Consolidated Kansas

[chicklover56]

@chicklover56 Sometimes chicks just aren't healthy to begin with, they can have things wrong with them that we can't see. I don't know if that is what is going on in your case but I think you have tried about everything to save them & if they die now I don't know what else to tell you to do. If they're not thriving & are weak anyway you wouldn't want them to grow out because they'll just die later on & it would be even harder. I'm sorry you're having such a horrible experience.

Ok thank you.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

So had to take Phoenix my EE to my vet last night as she had gotten pecked in the eye last Thursday and we have been watching it and flushing it out just to make it she doesn't get anything in it. But yesterday morning my neighbor who is helping me care for my flock while we are living at the hotel noticed that it was swollen crusted over and hot to the touch. So she opened it and it had foam in it which she flushed out and then applied antibiotic ointment to it and let me know. So I checked it last night and found that it was filled with cottege cheese solid looking junk. I called my vet who wanted me to being her as he was worried that she may have scratched or cut her cornea. So rushed her over with my 15 yr soon cuddling her and telling me to drive faster really scared that she was going to die (she is his favorite). Thankfully my vet exam showed that she didn't have a cut or scratch to her cornea just that it was inflamed from her scratching it so he gave us lube drops and told us to use them twice a day and to keep applying the antibiotic ointment and keep her in her own cage using only paper towels,food, water and scratch. That she should be fine by tomorrow night. He also said that unless its bedtime we need to make sure she is keeping the eye open that we can't let her keep it closed as that keeps the infection in it rather then out of it.
Here is a picture of Phoenix eye that my neighbor sent me this morning her eye looks so much better then last night.

 

[chicklover56]

I'm sorry you are having so many problems. I think it all began when the hatchery birds were weaker and therefore managed to get Coccidiosis which of course spread to the others. I doubt this sussex had it since it didn't show the fluffed feathers and such. Actually the bird did have th puffed up feathers. It also was very calm and wasn't really aware of what was going on around it. Do you think that it just could have been too far gone? Because it had almost been a week of treatment... Once in a while a bird dies for no apparent reason... unless they got chilled and piled up a little.
What do you have left now? I have 15 chicks left now. One more will be going to my neighbors and one is going because it is a boy. Maybe if you can get your Dad to bring you down before too long we can get you some about the same age that are doing fine and haven't been exposed to anything. I can talk to him. I might get some ducks soon when I get my chicks all taken care of. I feel so awful you are having such a hard time. It has certainly been a learning experience for you though, hasn't it? Very much of one.
These are tiny precious little creatures and it takes so little to weaken them.
You've had a huge percentage of loss and it's very unfortunate.

 

[chicklover56]

I'm sorry you are having so many problems. I think it all began when the hatchery birds were weaker and therefore managed to get Coccidiosis which of course spread to the others. I doubt this sussex had it since it didn't show the fluffed feathers and such. Actually the bird did have th puffed up feathers. It also was very calm and wasn't really aware of what was going on around it. Do you think that it just could have been too far gone? Because it had almost been a week of treatment... Once in a while a bird dies for no apparent reason... unless they got chilled and piled up a little.
What do you have left now? I have 15 chicks left now. One more will be going to my neighbors and one is going because it is a boy. Maybe if you can get your Dad to bring you down before too long we can get you some about the same age that are doing fine and haven't been exposed to anything. I can talk to him. I might get some ducks soon when I get my chicks all taken care of. I feel so awful you are having such a hard time. It has certainly been a learning experience for you though, hasn't it? Very much of one.
These are tiny precious little creatures and it takes so little to weaken them.
You've had a huge percentage of loss and it's very unfortunate.

 

[Anderson Lowe]

Proud Mama brought chicks outside for the first time today.

Just had to share

 

[spree56]

Ah, so sweet.

 

[Trish44]

It's been so nice yesterday & today that I moved my bigger chicks to my new growout pen. Some of them are for sale but there are a few in there that are mine. I moved more out there today & totally emptied my one bigger brooder out so I can clean it & move some other chicks in there. I would like to get down to just two brooders if I can. It's a hassle having to maintain & feed chicks & all in 3 of them.

 

[HEChicken]

Once in a while in breeding season a Tom will get really obnoxious and start going after any male animal he sees. I think your Tom is the problem, not the New Hamp. If you don't need the rooster you could cull him but chances are you'll have the same problem next spring with another rooster.
I've been moving birds around and need to cull a couple of roosters as well. Those older birds aren't great for eating cause they get so tough unless you cook them forever. I've got a couple in my freezer now I probably will just make soup broth with for that reason. I need to have butcher day again soon too but there really is no more room in the freezer right now.

Yeah, I hear what you're saying, however this tom has always been a gentle giant. He's actually the Bourbon Red tom I got from you a few years ago! He is the peacemaker of the flock and if any other birds have any conflict, he will move in and stand between them to break it up. In all the years I've had him, he's never singled out a single chicken before - and as this rooster is 2 years old, that means last year he got through breeding season without having issues with this one rooster either. The only thing that has changed is that this rooster was penned with hens for a few weeks to get fertile eggs. Its only been since letting him out that there has been any problem. So yeah, while I can agree that the turkey may be the instigator, I guess in my mind, roosters have one job - to fertilize eggs. And if I have one that is unable to perform that function, he's useless to me. Right now this guy is hanging out up at my house and sleeping in a dog kennel on the back porch at night, based on the amount of chicken poop that is suddenly collecting there. Don't get me wrong - I've given him a little feeder up at the house so he's getting to eat and has water available as well. But - he isn't interacting with the hens at all, which means he's a waste of feed at the moment. I'm going to give him a little time to see if he can regain some confidence, but if he can't, I can't afford to keep feeding him for nothing.

Oh - on cooking older birds. I've never had a tough bird yet - and I routinely butcher my four-year-old hens in the fall so I don't have to feed them over winter when they're past the best of their laying years. In fact, I actually prefer older birds. The way I cook them is low and slow in the crockpot, and after 8-10 hours, the meat is so tender it literally falls off the bones. The reason I prefer older birds to those under 6 months, is they've had more time to accumulate fat, and the fat makes the meat more tender and flavorful. Plus, especially with hens but it is even true of older roosters, I can take huge chunks of fat and render it down to use for cooking. I keep a canister designed just for that purpose, and all fat I render gets poured into it and that is our primary source of cooking oil.

I had a crazy busy day yesterday preparing for guests but the nice thing is my house is clean and the outside has been neatened up as well.

Today is the first day my brooder chicks have been outside and I'm so thankful to have them out for awhile. They'll be in at night for the next few nights but the break from the noise and smell is wonderful. Plus, it is fun watching them in their outside run - they've having a blast flying from one end of it to the other and eating grass like there's no tomorrow. These chicks range in age from 2 weeks to some that I just got from Trish44 yesterday that are about a month old. Meanwhile, the month-olds that have already been outside for awhile, are learning to free-range. For their first week living outside full-time, I kept them penned but starting a couple of days ago, I open the pen door in the morning and they can come out. They know to go back in at the end of the day and I close them in for the night. The first day they came out cautiously but now they can't wait for the door to open so they can get outside and get some greenery.

My garden is doing really well. I'm thrilled with the grow light I used to start seeds this year as now they've been transplanted outside, the seedlings are much further along than usual for the time of year. One tomato already has 3 little tomatoes on it and is developing another set of blossoms. And three other tomato seedlings are developing blossoms as well. Two of the peppers also have flower buds. Normally I don't even transplant outside until the end of April and what I'm transplanting are tiny little seedlings that then take about 60 days to get to the point these are now. Two of my garlic plants have started to develop scapes so I'm kind of excited about that. And my corn is starting to come up as well. The biggest is about 3" tall but I'm waiting until more of them catch up and when most are 4" tall, I'll plant climbing peas and beans at their base so they can use the corn stalks for support as they grow.

Well - back out and at 'em - its a gorgeous day with a warm weekend to come - and more rain on the way as well. Life is good.

 

[sharol]

Quote:
Sometime when you have time, could you post your method of rendering that fat? I'm sure earlier generations of women in my family could have done it blindfolded, but that skill has gotten lost in the years.

 

[HEChicken]

Sometime when you have time, could you post your method of rendering that fat? I'm sure earlier generations of women in my family could have done it blindfolded, but that skill has gotten lost in the years.

Well, the good news is, there isn't a complicated process to detail

Any areas of good, yellow fat you see when you are eviscerating, if you cut those out and save them, they can be used. I take a fry pan and put it on the stove on a fairly low temp. I.e. on a dial of 1-10, I use about a 3-4. Once the pan is hot, add the globs of fat. Over the next 20-30 minutes, move them around a bit and flip them to be sure all sides are exposed to the hot pan. The fat will start to come out of the globs and you'll occasionally need to drain it off because I've found the fat comes out of the globs better if they are in direct contact with the metal pan, rather than floating in the melted fat. Towards the end I use a metal spatula to press on the globs to release more of the fat.

Here is a link to the grease keeper I use:
http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-White-St...ease keeper&qid=1461363674&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

When I'm pouring off the fat, I pour it through that metal grate and that will stop any solid particles from getting into the canister. Over the winter, the canister sits on my counter at room temperature, because we keep the temp in our house fairly cool. But over the summer I store it in the fridge because I'd hate to have the grease from all my work go rancid.

The globs start out a decent size but by the time they've released all their grease, they are like shriveled up prunes. Your dogs will enjoy these, but I'll give you a tip: the reason the dogs enjoy them so much is they are YUMMY! I hate to admit I am selfish with these nuggets and save them for myself