fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[fuzzi]

I went out to the coop after lunchtime, decided to throw a flake of straw to the flock, and discovered that the top bale was damp. Argh. Apparently the shower curtain cover is developing pinholes.

I shook it out all over the run. It had a couple green sprouts and it was turning dark in places but I didn't see mold or smell it.

Happy birds!

Very happy Grape Lady!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The eggs are starting to roll in aren't they!

Your shower curtain may be sweating instead of leaking? Straw can generate a bit of heat and if there's sprouting action, then I bet it's sweating.

 

[fuzzi]

The eggs are starting to roll in aren't they!

Your shower curtain may be sweating instead of leaking? Straw can generate a bit of heat and if there's sprouting action, then I bet it's sweating.

Three a day is just about right. I'm thinking about trying to pickle some.

Good thought about condensation, but when I held the shower curtain up to the light I could see pinprick holes.

Do you have straw bales? How do you store them? I don't have a barn nor room in my shed.

 

[fuzzi]

I was cleaning up my photos on my phone, and moved all my chicken photos to my SD card.

I looked at photos of Joel, to try to figure out when he started to decline.

November 3, 2023, full body, nice tail.

November 25, 2023, tail looks smaller.

December 9, 2023, still decent tail feathers

December 16, 2023, looking smaller, tail smaller

December 23, 2023...tail is small, body hunched. I think @Wyorp Rock said something about an enlarged crop, but I missed it.

Too subtle. If Joel was ailing it wasn't apparent to me.

 

[fuzzi]

Martha's gone broody, again. I took her out of the nest box mid-afternoon, and again after dark. She was placed on the roost. Tough

The smaller egg was under Martha, might be hers

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Martha wants babies!

Yes, I usually get some straw bales, mainly in winter, but I just set them in the run for the birds to get on and dig at. They eventually loosen the string and get it all scattered everywhere.
I have taken extra straw and stuffed it in feed bags and stored them inside the coop for a few months. Bags of leaves the same way.

Nice photos Fuzzi. It can be really hard to know what's going on with them sometimes and yes, symptoms or hints that something is off may be subtle or they hide it very well.

 

[fuzzi]

Martha wants babies!

Yes, I usually get some straw bales, mainly in winter, but I just set them in the run for the birds to get on and dig at. They eventually loosen the string and get it all scattered everywhere.
I have taken extra straw and stuffed it in feed bags and stored them inside the coop for a few months. Bags of leaves the same way.

Nice photos Fuzzi. It can be really hard to know what's going on with them sometimes and yes, symptoms or hints that something is off may be subtle or they hide it very well.

Thanks. I made a thread in the disease/injury forum to see if anyone else has had a similar situation.

I have lots of feed bags, like that idea. But...wouldn't the straw get condensation in those as well?

 

[fuzzi]

Martha wants babies!

Not for another month. I want her to be a full year old before letting her set.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, they could get condensation in them too. My walk in coop stays dry inside, so the bags of straw and leaves usually stay quite dry as well.

 

[NanaK]

Do you have straw bales? How do you store them?

The first coop we built was small and awkward to clean. I now use it for storage. It opens to the run so I can pull out a flake or 2 of straw or drag out a whole bale. I have used feed bags for straw and leaves too.

Too subtle. If Joel was ailing it wasn't apparent to me.

They hide illness so well. Sometimes it is very difficult to catch. Especially with the boys.