Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Tweety those peachicks you got are about 3-4 weeks older than these two I have in the picture. They were my last two to hatch. The other ones I had that were the same age as yours are much much bigger and have just been moved to the outside pen.
I have used oxine and vetRX in a vaporizer for sick chicks. I think I would hold off on the vaporizer right now though because the humidity is pretty high right now and you don't want to saturate the air too much. I just put a small glug of oxine in the drinking water. I never measured it.
I would put a little vetrx on her beak near her nostrils and maybe put a little on the water. The birds won't like drinking the water but they will if there is none other available. It won't mix per say, but rather kind of sit on top.
I'm glad to hear you have a heater. Peachicks are very cold tender for a lot longer than chickens are. I am thinking of putting a heat tape on the roosts in my peafowl house and covering it with carpeting. I have read that helps them keep their feet and body warm in winter. Mine have done just fine without it but they do sit on their feet for warmth. I may try it just in the pen with the 2013 chicks to see if they use it. I would have to find some old carpeting some place to do it but that shouldn't be too hard to do.
I ordered my garlic from http://www.keeneorganics.com/ They sell certified organic garlic if that matters to you. There are many many types available.
It was here in less than two days.
I wouldn't think they would have been infected by anything in the ground if they have never been outside. I would make sure you have plenty of ventilation in the building, because fumes they create can cause breathing problems as well.

 

[JosieChick]

Does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) with introducing an adult Lab, Golden Retriever, English Setter, or Wheaten Terrier to a yard with chickens in it? We are looking at medium-large adoptable prospects in the area. Of course I also have concerns about the cats and our two little dogs.

Steve's dog has been gone for a couple of months now, so he is ready to look for an adult or young adult dog. We both feel better about having a larger dog around the place. I don't want to get a dog that has to be confined all the time, so it needs to get along with our extended furry and feathered family as well as kids. Not asking much, right?

Has anyone had any experience adopting dogs from SCARS up by Auburn?

I think gapeworm is contracted by eating bugs that carry the parasite, if I remember correctly it can be carried by roaches. You can put a couple drops of vet rx around the nostrils or near the nose to help with congestion. If it continues to gape or gasp I wouldn't be shy about starting antibiotics, peas are pretty sensitive creatures and it could be the cold setting in that has gotten it ill. If nothing else it will prevent a secondary infection if it has picked up a virus.

Trish - I have the Tylan injectable at home. Do you think I could use it? The peachick looks so small... not much meat on the breast for injection. LOL . Just saw Danz's peachick picture... mine looks similar in size to the last picture's peachicks except mine seem to have longer tails/feathers.


Hmmm... It did cross my mind that she may have gapeworm yesterday when I saw the gaping. I got this peachick from Danz in Sept... it has never gone outside. I moved them from inside the house to the barn storage room. They have been in the room for about 2 weeks with a Brinsea heater. Do they need to have contact with the dirt to get gapeworm? I took some video but I can't get it to download for me from my phone... Wish I have time today to do some research on it but I'm just swamped at work. Argh...


Danz... I certainly will try VetRx since I've it on hand. Do I just mix it with their water or just dab it on the nostrils? I'm now beginning to wonder if it is just the normal peachick behavior? He/she looks normal otherwise plus none of the chicks around them are sick... they love to go under the heater still so I keep it on. I do spray fine mist unactivated oxine in their living area twice a day. I'll add the oxine to their water since they will have their full course of antibiotic after today. I think the dosage is 1/8 tsp per gallon of water... please correct me if I'm wrong.

I also have a Vick's warm vaporizer so if necessary, I can add Oxine to it and steam them up for them to break in the vapor. I think I saw a few posts of this practice on BYC a long while back to treat respiratory issues on birds.

I asked Hechicken the same question ... since they have never been outside or have any contact with dirt, do they still get gapeworm or get sick from whatever virus?

I saw that you have planted garlic... We eat a lot of garlic here... may be I should go get some of them planted.

Your peachicks look beautiful!

Well I don't like it getting dark so early! I hate this time of year because I know winter is coming. Ugh. We are off to family pics this afternoon so that will be fun!

 

[Trish44]

Does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) with introducing an adult Lab, Golden Retriever, English Setter, or Wheaten Terrier to a yard with chickens in it? We are looking at medium-large adoptable prospects in the area. Of course I also have concerns about the cats and our two little dogs.

Steve's dog has been gone for a couple of months now, so he is ready to look for an adult or young adult dog. We both feel better about having a larger dog around the place. I don't want to get a dog that has to be confined all the time, so it needs to get along with our extended furry and feathered family as well as kids. Not asking much, right?

Has anyone had any experience adopting dogs from SCARS up by Auburn?

I wouldn't recommend any of those breeds really with chickens. I know HEChicken has had good luck with her lab mix, but Candace told me that she has seen Border Collies be fine with birds even up to 5 or 6 years & then the herding instinct just takes over & they start chasing & killing them. She raises that breed, so I figure she knows what she's talking about. Terriers were bred to kill rats on ships, so they aren't recommended with birds or small animals. I know my Yorkshire Terrier goes right after my chicks if they escape from the brooders in here. I have to yell at her & keep yelling until I catch the chick because she has injured one in the past that got loose. I agree with Josie that if you get a hunting breed of dog they're more than likely going to go after your chickens & you can't get mad at the dog, it's in their instincts to hunt. Those of you that are members on my Kansas Farm Swap on FB probably have seen the lady looking for an LGD puppy who is looking at mixed breeds including some with Border Collie to use with chickens & other animals. Everyone has tried to discourage this lady, but she isn't listening, so I hope when she gets her chickens & the puppy she doesn't have a catastrophe & learn the hard way. You can lead a horse to water.....

HEChicken, you had asked me yesterday if I felt the wormer was still affecting the laying & today I finally had the time to go out & collect eggs & boy were there a bunch from yesterday & today, so I have to say that yes it is. I also have seen some worms expelled, so I really think it's working. Since I have enough of it left I think I will wait a couple of weeks & give them another dose just as a follow up in case any were missed. I'm pretty happy with the product at this point, it's so easy to use, & not any more expensive really than other wormers since there was more than enough in the cannister for more than one dose for all of my birds & I have at least 100 birds here including the peafowl, guineas, & turkeys.

The new kitty is still kind of unsettled today, but coping OK. She did eat this morning so that's a good sign & she let me pet her. She seems like a very affectionate cat, so that makes me happy. I have not shown her to my DH yet, I'm not sure what he's going to say about it all. He is the biggest cat lover here, but we do already have a bunch of them outside. He was talking about the kittens catching mice today & they have been doing a good job of that. I'm glad they're starting to go out hunting. We have 10 acres here, but the front 5 of it is really wild & overgrown so there are a lot of critters out there for them.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I am not taking the time to catch up on reading. However, I did want to let ya'll know the news!

Ethan Michael was born yesterday. He was 8 lbs 13 oz and was 20 3/4" long.

 

[KsKingBee]

Congratulations Lizzy! That's a big boy! And look at DH, I think he's in shock!

 

[KsKingBee]

I went to a local home improvement store yesterday and bought about forty pumpkins for five dollars. They said that they would get an email in a day or so telling them to throw them in the trash. It helped that we had been buying a lot for our home building project and lots of landscaping plants etc. so they gave me a great deal.

All the same since these types of stores do not normally handle produce they are going to be trashing them real soon. If you want some cheap bird food you should hit up the local stores as soon as you can.

 

[KsKingBee]

Limpy, the little duck that survived an attack about a month ago is now bait, that is the bad news. The good news is since that attack I have either shot or trapped one coyote, one opossum, one skunk, one hawk and three coons! Had I known that I would have been doing so well I would have had Okie Queen Bee skinning them critters.

 

[Trish44]

I am not taking the time to catch up on reading. However, I did want to let ya'll know the news!

Ethan Michael was born yesterday. He was 8 lbs 13 oz and was 20 3/4" long.

Awww, congrats on the baby, he's beautiful! I hope you're both doing well, enjoy this time with the new addition. Check in when you can.

Limpy, the little duck that survived an attack about a month ago is now bait, that is the bad news. The good news is since that attack I have either shot or trapped one coyote, one opossum, one skunk, one hawk and three coons! Had I known that I would have been doing so well I would have had Okie Queen Bee skinning them critters.

Wow you have been a busy guy, good for you, I'm glad you got them so they didn't come back for another meal!

I spent my afternoon today digging out my outdoor extension cords & getting them all laid out & hooked up to the pens where I either have a heated water bowl or heated base, which is my main coop & 5 other pens. I came up one extension cord short so I will have to buy one next time I go to the store & it will have to be a long one to stretch from the garage to the peafowl pen. I rearranged some cords this time so I managed to run one to my growout pen. I didn't know if that was going to work out, but I'm glad it did so they now have a heated dog bowl in there. I have 8 other pens plus the duck pen that will have just rubber bowls I can dump the ice out of & refill. It will be a pain, but I don't have any more outlets to use for more heated bowls & it would take a lot of extension cords to reach that far. I would love to run electricity out to my breeder coop, but it's not going to happen any time soon, such is life with chickens.

I heard some sneezing in one of my pens out there this afternoon, I think the weather change is really affecting them, so if they're still sneezing tomorrow I suppose I'll have to treat them. I might try the VetRx first, but I just ran out of daylight tonight. I hate it when it gets dark so darned early, you can't get anything done before it's dark. It looks like we have a 32 degree night coming Weds, yuk I hate to see that coming already.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

Congrats Lizzy! A wonderful looking family you have there

 

[chicken danz]

Congrats on the new baby, Lizzy!!! Of course I have to rub it in I was right about the sex. When you have as many kids as I did you get a pretty good eye for that.

Wow King Bee that was quite a score. Our local store will hang on to them without lowering the price until they sit there and rot. That is exactly what happened last year.
Trish, did you say you mixed that wormer in with your FF? I would have to stretch to make 50 pounds of feed work for one day but I could probably do it. I had seen that advertised several places but figured it wouldn't work for my group. Now I am re-thinking.
DH was talking about how much I was going to have on my outlets today. I really need to get some much needed wiring done because I am going to overload the circuits with all the stuff I need to run this year.
What a busy day I had. I actually welcomed the early darkness because I am totally exhausted.
I decided I had to get started on some kind of shelter for the other turkeys. So DH got an idea to use some old metal panels and run another pole across the top of the dog kennel I keep them in. Anyway we decided we could construct an A frame out of panels that way and have some shelter.
I had to get a load of feed so I wrote a check and sent him after it. While he was gone I got the poles installed and attached some metal panels to the west side of the fence. The worst part was I was wiring them. So I'd drill a couple holes in the panels, stick the wire through, then have to go around three pens to go into the peafowl pen to push the wire back through the second hole. Then walk back to the turkey pen to twist the wire in place. I must have made 100 trips around those pens back and forth securing those panels.But that makes the back wall to the A frame. I got the north side put in place then decided we needed at least one more panel on it to make room for all the turkeys I have in there. We attached a 2x2 in between panels. Hopefully that will give me a surface to mount a couple of roosts to. It won't be a lot of room and it will be pretty open but it is the fastest way we could come up with to build a shelter. I think we'll get it finished in the morning if it isn't pouring down rain.
DH was adding the last panel so I shoveled off the load of feed into the barrels so it wouldn't get rained on. My back is never going to forgive me after the last few days. Then I carried in a couple of bags of chick starter. I could smell some ammonia building up in the brooder. So I added a bucket full of DE and a bundle of shavings to the brooder house. I just kind of raked it all around and hope it does the trick. I've lost a couple chicks the last couple days and I suspect it is because it is over crowded. I'm just trying to figure out where on earth to put birds.
I have some in grow out pens that need to go to breeder coops soon but they aren't quite full sized. I don't want them to get picked on. I need to build a couple of high vents into my brooder house to vent out near the top soon as well. It's been okay but I think it could be a lot better.