Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

I tried convincing my mom to buy grit, but she wouldn't listen. Can she eat sand? I would think that that's not good for them... then again, I know nothing compared to you

Depends upon the sand. What kind of ground do you have? I have sandy soil around here, so if I did NOT free-range my birds, I would just put a container in their run filled with local sand dirt (or better yet, decomposing granite from the bottom of a rock face in the mountains). I would probably use a "wash tub" or wooden garden barrel so it could also be used as a dust bath, which they also need. Even a kiddy wading pool could work, but the depth on that.....fill it to the brim and they likely will still end up in contact with the bottom when tossing the dirt around, and they'll empty it pretty quickly bathing.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Depends upon the sand. What kind of ground do you have? I have sandy soil around here, so if I did NOT free-range my birds, I would just put a container in their run filled with local sand dirt (or better yet, decomposing granite from the bottom of a rock face in the mountains). I would probably use a "wash tub" or wooden garden barrel so it could also be used as a dust bath, which they also need. Even a kiddy wading pool could work, but the depth on that.....fill it to the brim and they likely will still end up in contact with the bottom when tossing the dirt around, and they'll empty it pretty quickly bathing.

I'll get grit soon! I have clay/sand I think...

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

If Bolt wasn't choking, what else could it have been? She was holding her beak open and wheezing. Should I be worried about anything else? Like if she was not choking?

 

[Ponypoor]

Yes, she is the one with the beak problem. So try soaking her food in warm water? Is she allowed to have scratch, oyster shells, and mealworms if I do that?

Yes she can have those items, the moist food will just ensure she is getting adequate nutrients and food calories. She might have a hard time with picking at dry feed.

I tried convincing my mom to buy grit, but she wouldn't listen. Can she eat sand? I would think that that's not good for them... then again, I know nothing compared to you

The oyster shell will act like grit a bit, but it will dissolve and get broken down very fast in the birds digestive system.

If you can get gravel they will pick through that for small bits of gritty gravel the same as wild birds do.

 

[rural mouse]

I'll get grit soon! I have clay/sand I think...

Clay tends to be wet/sticky. Sandy soil is rough and dries out quickly.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Clay tends to be wet/sticky. Sandy soil is rough and dries out quickly.

Oh..
Lol. Um, I do have clay, but I also have sand. If you dig deep it is clay, but if you just dig a little bit, it is sandy.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Clay tends to be wet/sticky. Sandy soil is rough and dries out quickly.

How are you so smart? Just wondering!

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Oh..
Lol. Um, I do have clay, but I also have sand. If you dig deep it is clay, but if you just dig a little bit, it is sandy.

I learned about the types of soils last year in Earth science, but I forgot what type of soil I had

 

[Ponypoor]

How are you so smart? Just wondering!

We are old - really really old like Penelope my Old Lady Chicken.

Penelope says “Human I am not old!”

(She is she is going to be 7 yrs old soon)

 

[bgmathteach]

Have any of you received shipped chicks before? I would worry they wouldn't survive - you know how I bawl over the slightest thing...

I will check them out (another enabler I see!)

Yes, I have received shipped chicks a number of times. Occasionally there is 1 or 2 that pass during shipping, and 1 or 2 that are weak and pass (note, that happens anyways. My broodies that raised 9 - 10 hatched but one was weak and died within 24 hours.) Note that I usually get reasonably large batches.

However, once the post office took 3+ days to get my chicks to me (so they were 4 days old on arrival), and out of the lot, there were 6 dead and many very weak. 3 more eventually passed. The rest pulled through okay - after about 2-3 days were normal and fine from then on.