fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[1muttsfan]

Luke and Leia turned out to be Luke and Han. They were rehomed to a friend of mine who didn't have any current roosters.
My second hatch was five, which are all also cockerels. I have home for two of them and I'm afraid the other two are going to have to go soon.

 

[fuzzi]

Luke and Leia turned out to be Luke and Han. They were rehomed to a friend of mine who didn't have any current roosters.
My second hatch was five, which are all also cockerels. I have home for two of them and I'm afraid the other two are going to have to go soon.

We can't blame it on the water. Samuel's five were all cockerels, too. Maybe a hatch in the Spring will give you some new gals.

 

[fuzzi]

I'm at 2000 posts, wow.

I guess I am the loquacious one...

 

[fuzzi]

All the kids in one shot:

Esther, Silas, Priscilla, and Joanna on the right. She was one of two chicks that Tamar brooded, and Joanna's nestmate went to auction. She's the shy one. Prissy is giving me a look!

Here's another one, with Momma Rahab in the middle for size comparison:

Another one of Johanna:

Prissy and Esther.

And Zacchaeus:

The run smells fine, so I think removing the decomposing clippings did the trick.

 

[1muttsfan]

Priscilla has really nice markings. I don't like to see them with too much white as young birds, as they molt into more spotting as they get older.

 

[fuzzi]

Priscilla has really nice markings. I don't like to see them with too much white as young birds, as they molt into more spotting as they get older.

She reminds me of Rahab at that age, who is the darkest hen.

 

[fuzzi]

One of the Dominiques "Lydia" was not roosting last night, but was in the straw underneath the wheelbarrow. I picked her up and looked her over to see if there was anything obviously wrong. The only thing I noticed was that she felt smaller than usual. I will check her as soon as I get home from work when I can see better.

She's one on the lower end of the pecking order.

Martha was broody and taking her frustrations out on everyone else.

 

[fuzzi]

After I got home from work I checked on Lydia. She appears to have a hard ball on her breast, impacted crop?

I was informed that she needed mineral oil and massage. I didn't have mineral oil but I substituted olive oil after reading comments.

I gave her 1ml of olive oil in stages, and massaged her crop. She squawked a couple times at first, but settled down on my lap after a few minutes of massage, even closed her eyes. She became alert once I stopped, and talked a little at me. I'm going to check her again closer to dark.

Zacchaeus was very upset with me every time Lydia squawked, fussing but not making any physical moves towards me. The adult hens still bully him a little but he's acting more like a rooster with a flock to protect and less like a scared cockerel.

 

[Winderdear]

After I got home from work I checked on Lydia. She appears to have a hard ball on her breast, impacted crop?

I was informed that she needed mineral oil and massage. I didn't have mineral oil but I substituted olive oil after reading comments.

I gave her 1ml of olive oil in stages, and massaged her crop. She squawked a couple times at first, but settled down on my lap after a few minutes of massage, even closed her eyes. She became alert once I stopped, and talked a little at me. I'm going to check her again closer to dark.
View attachment 3912778

Zacchaeus was very upset with me every time Lydia squawked, fussing but not making any physical moves towards me. The adult hens still bully him a little but he's acting more like a rooster with a flock to protect and less like a scared cockerel.
View attachment 3912780

I do hope Lydia recovers soon! I’m glad her problem was something that you could treat at home, and I really hope the treatment was successful!

 

[fuzzi]

I do hope Lydia recovers soon! I’m glad her problem was something that you could treat at home, and I really hope the treatment was successful!

Thank you.

I gave her a little more olive oil at dusk, and as I felt her crop it didn't feel as hard as it had before, not did it feel as large. She's definitely not her usual self, though, was content to sit on my lap and be stroked/petted.

After about ten minutes I put her down and she walked over towards the roost, but was unable to access it. I picked her up and placed her on the end of the roost, and she settled down, making little content noises. I'll check her first thing in the morning.