Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[knoturavggrl]

Heavy rain test today on the run’s so-called improvements - total fail. Water everywhere. Need to start a Plan B.

The gutter is working great, and the corrugated pipe is steadily flowing out beyond the run, and the swale is draining it, but everywhere else around the actual swale on the north side is pooled water.

The bad corner I had removed all the litter from and not put in the gravel sand has almost two inches of water in the deepest part. (I left it partly because I couldn’t do anymore but also to see how much water was coming from the roof versus elsewhere.) Popcorn had a nice drink of it.

New base material laid down on the other half of the run is not working, the sandy gritty part of it is wicking up moisture so it all looks dark and damp.
Where I stood on it giving the two poor souls in there some yogurt is soft-feeling and my shoe print was wet! I turned on the panel heaters in the one dry corner with litter and they are liking that.

Ideas -

• Get a machine in there to a dig a moat in the packed shale/dirt. But won’t that undermine the ground around the run if it’s right next to it? Maybe I can pickax a little trench away from the pooled corner and sides, I’ll try that first. But the entire run is wet enough that it needs to be on three sides at least.
• 
  
• I really want to move the run. I picked a terrible spot, I so regret it! Good for snowblower and closer access in winter. Thirty feet back and up it’s level and has forest floor dirt and doesn’t pool water. But DH thinks that can’t be done with out wrecking it.
• 
  
• Go with same idea as I started with, raise the base floor, but get the right kind of stones / gravel! Big ones first? then smaller ones on top? Then the litter on top of that.
• 
  
• Build a raised removable floor, like regular or other plywood set on piers of bricks or concrete blocks four or six inches high laid in a checkerboard pattern. Replace plywood as necessary every few years. Like a boathouse over the water. Is mold on the bare ground underneath, or on the underside of the plywood a possibility? At least this idea is not too hard to undo.
• 
  
• Build a real raised floor base like a treated wood frame with joists and all, frame on concrete block piers, topped with plywood. Same boathouse theory and possible downside.

I don’t know how possible it is for you but if you can I vote for moving it entirely. Why spend time, energy, and money into a spot that isn't working out?
Second, maybe something like a french drain would help redirect the water.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Heavy rain test today on the run’s so-called improvements - total fail. Water everywhere. Need to start a Plan B.

The gutter is working great, and the corrugated pipe is steadily flowing out beyond the run, and the swale is draining it, but everywhere else around the actual swale on the north side is pooled water.

The bad corner I had removed all the litter from and not put in the gravel sand has almost two inches of water in the deepest part. (I left it partly because I couldn’t do anymore but also to see how much water was coming from the roof versus elsewhere.) Popcorn had a nice drink of it.

New base material laid down on the other half of the run is not working, the sandy gritty part of it is wicking up moisture so it all looks dark and damp.
Where I stood on it giving the two poor souls in there some yogurt is soft-feeling and my shoe print was wet! I turned on the panel heaters in the one dry corner with litter and they are liking that.

Ideas -

• Get a machine in there to a dig a moat in the packed shale/dirt. But won’t that undermine the ground around the run if it’s right next to it? Maybe I can pickax a little trench away from the pooled corner and sides, I’ll try that first. But the entire run is wet enough that it needs to be on three sides at least.
• 
  
• I really want to move the run. I picked a terrible spot, I so regret it! Good for snowblower and closer access in winter. Thirty feet back and up it’s level and has forest floor dirt and doesn’t pool water. But DH thinks that can’t be done with out wrecking it.
• 
  
• Go with same idea as I started with, raise the base floor, but get the right kind of stones / gravel! Big ones first? then smaller ones on top? Then the litter on top of that.
• 
  
• Build a raised removable floor, like regular or other plywood set on piers of bricks or concrete blocks four or six inches high laid in a checkerboard pattern. Replace plywood as necessary every few years. Like a boathouse over the water. Is mold on the bare ground underneath, or on the underside of the plywood a possibility? At least this idea is not too hard to undo.
• 
  
• Build a real raised floor base like a treated wood frame with joists and all, frame on concrete block piers, topped with plywood. Same boathouse theory and possible downside.

Picture

 

[knoturavggrl]

Poor guy! Check his back? The whole length. Looks like both legs affected to me, which would indicate his back? Check his belly, the entire underside too.

I gave him a bath yesterday and blow dried him during this process I looked everywhere for anything suspicious and there was nothing apparent. I can and may well repeat the bath and blow dry again this evening. The hair dryer really helped to move his feathers and see his skin. Never hurts to take a second look I may have missed something and his belly is a spot I didn’t zero in on. The girls jumped on top of him so I was focused on looking there and around the vent area.

Thank you!! I will keep him with us at night till he is moving better again.

 

[Ponypoor]

No, it sure isn’t

I added wood chips to the coop today and raked out the run to get it ready for the leaves we will rake up and put in the run. Free bedding material! So when I was done with that I scattered some scratch grain all over the run and all the chickens came in. My daughter brought Story in, in her arms and put him in the coop. He proceeded to come down the ramp and got excited about the scratch and leaped off the side of the ramp (this is a whopping 6” hop) and he fell. I am now 99% positive it is one of his hips or upper legs that is causing this. I watched to see if he could get back up and he did, he is clearly hurting though.

Now the chicken keeper’s dilemma keep with the flock or separate. I think I’ll set up the little tent and put him in there at night so he will have to just lay down at night. Then put him out with everybody during the day.

Thought?

You could try keeping everyone contained so long running around, and yes keep him from jumping up or down. If you have some low dose aspirin you give half of one twice a day for pain and inflammation. But keep him from running around scratching or hopping up and down from things.

I would do this for 2 or 3 days then stop the meds to see how he is.

I know many say no meds for pain to keep them from moving much, but I feel pain management always makes them less stressed and heal faster.

 

[ManueB]

I gave him a bath yesterday and blow dried him during this process I looked everywhere for anything suspicious and there was nothing apparent. I can and may well repeat the bath and blow dry again this evening. The hair dryer really helped to move his feathers and see his skin. Never hurts to take a second look I may have missed something and his belly is a spot I didn’t zero in on. The girls jumped on top of him so I was focused on looking there and around the vent area.

Thank you!! I will keep him with us at night till he is moving better again.

I also think that if it was just a leg, you would see him trying to avoid putting weight on it or standing on the other leg when he’s resting. That doesn't seem to be the case.
When my rooster Théo had a leg splint I kept him isolated and immobile for a few days. I took him away from the flock because he was getting terribly restless seeing his ladies but not being able to get to them, whereas he didn't move when he was in our house. Every evening I took his crate out with them for an hour, then put him on the roost about half an hour after they were asleep and off the roost into the crate before they woke up. After five days we could see there was an improvement from immobilisation. I think doing that for a few days will show you whether there is improvement or whether it's something more serious like a neurological problem. It could also be a punched nerve.

 

[Ponypoor]

Picture
View attachment 3654102

Anything that is clayey will hold water, if you want to drain water away you will need to slope any gravel towards the location you want to use for drainage away. ‘B’ gravel might be an option, but if you can get it, I would go with 3/4” crusher run, for used that to back grade the barn to help run water away from it.

Where it is graded down to, you will need to create a drainage ditch which needn’t be that deep, a couple inches and about a couple feet wide slopes away from the run would do fine.

Also if you have sufficient slope to you land you can put in tile drain, this is plastic tiles with hole in it, the hole downward BTW, back fill around the tile with your crusher run, you will need to run the tiles into a lower section or a metal mage ditch.

Many options, just need to figure out your budget, and manpower.

 

[featherhead007]

No, it sure isn’t

I added wood chips to the coop today and raked out the run to get it ready for the leaves we will rake up and put in the run. Free bedding material! So when I was done with that I scattered some scratch grain all over the run and all the chickens came in. My daughter brought Story in, in her arms and put him in the coop. He proceeded to come down the ramp and got excited about the scratch and leaped off the side of the ramp (this is a whopping 6” hop) and he fell. I am now 99% positive it is one of his hips or upper legs that is causing this. I watched to see if he could get back up and he did, he is clearly hurting though.

Now the chicken keeper’s dilemma keep with the flock or separate. I think I’ll set up the little tent and put him in there at night so he will have to just lay down at night. Then put him out with everybody during the day.

Thought?

If he were my rooster, he’d stay inside my house with me.

 

[featherhead007]

I just brought my rooster Jaffar into the house, because it’s time for him to eat something. With only one eye, it’s hard for him to focus on where his treats are. The hens steal them from him before he gets any. But if he does have food, he calls the girls to eat what he has to offer.
Jaffar is a prince, and should be a knight (hint hint)!

 

[knoturavggrl]

I also think that if it was just a leg, you would see him trying to avoid putting weight on it or standing on the other leg when he’s resting. That doesn't seem to be the case.
When my rooster Théo had a leg splint I kept him isolated and immobile for a few days. I took him away from the flock because he was getting terribly restless seeing his ladies but not being able to get to them, whereas he didn't move when he was in our house. Every evening I took his crate out with them for an hour, then put him on the roost about half an hour after they were asleep and off the roost into the crate before they woke up. After five days we could see there was an improvement from immobilisation. I think doing that for a few days will show you whether there is improvement or whether it's something more serious like a neurological problem. It could also be a punched nerve.

Thank for this thorough and very informative reply, I really appreciate it!

I have two roosters and Story the flocks Jr rooster. With the setup I have currently I am super concerned about the roosting situation. I think the single biggest danger to him recovering is descending from the roosts. During the day he only has to negotiate the ramp which is a gentle slope so long as he doesn’t launch himself off it, of course.

My plan is bathe him again and take a second look for any injuries I may have missed then I will put him in the tent we are in the process of setting up in our living room. He will have easy access to food and water and be able to rest on the floor vs balancing on a roost and there will be a bit of light to negotiate if he needs to get up at night at all.

I will continue to bring him inside at night until he significantly improves. I have low dose aspirin I can give to him as well.

 

[knoturavggrl]

You could try keeping everyone contained so long running around, and yes keep him from jumping up or down. If you have some low dose aspirin you give half of one twice a day for pain and inflammation. But keep him from running around scratching or hopping up and down from things.

I would do this for 2 or 3 days then stop the meds to see how he is.

I know many say no meds for pain to keep them from moving much, but I feel pain management always makes them less stressed and heal faster.

Thank you, I so have low dose aspirin I can give him I have no qualms giving him something, by nature Orps aren’t prone to running about zooming everywhere, I think him not hurting so much is more of a priority.