Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Well that makes me happy.

Im so very glad I could make you happy today.

 

[BY Bob]

Last night found Cardhu and PITA snuggled together in Cardhu's chosen sleeping on the ground corner (a favorite nest site). Focus was out near the feeder. Adult head count: 31, as it should be. Baby head count: not braving mamas' wrath to find out!View attachment 4166190yesterday morning when Cardhu got Focus moving.

I have to say I'm very glad that Cardhu is working out well as a mum.

 

[lightm]

Install it higher on the trunk where chickens can't reach but squirrels/rodents can crawl up any heights & get their heads smacked...! Or is this meant to be a chicken waterer too?

I thought about this too but then would it be too high for rats?

I am really glad I drained Buffy several weeks ago. She was really struggling until I did it, and has been much more comfortable since with very little sign of refilling yet. I did use a syringe but pulled it out very slowly over the course of about 30-45 minutes, and was careful to take less than a cupful. She definitely drained for awhile, I put her in my hospital cage that night with a towel over a peepad. It had stopped by morning.

It looks like continue leaking is the norm. I am so glad for you too.

Vet visit by Dr. Jill w/ Jen a vet school intern for Hazel, also she was willing to look at the new Buckeye chick Isabel.

Executive summary (well, CB's attempt...)

Isabel (FKA "Bugsy", the chick with bulgy eyes)
Hard to say what's going on, a failure to thrive may be in the works. Her heart rate is faster than a brooder-mate's, very fast, but not irregular, does not have a-fib. If were to test, CAT scan to look at organs. Recommended nutritional support (Nutri-Drench in water as I am doing is good, baby bird food or anything she'll eat also fine); watch for brooder-mate issues with her. She's smaller than all the others but not by much, which the vet found encouraging.

Hazel
Swabbed her eye for culturing, results next week.

Meloxicam 7.5mg once a day for seven days for inflammation which I had to order from their website and is shipping. I now recall I have some that was for Peanut I could use if it's not too old? Attempts to let her eat two bits of it plain off the ground were unsuccessful (Hazel picked up and dropped them). Informed vet she is a picky eater. Vet surprised she does not even like sunflower seeds.

Terramycin in the eye once per day, for soothing and help; mine expired in Sept '24 so she gave me one today.

No antibiotics at this time; if it's mycoplasma as suspected, it is chronic and antibiotics won't eradicate the disease and risks resistant bacteria; I think she said antibiotics with mycoplasma (if that's what this is), are best for new infections in young birds and are less effective for chronic recurring disease in older ones; her position is the symptom of inflammation is what should be treated, to let Hazel's healthy body overcome the flare-up. Hazel's body condition is good, thin normal. Support her in other ways such as lowering dust in the run and avoiding stressors such as heat & new bird introductions.

New bird integration - she prefers to not integrate at all and keep separate groups; says it upsets the whole flock and the entire pecking order gets all changed. If must integrate, she prefers to wait until the new birds have their full mature body size/weight, it lowers the possibility of injury/harm. I said pecking order changes has not been my experience with either Queenie or the new Buff Orps.

Random notes -

Vet said that My Pet Chicken is not NPIP-certified, if true it would be news to me, and I did not believe it. [Edit: The vet was wrong, her statement is FACTUALLY UNTRUE. My Pet Chicken IS NPIP-Certified. Here is the link to their page https://www.mypetchicken.com/blogs/...why-should-i-purchase-only-from-npip-breeders]

My Pet Chicken is where the OG Buckeyes came from. New group is from Cackle. She thought the mycoplasma, if that's what it is, came from MPC [FACTUALLY UNTRUE. My Pet Chicken IS indeed NPIP-certified, here is their link https://www.mypetchicken.com/blogs/...why-should-i-purchase-only-from-npip-breeders] or from foraging near a wild bird feeder (we did have a feeder where they occasionally did supervised free-ranging, until over a year ago) or a rescue from a neighbor. I suggested it could have been Queenie, who wasn't laying when I got her.

Hazel's facial sinuses are not involved with this infection, just her eyelid area, and just the one eye. Prior to exam we had discussed possible testing available - including a blood test which helps show organ function. She thought the blood test was not necessary because of her apparently really good health.

Vet remarked on how clean Hazel's feet are, reflecting good living conditions, the ground they're on. I sensed unnecessary buttering-up going on in her general remarks after our initial small dust-up (see below). I said I rather think it's the hen, because I have one (Diane) whose feet are always dirty.

First swab from her eye was pretty dirty, had to do a second one, so dust being a stressor for existing respiratory disease and irritating to the eyes I will be clearing out the run litter and replacing. I thought the dried poop buried in the litter is mostly what the dust is and she said it could be, and would harbor bacteria & e. coli even dry. She recommends hemp, and to clear the run twice a year at least. I like hemp too though it's mucho $. I explained I was trying to have a ground-like compost established ever since I did the French drain and raised the floor with pavers due to way too much water; she said to clear it out down to dampness, or all the way to the pavers if it's dry all the way down.

She recommends washed sand for a dust bath. I've been putting dirt in there, but with a little sulphur since they had mites, which I know is a known irritant.

This was not the vet I saw that had chewed me out. But I can't help carrying that experience with me, and I didn't know this vet. So I was steeling myself for a similar encounter, and I wanted to properly stand up for myself, in a reasonable way. I did get testy with her in the beginning, because we were going over Hazel's history, and right off the bat she brought up antibiotic resistance as a problem, and started lecturing me. I interrupted her and said I'm not a factory farm, I don't have like 200 birds here, I'm not dosing them frequently, etc., etc. She held her ground and said backyard flocks are an issue, too. Then she added Baytril is not approved for use in food animals, and I told her I'm not eating these birds and Hazel isn't laying, at least not since a possible egg or two in the Spring, and the Baytril for her, that was a long, long time ago. We kind of went back-and-forth like this.

Then she said recent (month ago?) antibiotic use could make a swab culture test likely negative, and that's what she came out to do, the reason for her visit. I told her how Hazel wouldn't drink much of the medicated water anyway, and then soon her eye got foamy again (it actually never cleared), and then this swelling developed, so wouldn't that indicate an active infection for a swab? She seemed to agree. Anyway our relations/conversation got better as we went along. I'm interested and willing to listen and discuss things rationally (well, what I consider rationally), and she got less into lecturing and more into discussion of the facts at hand, and things went more smoothly after that.

I am sorry about Hazel and your potential problems with new chicks. I hope Isabel will thrive under your care.

I am a little behind so I hope Hazel has also improved by now.

I do find the vet's opinion on integration very extreme. I do believe the collective wisdom in BYC is that integration can start very young with various strategies.

Another comment: I find cleaned sand unnecessary for a chicken bath.

 

[rural mouse]

I have to say I'm very glad that Cardhu is working out well as a mum.

with 3 untried broodies, Cardhu was the one I had the most confidence in. She hatched on the hillside under Storm (who mothered for something like 4 months) is also broody raised. She's is also the direct offspring of Storm's aunt, Pear.

PITA and Focus are both hatchery stock, raised in the coop with adults, but neither with a dedicated mama. This is truly a delight to watch.

 

[BY Bob]

In Use

A least they have found some use for the old litter box.

 

[lightm]

Another longer video

Love this rescue video.

 

[thistlewick]

Honestly that vet, was full of shite

I brood IN the hen house, within mere *days* all babies are integrated and no one gives a fig they are there. No one.

"pecking order" is something that is observed in *cooped up confined chickens* and no one talks about it, but it was not a thing until some guy in 1912 made it up -- watching cooped up, overcrowded chickens. The old article is available online in various places.

Yes, other chickens peck at other chickens -- for access to food. It's about food. Mainly. The nighttime shenanigans happens bc 'no I WANT TO ROOST HERE' and that's about it. Also as many people are already aware, if you have roosts of the same height, there is much less of that.

So in a free ranging (chickens natural environment) where they have lots of access to lots of food, there is... peace. I have 70 chickens and there are no fights. I open the door 2 hours after dawn (they know the routine) and they go on about their day and do their own thing. It's not in a backyard, I'm on 24 acres. They have the space to be chickens. IMO, what I'm observing is far more natural behavior and I spend a LOT of time observing.

The most ruckus that ever happens is a randy Cockerel getting too big for his britches.

 

[featherhead007]

Did something grab him?

He’s doing well today. He has energy and isn’t as lethargic. I thank God for small favors. The vet suggested giving him a multi vitamin and baby aspirin as I see fit.

 

[lightm]

That is another one of my favorite photos

same here

 

[BY Bob]

This is fun.....