he is dying and there is nothing I can do

[pattgal]

Update, he lives

he is up and scratching around so I tossed him some scratch, and I added some of that tetracycline to his water since it indicates its for respiratory infections, it cant hurt.
I got the vetrx, seems more homeopathic to me...they almost make it sound like he has the human cold or something, I was under the impression a poultry cold had nothing to do with a human cold
from the looks of it, since he didnt drink since last night, it seems like it was more environmental than anything else! because all I did was separate him and put him under the lamp
So I drilled DH on ventilation and continue to do so because I know he was in there closing up holes.
I will continue to monitor them, this is what got me into this mess in the first place.

 

[mommissan]

YAAYYY!!!! Those chickens always amaze me! Yes, that ventilation is so important. I made DH cut vents and make a screen door for the coop to ventilate more. He was so obsessed with conserving heat..... Glad your boy is recovering!

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
the only place the water dosent freeze is inside the coop. the little bit of body heat they produce seems to keep it just right. once this is all settled I might move some hens around from my second coop to distribute the heat a bit more evenly, I have 16 on one side and 5 on the other so it should work out. the only reason I had them that way was because I didn't want my show birds overcrowded
deep litter never worked for me, the only way I can manage to keep them clean and dry is to strip everything out once a month and put new shavings in. I usually get mine from the community college so once school starts up I might be to get some more regularly

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
I know, I keep having to stress (and re-stress) dryness not heat, dryness not heat, DRYNESS NOT HEAT, lol

 

[mommissan]

I spent a few hours today rigging up extension cords to the run for a heated water bowl and the light on a timer. What a pain, trying to keep those connections dry!

Maybe you could add DE to the litter? It seems to dry things out a lot. I'm able to hold off between cleanings for almost 3 months, if I let them out in the run all day. I just put up a 3'x3'x9' "greenhouse" for them to roost in during the day to help take the pressure off the main coop which is MUCH harder for me to clean. I'll be doing DLM in that. We'll see if that works. You already have 2 coops; don't think you want to keep adding more..... or maybe you do..... hee hee

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
no the DE helps but it can only dry up so much before it turns into sludge. yup 2 coops and a brooder (multipurpose) pen. that brooder pen is Awesome! its just a little pen but so convenient for times like these or "of course" for the broody hens
I don't clean the coop all summer, it gets yucky looking but it stays dry.