DY83
Hatching
- Sep 14, 2016
- 3
- 0
- 7
My wife and I started having chickens to get eggs. We started 2.5 years ago. With Four pullets. As they got older one of them turned out ti be a rooster so we traded the rooster for another pullet. We brought her home and she is a Buff. I started calling her Henny Penny just being playful. So the other two ended up with names as well/ Red and Winnie. Penny was special though. She would jump up on my shoulder for a ride when I would bend over for whatever reason.
Winnie was smartest though she would always find a way to get out of the chicken run I made. It's been fixed since. But she ended up being killed by our German Shepherd. About 10 months after we got her. So it was just Red and Penny. For the longest.
Anyway, long story short Penny is the only one of the original three we have left. (we have three Rhode Island Reds plus penny now) Penny is about 2.5 years old. The other morning I went out and checked on them before work like I always do and she wasn't on the perch like always she was on the floor of the coop and when i shined my flashlight in she cocked her head at me but it was like it was twisting all away around the wrong way. She kept twisting her head at me and It freaked me out I grabbed her and put her out into the chicken run and woke my wife up. When i came back out she was walking around and was her head wasn;t doing that thing anymore. She kind of walked around looking around but wasn't at full speed. I quickly pulled up on my phone and typed in what it appeared she was doing and Mereks( sp) disease showed up. That, and a vitamin deficiency.
I went in an mixed a new batch of water with a vitamin packet and gave her some. later that day I gave her vitamin E. But before I get too far ahead of myself. While we were standing there with her she let out a poop and it was watery with a pale yellow look to it. This scared me because red had died after I saw this kind of poo from her. I did'nt know what to do I truied everything i knew but it was too late for RED.
Anyway, when i saw that i was scared we were going to lose her too. I went to work and told my wife to update me. She said she was out with the other chicks all day. And seemed to be fine. This was last Tuesday so 6 days ago. Since then she has stayed on the roost all night and her poops have been back to normal. Maybe I'm being paranoid. And I hope so.
Sorry this is scattered but i remember stuff as i go. My wife had read about a sour crop and thought maybe that had something to do with it. So I felt her crop it was full and felt the normal size and she didn't seem like it hurt her for me to touch. The next day she really didn't eat much at all. I felt her crop and it felt empty. And she pecked around at the food but didn't really get into it much.
But since then she has stayed with the younger hens. They are all just starting to lay. About 7-8 months old I believe. She seems to eat when I throw scratch out for them. But she no longer eats frantically like she doesn't want any of the new girls to have any. Also when I hold a bag of meal worms up she would jump up and peck the bag. She doesn't that.
So she is eating and drinking normally. And she has no swollen eyes or discharge from eyes or nose. I do not however know if she is laying. They are all on crazy cycles I get three eggs a day then I get two eggs a day. yesterday I Got one. And their eggs all look alike. One of them has laid an egg overnight the last two nights . i have no clue which one that was.
So am i just being paranoid and worrying for nothing? Her little personality has changed as far as pecking feed bag and trying to hog all the food. Other wise she is doing fine.
Sorry this is so long but I have been worried about her for a week now.
Winnie was smartest though she would always find a way to get out of the chicken run I made. It's been fixed since. But she ended up being killed by our German Shepherd. About 10 months after we got her. So it was just Red and Penny. For the longest.
Anyway, long story short Penny is the only one of the original three we have left. (we have three Rhode Island Reds plus penny now) Penny is about 2.5 years old. The other morning I went out and checked on them before work like I always do and she wasn't on the perch like always she was on the floor of the coop and when i shined my flashlight in she cocked her head at me but it was like it was twisting all away around the wrong way. She kept twisting her head at me and It freaked me out I grabbed her and put her out into the chicken run and woke my wife up. When i came back out she was walking around and was her head wasn;t doing that thing anymore. She kind of walked around looking around but wasn't at full speed. I quickly pulled up on my phone and typed in what it appeared she was doing and Mereks( sp) disease showed up. That, and a vitamin deficiency.
I went in an mixed a new batch of water with a vitamin packet and gave her some. later that day I gave her vitamin E. But before I get too far ahead of myself. While we were standing there with her she let out a poop and it was watery with a pale yellow look to it. This scared me because red had died after I saw this kind of poo from her. I did'nt know what to do I truied everything i knew but it was too late for RED.
Anyway, when i saw that i was scared we were going to lose her too. I went to work and told my wife to update me. She said she was out with the other chicks all day. And seemed to be fine. This was last Tuesday so 6 days ago. Since then she has stayed on the roost all night and her poops have been back to normal. Maybe I'm being paranoid. And I hope so.
Sorry this is scattered but i remember stuff as i go. My wife had read about a sour crop and thought maybe that had something to do with it. So I felt her crop it was full and felt the normal size and she didn't seem like it hurt her for me to touch. The next day she really didn't eat much at all. I felt her crop and it felt empty. And she pecked around at the food but didn't really get into it much.
But since then she has stayed with the younger hens. They are all just starting to lay. About 7-8 months old I believe. She seems to eat when I throw scratch out for them. But she no longer eats frantically like she doesn't want any of the new girls to have any. Also when I hold a bag of meal worms up she would jump up and peck the bag. She doesn't that.
So she is eating and drinking normally. And she has no swollen eyes or discharge from eyes or nose. I do not however know if she is laying. They are all on crazy cycles I get three eggs a day then I get two eggs a day. yesterday I Got one. And their eggs all look alike. One of them has laid an egg overnight the last two nights . i have no clue which one that was.
So am i just being paranoid and worrying for nothing? Her little personality has changed as far as pecking feed bag and trying to hog all the food. Other wise she is doing fine.
Sorry this is so long but I have been worried about her for a week now.