Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

Note I started this post early Monday, but my internet connection is bad at the moment so:

Well, I have found a downside to the Chicken Trailer. Northern Fowl Mites… I candled some eggs under my broody bully girl on Sunday, and she, and I’m assuming the whole free range flock, have them. Going to make a “late night run” into the Barn as soon as Haying is done and just dose everyone with Ivomec. The eggs, from Little Red and my late “favorite” Girl of Roostie were all infertile. I have replaced them with eggs from my Friends flock, “BarnAucanas” from his not quite up to breed standards Barnvelder Rooster who looks amazing for 6+ years old, and some Ameraucana girls get took in from the person who has the farm I brooded at, where I’ve been gardening, and where we get our water from.

Saturday we had a great market day, our first real market since summer 2019. We netted $200 in about 4 hours, our friend cross marketed their amazing Sauerkraut and grossed $136.

And unfortunately I have some more really sad news. Today we lost Roostie. Early afternoon while we were moving the meat birds in preparation for tomorrow’s road trip to freezer camp, he squared off with Cass. No apparent physical damage was done, their hackles were raised and there were a few brief bits of sparring before I ran around the fence and broke them up. Not a drop of blood was spilled but Roostie was clearly strained he was droopy and listless. I worry about his heart as he’s well over 13lbs again (as a two and a bit year old Meat bird Rooster that’s not as overweight as it seems) I moved him and his ladies back to the proper side of the fence, fed him some egg yolk by hand and made sure he drank water. They were doing fine when I left for dinner at 6. Everything seemed back to normal. When we got home at 9:40 (some chickens were still even outside, as it was mostly light out!) he was gone. Very purple comb and wattles, so I am thinking this heat wave and the stress combined just pushed him past his limits. He had put all his ladies up for the night, so I tucked them in… and now I just don’t know what to do. Roostie my “free” Rooster with his adorable waddle, gentle Nature, and ability to parent the younglings is irreplaceable. I am quite heartbroken, he has two babies. One cockerel and one of unknown gender.

I'm really sad to see you lost rooster . Such a devastating loss.

At least you have his babies, one may turn out to be just like him.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

This is very helpful to me Chicory - thank you. It encourages me to keep on the calcium program. Are you saying feather fixer and layer are roughly similar in calcium? I have not tried feather fixer but rather am doing yoghurt with ground up Calcium Citrate and D3 in it also scrambled egg with ground up calcium and D3 and now and then I pop a pill directly down one of them. I am better at giving pills to chickens than I am to cats it seems!

If I remember correctly feather fixer has about .20% (1/5 of 1%) less calcium in the upper range than later feed had in the upper range. I mean in the total upper max number, something like 3.75% versus 3.95%. Feather fixer is higher in protein than layer feed, which protein I am interested in for my heritage dual-purpose Buckeyes (as recommended, like I started them on game-bird chick starter). It also is higher in fat, I don't know if that's good or bad. Anyway the question arose of supplementing protein while on layer feed, or supplementing calcium on feather fixer. I thought the calcium might be easier to manage.

I now think I'd still want to be supplementing calcium for Peanut, whichever feed. Or switching to something that provides calcium citrate? The short-term results were better shells from her. The other hens had possibly thicker shells, though I saw more extra-calcium specks and swirls on some, so the thought of too much calcium crossed my mind. I make up a mix that, if eaten evenly, (big if), would give each hen 600mg.

 

[micstrachan]

Flash does not look happy........

I’m impressed you know who Flash is, Bob.

 

[Blazinga]

It is. I'm just sad right now. I was getting all excited as they were close to coming. I am also a little discouraged because I don't even know where else I would to get some from. I know and trust these people.

I can relate to some degree. We had to resort to mail order.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Here is where I suggested @ChicoryBlue look at feather fixer and supplied the nutritional information. It provides way more calcium than what she was using before and has the higher protein for which she was looking.

Post in thread 'Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock' https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-stories-of-our-flock.1286630/post-24512889

So my plan was to switch to feather fixer while supplementing calcium, then stop or taper the supplement and see how the feather fixer did on its own.

 

[micstrachan]

I know that I am a big worry-wart and I try to stifle that aspect of my personality, but here I go. This morning Blanche layed a soft egg. She hasn’t done that before. It was white, and the usual size (she lays a large egg), but soft.
And, she layed it on the floor in the middle of the coop. She doesn’t do that either, she always uses her favorite nest box. (Maybe she thought she was just pooping?)
I picked it up and it stayed together even though it was soft.
She is her perky usual self.
I am a basket case.

Oh, honey, don’t worry just yet. A few questions… have you been giving more treats than normal, which dilutes their layer feed? Is oyster shell available? Is there any reason for stress, like weather or big changes around her?

If she were mine, I’d dose calcium for a couple days just to be safe. You can put a calcium citrate plus D3 tablet if you have them, right into her beak, or you could crush up whatever calcium you have with the mortar and pestle, or between two spoons, and hide it in a little treat. I usually use baby bird formula for the treat, but a little wet cat food or something else would work, too. Or a little scrambled egg. Just pull her aside so her flockmates don’t try to steal it from her.

Edited for typos.

And, sorry, I know you didn’t ask for help. I couldn’t help myself.

 

[micstrachan]

I'm Crushed

and not just for myself. I just got notice that there will be no Frizzled Polish coming to live with Phyllis. A dog got into the area where she kept them and killed 12 of the 18 chickens before they could get control of it. I'm both sad for her and myself. I was going to pick them up in the next two weeks. I should have taken them straight run. I could have saved 2 lives maybe.

Oh no Bob! I’m so sorry to hear this. No I think you were doing the right thing and waiting and not taking them straight run. You only want to keep hens right now, right?

Hugs to you, friend.

 

[micstrachan]

Peanut update - & commiserating with @Lady Red and @RoyalChick and who else here?

After tapering down on the yogurt/calcium d3/crumble balls, there were at least three soft eggs in the last two weeks. One I found, two I found just yolk in the bedding. The soft eggs break I think, and get eaten. Eggs in general don't get poked and eaten. They could get tested, but I have never found any firm-shelled eggs broken into, and if they are, it's not a regular occurrence.

Peanut had laid soft and very long odd-shaped eggs before, where the pointed end of the egg doesn't get well shelled though the rest is less soft. So she was probably responsible for one if not all of the recent soft eggs. Recently she was walking around with tail down and looking uncomfortable, then laid a long soft egg that broke. So I went back to supplementing calcium and after four days now I've confirmed that yesterday Peanut laid a pretty firm shelled egg, I saw her go in and come out. It was shaped better, rounder, but slightly odd shaped still.

Hmmm will continue the calcium citrate+ D3, & calcium carbonate supplementing. Just got another bag of nutrena feather fixer while I was in TSC, so if I switch again it would be after that. But not sure if switching to a layer feed would be enough for Peanut (and whoever else, if anybody) anyway. While in the store I looked at the calcium percentages again, it's not much more than they're getting as @BY Bob had noted. It may be the metabolic availability with the type of calcium, like citrate versus carbonate. More calcium carbonate, typical in feed, might not make a big difference?

Thanks for this. Raising my hand here. My Dorothy lays soft eggs most of the time but puts out a shelled egg sometimes. I stopped the calcium a while back when it stopped working, for fear of frying her organs. But maybe I’ll start back up for a few days. Are used to be able to give her calcium for several days in a row about once a month or so.

 

[micstrachan]

Amber and princess. Worried about ambers pale wattle
View attachment 2749103

I see what you mean, if you meant Amber’s comb? Could she br heading into molt?

 

[micstrachan]

Note I started this post early Monday, but my internet connection is bad at the moment so:

Well, I have found a downside to the Chicken Trailer. Northern Fowl Mites… I candled some eggs under my broody bully girl on Sunday, and she, and I’m assuming the whole free range flock, have them. Going to make a “late night run” into the Barn as soon as Haying is done and just dose everyone with Ivomec. The eggs, from Little Red and my late “favorite” Girl of Roostie were all infertile. I have replaced them with eggs from my Friends flock, “BarnAucanas” from his not quite up to breed standards Barnvelder Rooster who looks amazing for 6+ years old, and some Ameraucana girls get took in from the person who has the farm I brooded at, where I’ve been gardening, and where we get our water from.

Saturday we had a great market day, our first real market since summer 2019. We netted $200 in about 4 hours, our friend cross marketed their amazing Sauerkraut and grossed $136.

And unfortunately I have some more really sad news. Today we lost Roostie. Early afternoon while we were moving the meat birds in preparation for tomorrow’s road trip to freezer camp, he squared off with Cass. No apparent physical damage was done, their hackles were raised and there were a few brief bits of sparring before I ran around the fence and broke them up. Not a drop of blood was spilled but Roostie was clearly strained he was droopy and listless. I worry about his heart as he’s well over 13lbs again (as a two and a bit year old Meat bird Rooster that’s not as overweight as it seems) I moved him and his ladies back to the proper side of the fence, fed him some egg yolk by hand and made sure he drank water. They were doing fine when I left for dinner at 6. Everything seemed back to normal. When we got home at 9:40 (some chickens were still even outside, as it was mostly light out!) he was gone. Very purple comb and wattles, so I am thinking this heat wave and the stress combined just pushed him past his limits. He had put all his ladies up for the night, so I tucked them in… and now I just don’t know what to do. Roostie my “free” Rooster with his adorable waddle, gentle Nature, and ability to parent the younglings is irreplaceable. I am quite heartbroken, he has two babies. One cockerel and one of unknown gender.

Oh, no, Kris! I’m so very, very sorry to hear this. Having s little cry for dear Roostie and for you, too. Hugs to you.