Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

@RoyalChick, talk about feeling guilty. If Roxy or anyone else has fatty liver, it’s almost certainly a direct result of my poor husbandry. There can be a genetic component, but usually it’s from carrying excess fat. I’ve been really trying to turn things around, but have always been aware it was possible some of the older girls would end up with problems From the year I threw pounds and pounds of pasture seed.

Oh I was so sorry to read about Roxy. I think @Shadrach wisely said previously something about doing our best and I am very sure both of us have done that.

 

[micstrachan]

You two need to give us all a poo tutorial. I also look but don't really know what I am looking for. I just figure if I get used to knowing what 'normal' looks like (which to me seems rather variable) then I will know if I see something abnormal.

The chicken chick website actually has a pretty good article on it. Excess slime is usually an area of concern for me. Watery or yellow urates concerns me, too. Bright green poop indicating not eating enough is some thing I look for. Black poop is concerning if they have not ingested wood ash, blueberries, or something else that can stain in their poop that color, as it can indicate intestinal bleeding. I have never seen any kind of worms in poop and have never had a positive fecal float test. In 4 1/2 years I have never wormed my flock. When one of the chicks started presenting with pinkish poops, I immediately put them on corid (amprolium). They had been exposed to the big girl area, I figured coccidiosis was a reasonable conclusion, and it can kill chicks very quickly. A week later when I kept seeing what I thought was excessive ceacal-looking poops, I treated them again. The chick poop has all looked great ever since... well formed with solid white urate caps.

 

[featherhead007]

It’s awesome that you are so attentive, but I wouldn’t freak out about it just yet. This happens periodically to random members of my flock, and they’ve always gotten over it in a day or two. I think the important thing is to keep the overall health of your flock up, and if he does come down with something, address it then.

I will tell him you said that. He's right here in with me.

 

[featherhead007]

He says HI

 

[featherhead007]

He says HI

We needed a little bachelor time together anyways!

 

[micstrachan]

Oh I was so sorry to read about Roxy. I think @Shadrach wisely said previously something about doing our best and I am very sure both of us have done that.

Thank you. Yes, it’s all we can do. And the more we learn, the better we get at caring for our feathered friends. I just don’t like the learning to be at the expense of their health.

 

[micstrachan]

He says HI

Hi, Jaffar!

 

[featherhead007]

Hi, Jaffar!

He's very attentive, is having some corn at the moment. Doing a little crowing too! (Very cute)

 

[ChickenGirl300]

Always remember, Barred Rock = Broody

Really? We have had ours 3 years and never any broodiness signs.

 

[micstrachan]

@RoyalChick, I have already seen two concerning poops today. Roxy had a nicely formed, normal colored poop, but the urates were a bit runny and yellow. Flash, one of the chicks, just dropped a poop that had a little bit of pink in it. I’m not sure that there’s more I can do for Roxy than I already am, but I will keep an eye on the chicks for coccidiosis. of course, I’m checking in with Roxy periodically throughout the day. She’s not moving around much. I’m keeping damp feed and water nearby, but she isn’t really consuming much, if anything since earlier.