fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[Wyorp Rock]

I want to thank everyone who offered advice and tried to help Lydia.

I know more, now, and will hopefully be better able to treat any future crop ailments.

Hugs to you, I'm so sorry.

Zach is a handsome fella!

 

[1muttsfan]

I'm so sorry to hear it. My experience with crop issues has been poor - the only one I got resolved came back at a later date. Personally I think many of them have some crop motility disorder.

I went out to collect eggs 2 days ago and noticed one of my adult hens inside the little coop, very unusual for her, and when I checked she was lying there peacefully on her back dead - no sign of a struggle or of anything wrong, and all the birds seemed fine the day before. A mystery.

Your youngsters are coming along well!

 

[Winderdear]

I’m so sorry fuzzi. Your struggle to help her has made me cry more than once. It’s sad that in many ways these things seem out of our hands. I’m sure Lydia will be very missed.

 

[fuzzi]

I'm so sorry to hear it. My experience with crop issues has been poor - the only one I got resolved came back at a later date. Personally I think many of them have some crop motility disorder.

I went out to collect eggs 2 days ago and noticed one of my adult hens inside the little coop, very unusual for her, and when I checked she was lying there peacefully on her back dead - no sign of a struggle or of anything wrong, and all the birds seemed fine the day before. A mystery.

Your youngsters are coming along well!

I am SO sorry. Was it one of your Sussex?

Thank you. I'm especially pleased with Joanna and Priscilla's coloring, they're turning out nice and dark.

 

[fuzzi]

I’m so sorry fuzzi. Your struggle to help her has made me cry more than once. It’s sad that in many ways these things seem out of our hands. I’m sure Lydia will be very missed.

Thank you

She was not an alpha, but she'd talk to me when I visited the run, in that cute nasal honking that Dominiques do.

The Sussex are chatty, especially Rahab. She kicked her chicks to the curb but still tolerates them getting close when other hens are being mean.

 

[fuzzi]

Not too hot, cool breeze today, so I'm doing some early Autumn cleaning.

Before

After (current)

I dug down about six inches, and hit clay dirt.

It's going into my new raised beds, for Spring planting.

 

[fuzzi]

I removed the chick hidey hole barriers, and discovered green plants growing, but not for long...a salad bar!

 

[1muttsfan]

She was one of my Arkansas Blues, good prolific layers, and not spooky but also always wary and seldom will come close enough to eat out of hand.

 

[fuzzi]

Three little pullets...

...and they're getting fluffy butts!

After raking off the straw I loosened about another three feet of impacted run, and the hens are doing a great job of breaking up the clods. I'm just sitting here, taking a break and enjoying the breeze as well as the antics.

 

[lightm]

Thank you. Yes, when I checked on her about 5:30 this morning she'd just died, was not breathing, her body was getting cool. I buried her, then got dressed for work.

A friend of mine said he's tried but never succeeded in treating crop problems with his chickens.

I'm going to get the remedies recommended and have them on hand, including a decent 20 or 30 ml syringe. Now that I've tubed a chicken, it's not as scary a task as before.

It's likely she had underlying issues.