Frustrated!!!!!!!!!!

[n8ivetxn]

I have SFs and I love them. I haven't noticed them being any less vigorous than my Ameracaunas or French Marans.... I have 2 different age groups, some that are almost a year old and a new group of little ones the same age as bird-brain's... They are so much friendlier than any of my others.

Be forewarned, Faverolles are like Lays potato chips - "You can't have just one!"

 

[bird-brain]

By all accounts this IS a fairly hearty breed. I can say with a degree of certainty that they have come back from illness that would have left other's laying lifeless in the brooder. I think this has been enhanced by bad genetics. Port quality roo x poor quality hens made poorer quality chicks. Add to that an inexperienced breeder, a novice owner and a respiratory infection. I'm surprised any if them have survived. Living through these odds probably makes them the cock roach of chickens. (disgusting analogy I know but you get the picture)

 

[n8ivetxn]

Actually that's probably more accurate than any of us know!

I want them to survive and thrive, just to thumb death and disease in the face

You guys have fought the battle this long - they deserve to live!

 

[aggiemae]

My experience is that lots of people should not be selling or breeding animals of any kind. Don't even get me started on human children! I suspect that the interest in back yard chickens will increase this sort of thing since a breeder can get more money per chick from non commercial buyers. Report it if you can and maybe warn others by putting an ad on craigslist. Don't be mean or angry just post your experience. I would consider it a public service.

But please consider that farmer tend to have a different attitude that small flock owners. I am not excusing it, it's just reality. I was raised on a dairy farm and we hatched chicks for eggs and meat when I was a kid. At first we got the eggs from a commercial "farm" and a loss of 30 out of 100 chicks in the first 48 hours wasn't uncommon. This improved dramatically when my parents decided to get a rooster and brood eggs from our own chickens but I recall that actual chicken farmers, while impressed when we only lost 2 out of 100chicks where not impressed enough to make the changes that my father made.

 

[bird-brain]

Hi all. Sorry I haven't updated. It's been a rough couple of days. The filly with the leg fracture that my friend rescued and brought to our barn had to be put down. This is strangely in keeping with the topic of this thread...High Dollar filly, big horse farm, casted something that should never have been done without plating it, pawned off on someone else to deal with the expense thinking to recoup her as a brood mare...The fracture was too severe to have been treated the way it was. They never even xrayed post casting to make sure she was aligned properly. I will spare you the gory details of what was under the cast. Suffice it to say I want to punch some one in the face.

On to the chicks...all respiratory symptoms have officially abated!!!!!!

Now I have blood tinged poop...

...yup you heard it here first, I cure a respiratory infection and now I have bloody poo. I don't see how it can be a coccidia infection, they have been on medicated food, have probios in their H2O (which doesn't treat coccidia I know). I am hoping it is just irritation from the high dose antibiotics and not some new symptom of the original illness.

They seem to feel well. Eating and drinking fine. They got to play outside in the 85 degree sunshine briefly yesterday. When they got tired, they walked over to where I was sitting on the ground and cuddle up next to me to nap. Poor hubby felt ignored. lol I told him if he would dropper feed them every two hours day and night, they would cuddle with him too. He has decided he is comfortable with being ignored.

They are such sweet babies! And apparently they love their fidma.

 

[cary 1973]

are you sure its not normal chick poo

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0
some is the intestine lining so abouve is a guide of normal poo and unnormal poo

that sucks about the poor horse

 

[bird-brain]

Thanks for the link! I'll continue monitoring their droppings...... I shovel horse poo half the day and clean parrot poo up the half I won't even notice playing in a little more...It looks like it could be shedding but I am not certain. Does anyone know how often that occurs and will it be intermittent or will it happen for a few days in a row. Is it likely that more than one would be doing this at the same time? Thanks

 

[sumi]

Sorry to hear about the horse

I can imagine...

I hope your chicks are o.k. You've been through so much with them already. I keep checking this thread to see how you're doing. Thanks for the updates.

 

[bird-brain]

Thanks Sumi. You've been so supportive through all of this!

 

[sumi]

I've been through this myself. I know what it's like. A former "friend" dumped 3 sick chicks on me, one by one. He'd literally walk in the door, hand me a chick, run out again, yelling over his shoulder that I can have them if they make it. BTW he's they guy I reported.
The first one, Hope, died after a 3 day battle with me and my vet friend not being able to find antibiotics. Some people actually told him "It's a chicken, let it die"
The second one, Faith, recovered, but got killed by a predator.
The 3rd one, Luna (a.k.a. Lunatic), hatched out her first batch of chicks last week and is now having a wonderful time, playing mom.