Consolidated Kansas

[sunflowerparrot]

I'm sort of bummed about a chicken of mine

she is a tiny little cross breed and she is around 4 months and is very tiny, I'm worried that she wont live long because something of her size is bound to have problems later in life.

My smallest chicken is named Sassy Pants because she's such a sassy and bossy girl! She is a dark cornish hen... which is a smaller breed. Her babies that I've hatched are growing at half the rate of the other chicks I've hatched and thriving just as well! Do you have pictures of your chickens? I'd love to see them.

 

[chicken danz]

Cherwill I felt the same about today! Other than a couple of events this week I hope to be able to stay home and work on things around here. It looks like the weather will be glorious other than some rain mid week.

 

[HEChicken]

Cherwill, I found the same thing when I tried to dig over a row to plant seeds - it was just too wet and sticky to be able to do it. That was a couple of days ago so with luck I can plant today if it doesn't rain again. I am amazed that all of the straw bedding I pulled out after doing DLM for 6 months, and spread onto the garden, is almost gone. There is just a thin layer on top now. It didn't blow away either - it has been incorporated that fast. I can't dig without encountering numerous earthworms, some of which are so large they look like small snakes, so I suspect they are behind the incorporation of the bedding into the soil so fast. I also take my kitchen compost and "bury" it in holes I did in the garden area. I've been doing that ever since it was tilled in February and last week while I was digging, I encountered a spot where I had previously buried my compost and it was only barely recognizable so the worms must have been having a field day with that too. I figure any organic material that is incorporated can only improve it as a growing medium for my garden so I am really thrilled by all of that.

One of our dogs got skunked last night. Times like this I am *really* glad they are outside dogs!

I just moved my poults and their tutors to a bigger brooder. I had kept them in a small cardboard box that only had room for the EcoGlow at one end, food and water at the other, and about 8" in between. I didn't want them to get so far from either heat or food and water that they couldn't keep up in those first few days. But now that they have figured out their legs (poults seem really slow to get to walking well, unlike chicks, who seem to take off running), and also figured out the food and water, I decided it was time they were in a bigger space. They are running around happily whut-whuting, exploring their new space now.

One of the tutors may have to be culled. It has really crooked toes. I didn't notice when I picked it out of the chick bin a few days ago (or maybe it wasn't crippled then), but next morning one foot was crippled. I made it a splint out of a round disc cut from a cereal box, and fixed it on the foot with a bandaid, making sure the toes were flat. That afternoon I found the other foot was crippled too, so I made it a splint too. It seems to do okay with the splints, but loses them regularly and as soon as they are off, the toes curl again and it starts walking on its "ankles". I wish I knew what is causing it. It doesn't move around much and stays under the EcoGlow almost all the time, but does come out to eat and drink. I don't need any special needs chicks - especially chicks that were only purchased as tutors in the first place. Actually, it isn't even working as a tutor since it rarely comes out from the heat, so the poults have figured it out with the help of just the one tutor. However if there is something simple I can do to cure it, I am willing to do it. Is it possible this is a dietary thing? They are on gamebird starter since I wanted to give the poults a good start and figured the extra protein (28%) in the short term wouldn't hurt the tutors. I don't have any Poly Visol on hand but could go and get some if you think there is some nutritional deficiency causing this that would be fixed by a few drops a day of the vitamins.

 

[TheDownyChick]

I'm sort of bummed about a chicken of mine she is a tiny little cross breed and she is around 4 months and is very tiny, I'm worried that she wont live long because something of her size is bound to have problems later in life.

My favorite hen as a child was named Tiny. She got picked on by the others, so we babied her and she became quite the pet chicken. She was quite small, but otherwise healthy.

 

[Polishpal]

My sweet baby is tiny but I love her to death. I treat her like a princess and she follows me like I'm her mom. But no I don't have any pictures but I need to get some

 

[Polishpal]

Forgot to mention I spent all saterday helping my parents make a garden, it looks really nice I just hope the chicken butts don't decide to dig all the flowers up

 

[jennyjane73]

My 6 older chickens are 7 weeks old now. I got them some outside time this weekend & I think they liked it. I think they're ready to move outside but I'm so nervous to put them outside on their own.

 

[sharol]

The first time is the hardest. When I put my 5 week olds out for the first time in the late summer 3 years ago, I checked on the 3 times during the night. Of course, they were fine. It was 70 overnight so I didn't have to worry about the cold, either.

Good luck. They look pretty feathered out to me. I couldn't stand them any longer in the house.

Sharol

My 6 older chickens are 7 weeks old now. I got them some outside time this weekend & I think they liked it. I think they're ready to move outside but I'm so nervous to put them outside on their own.

 

[HEChicken]

My 6 older chickens are 7 weeks old now. I got them some outside time this weekend & I think they liked it. I think they're ready to move outside but I'm so nervous to put them outside on their own.

They will be fine. I moved my brooder chicks outside full time last week and they were only 4 weeks old. Usually I have them outside closer to 3 weeks old but with the cold snaps we had, I had to keep this bunch in a little longer. I can't imagine having them in any longer than 4 weeks, to be honest. By that time they are so big and so messy, and since they are almost fully feathered out, they cope just fine with the outside temperatures, even at night.

 

[RoosterLew]

Must be moving them out time. Lol
Me and GF spent this afternoon building a coop out at " the farm". It's pretty cool that we're buying my step dads place because even though we are a while from moving in yet he is letting us come out and kind of start setting things up. He knew we had the chicks coming along so we I asked him about bringing them out he said " as long as you can keep them safe from my dogs" - so today we built "Fort Chicken" !! It's a 12x 22 open air coop. Originally a lean too style horse stall off the barn, the north wall is the side of the barn, the south and west walls are 4 ft of solid bridge timbers, with the west wall having tin to the roof and the south wall being a hog panel the full length of the top. When I looked at how to close it in, I had figured over $80 in materials and then still needed a door. Went to Orschelns and bought a 12x6 chainlink dog panel with a gate for $130 instead and slapped it up there, then over over layed chain link we had to full in to peak of roof. Next dug about a foot deep trench a buried a hog panel that comes up the front of the chain link to keep digging predators out.
In front of that there is about a 30x30 pen they will be able to graze when we're around.
Then we found an old wooden ladder and wals roosts for all.