sorry about your little chick. Most of my birds are in single walled plywood or metal buildings and they do great. Just think big, fluffy down coats. Plus they stick their heads under their wings and sit on their feet so they are probably pretty toasty even when we are freezing our tails off!
You could send her to K State for a necropsy. Your vet can get you the necessary info and how to ship her. It could possibly give you valuable info about her death. The gross necropsy is free so all you have to do is pay to ship her (which usually runs around $30 for overnight) and if you want further testing you need to write on the form to contact you to authorize histopathology or recommended further testing.
If she were mine and I had a place to keep her in for a few days off the snow and ice I would. That way the scab can heal up and she won't tear it off and start bleeding again. If the wound doesn't look like its getting smaller, clean and dry it may be infected. Look for oozing, pussy discharge, edges of the wound turning white or curling out and really red angry looking open sore if it isn't healing. I bet if its scabbed over she will heal up fine and not have any trouble with infection.


Belated Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Stay warm!
Merry Christmas to you and your little peanut too!

My other Olandsk are still sneezing that I did bring in yesterday, and the youngest roo is still acting kind of sleepy but they "seem" to be improving. I just can't stand loosing any more. I have a few more eggs which might be the Olandsk hen's going into the hatcher tomorrow. I just hope I can hatch some of her babies so it's not a total loss.
Maidenwolf, I had a couple chicks hatch sometime yesterday that are obviously offspring from my red polish and who knows what. They almost have to be half pheonix. Anyway if we can find a way and they do okay your son can have those. I have several more eggs to check and put in the hatcher tomorrow. I am not trying to hold my breath due to the power outage, but as I said I sure hope I can hatch a few from my Olandsk. I didn't help matters. I was reaching in the incubator and accidently pushed a top shelf down on one of the tiny eggs. It was due to come out tomorrow and was developed. I think the shell is too far gone but I taped it anyway. Nothing like killing a chick is there? I just hope it was already dead from the power outage and I didn't actually kill it.

I have no idea how I am going to get every one fed and watered again today. This weather is the total pits. Thank heavens for heated water bowls but just the same that doesn't help me get it out there to them. I tried watching that Alaska show last night to make me feel better about our weather. It didn't help. I just kept wondering how anyone could be so dumb to live in the Alaskan frontier in the first place. I HATE cold weather!
I really really need to spend the day in here cleaning up and wrapping the presents for the kids for our Christmas celebration in a few weeks. Cloud keeps running through the house with her muddy feet when she comes back in so the house is worse than normal.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I lost my little sparkplug. He froze to death. He was hiding under some things when he got kicked out of the dog house and was stuck and couldnt get out and froze. It was my fault and it is killing me. He was the best gift I had ever gotten and he is gone. It hurts my heart so much. The kids were hurting for me and offered to give me one of their little chicks. It was sweet. I'm kicking myself in the a@@ right now. I am getting out there and fixing some things up today so it doesnt happen to anyone else.

 

[chicken danz]

I'm so sorry. It sure has been a couple of bad days for the birds. I almost hate to go outside and see what else has happened out there. It's so hard to understand when all of our work and care and of course expense goes down the tubes due to weather, or colds, whatever else afflicts us. It is hard not to get depressed.
Maidenwolf I am sure there will be other special birds because they tend to love you. Your children are very sweet. I wish I could tell which eggs Duke has fertilized so I would know what to hatch. I guess I can't do that unless I separated him with a hen. I just don't have the space to do it unfortunately.

 

[Trish44]

Gosh I'm sorry for everyone who has lost birds. It's so hard in this weather, like HEChicken said it's just hard on man & birds or beasts as the saying goes. I have been bundled up to the max just to go out & take care of everyone. I'm not letting the chickens out today because we're going shopping & I now don't feel I can trust my dogs again. They would put themselves away to bed OK, but I just don't want them out when I'm not here, so I gave them cabbage in the suet cage to peck at & a half of a pumpkin to peck on too. That should keep them busy for awhile anyway. I just hate losing birds especially ones that are just close to point of lay, it makes me so angry to lose them like I did yesterday. I hate leaving even for a day in this weather & my DH wants to go to KC for his birthday overnight. I can't tell him I can't go, but I really don't.

Well everyone say as warm as you can & I hope it's a better day for everyone.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Again with Josie on her answer. I was going to say watch for swelling and/or puss. If you have something to wash it out a couple times a day like veterycin, betadine, or even peroxide that might be good PM... although knowing geese it won't probably make much difference. My take on this is that the snow and the cold is probably a good thing cause it helps kill some germs and it might help keep her feet cleaner than if she had access to water to jump in.

I have been bathing her foot in soapy water (used Dawn dish soap). This morning, I looked the foot over, dried it off and then let her out. She seemed happy to be outside. I, too, was hoping the snow would keep her foot cleaner. I have a large dog cage inside that I had been using for my pomeranian (it's way larger than what he needs, but he really likes the space). It's not really big enough for two birds for very long, though it works as a temporary hospital cage when needed. However, since it is so small, it results in the bird walking in a lot of poo. I'm sure you know how messy waterfowl can be.

If she were mine and I had a place to keep her in for a few days off the snow and ice I would. That way the scab can heal up and she won't tear it off and start bleeding again. If the wound doesn't look like its getting smaller, clean and dry it may be infected. Look for oozing, pussy discharge, edges of the wound turning white or curling out and really red angry looking open sore if it isn't healing. I bet if its scabbed over she will heal up fine and not have any trouble with infection.

By the time I saw this, I had already put the birds outside. I'll keep an eye on them and decide if I need to bring them back in for the night.

 

[michelleml]

Okay, here are the pictures I just uploaded of what we did this morning. I made up the dough last week and have slowly been working on cutting out pieces over the week and then storing them in ziplock bags as I get them baked up. We made enough to 11 houses, although I still have tons of dough left over, but there are only 10 of us, so figured it was over kill. The kids each decorated their own house and put it together with royal frosting and then decorated it. Here is what we did:














The plan is to have Hot Chocolate tonight with our mini gingerbread houses and eat them with our hot cocoa! So it should be a lot of fun!

Love the gingerbread will you share your recipe? Did you cookie cutters for shape? I found a kit for a barn gingerbread for the kids they loved it

I lost my little sparkplug. He froze to death. He was hiding under some things when he got kicked out of the dog house and was stuck and couldn't get out and froze. It was my fault and it is killing me. He was the best gift I had ever gotten and he is gone. It hurts my heart so much. The kids were hurting for me and offered to give me one of their little chicks. It was sweet. I'm kicking myself in the a@@ right now. I am getting out there and fixing some things up today so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

So sorry that you lost sparkplug.

my Roos comb looks much better today we got our first two eggs on Christmas so exciting.