HELP FOR THE NEWBIES

[Aussie Lady]

A very warm welcome Nikitaa

. Thank you for joining this thread, I hope some of the things mentioned here has helped you. I'm still fairly new at all this too and learning as I go. I'm happy to say that my meal worm farm is going extremely well, I have just sorted out some wheat germ, the last of the batch. I had quite a number of weevil eggs so I threw those out and put the rest in Tuperware containers and I will be freezing this for several days then it should be OK to give to the meal worms. I have quite a number of beetles so I am going to start a second container. My girls love them and fight for them even though they all get an equal share, they come running as soon as they see me.

This morning only one of my chickens laid an egg so I'm not sure why the other one didn't today. I believe and as I have been told by the farmer who sold me these chickens that yes stress can cause them to stop laying. Moving chickens, a threat, maybe a dog or cat scaring them or trying to attack them will make them stop laying. Actually anything that they may feel stressed about will have an effect on their egg laying. So give your girls some time to get used to their new surroundings, and they will probably start laying again. Give it 2 weeks and see what happens, this is what the farmer suggested. They may even start up again in a few days time. I believe they need to feel secure and contented before they will continue to lay.

We are in our winter at present (where I am it's a bit of a joke 20-22 C) however it does get nippy especially in the mornings however the sun comes up during the day. The 2 that lay usually lay between 8.30 to 9.45 am. I think I may have disturbed the other chicken as I handed out some scraps. She heard me doing something and wanted to be a part of as well as they like their privacy, so maybe that could be the reason why she isn't laying or she will be laying at a different time. It's hard to tell sometimes. Maybe if you observe your chickens for a while and see if they act differently. I hope I have helped, it's all trial and error.

If the hen is being bullied, you would hear this and see feathers that would have been plucked out. There would be some type of evidence. It is also the introducing part. I had a silkie first and made sure that her scent was all over the chicken coop before introducing her to the Australorps which are 4 times her size. We bought the chickens home and left them in the crate till dark, then we put the whole crate in the coup and let them introduce themselves. This worked and they accepted my silkie, by morning they thought she was one of the clan. If you're chicken is being bullied then yes this would cause stress and stop her from laying. The pictures below show 3 of my 4 Australorps and my silkie and the 4th one is sitting on an egg.

Cheers

 

[Nikitaa]

Thank you for replying we have a dog that my mum is trying to introduce to the chickens. Sometimes she lunges at them and barks. They dont normally react to this. But it could be a reason.

The bird thats picked on is moulting at the moment like the other two older ones so I wouldnt be able to tell if there were more feathers really as theyre just, everywhere. Looks like my chickens have expolded or something lol.

And lastly, one of my chickens has a vets appointment today as I believe she has a cold of some sort. I've had my chickens a week, already one is sick. I know now that she came to me this way though, so, it isn't something shes caught from my other birds or that my envrioment is doing to her.

I have posted about the cold elsewhere but do you have any advice? Ive read about garlic, bleach and all sorts of medicine. None of it makes much sense if I'm honest

 

[Aussie Lady]

Dogs will stress out the chickens, my dog sometimes barked at them in the beginning or sometimes when the chicken runs after the dog, the dog runs away, it was quite funny to watch however one time there was a stand off between the head honcho bird and Oli. I had to take charge and separate them. Nothing happened but it would have stressed the chicken. She had not started laying yet at that time. Oli normally ignores the chickens and they ignore him so all get along fine.

Guess what, I went to close the coop's door and checked the laying box and lo and behold, the other egg that wasn't there in the morning. So I did get 2 eggs after all. This may have been a once off or she has changed her time of laying, we will see.

As for your question, I firstly believe and coming from a nurse's point of view that a sick bird should be removed from the flock in case of cross-contamination especially if it is a viral infection. So I would remove the chicken first from the others until you find out what is wrong with it. Giving your bird garlic or onion is mainly for the prevention of worms and butter milk and sour milk mixed with their feed or water is to prevent diarrhoea. As for a cold or decongestant keep the chicken warm and away from drafts, allow it to sit on a hot water bottle covered with a cloth or a heat pack or any other way to keep it warm. The chickens immune system would be compromised so you may be able to get some vitamins or tonic from your produce place to put in her water and you can also put 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar in one gallon of water and allow all the chickens to drink it, you will need to take the normal water away. This should only be done for a few days as the chickens won't continue to drink acidulated water, so you do not want to overdo it. Also if the bird is heavily congested, use warm water and a soft cloth to wipe away the excess build up of mucus from the beak area.

I don't know about bleach, I wouldn't touch it unless you knew exactly how this works. Normally a human who smells bleach when cleaning can sometimes get a headache so a bird who is much smaller would feel a worse effect. It would have to be heavily diluted however I have not heard of this one. There is one other thing you could do, use 2 drops of each essential oil i.e. lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree and a drop of peppermint and put this in a container with boiling water and let the chicken breathe in the steam or if you have some type of diffuser (a ceramic pot where you put the oils on top and a candle on the bottle however you will need to be present and careful where you put it or a fire may start). This may help the congestion. There is a thread for chickens who have colds which you can look at. Please see the link below:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/256416/treating-chicken-with-cold-flu-symptoms

I would also let the person know who sold you the chicken so he can check his stock and maybe he can let you know if any of his birds have the same symptoms, what it is and how he is treating them.

 

[Nikitaa]

You for all your advice. Its so helpful and I am so greatful. I just went into the garden to pick her up and pack her in our cats old carry crate for the vets and I realised I could actually see her breast bone where she is so thin. I never realised before I feel so guilty for not realising before and doing something poor heti! Thats her name.

I was going back to the guy to buy another chicken from him anyway. So I'll tell him then. I understand he might not of realised she was sick and I dont blame him. He has well over 100 chickens so it must be hard to keep up :/

Thank you again for replying!!

 

[Nikitaa]

Just to let you know I went to the vets and he said Heti has a myplasam infection and gave me Tylan to treat her and my other 8 birds with. Only bought her 12 days ago so she must of been ill then but shes my first bird so I didnt know. But I'll ring the guy and tell him so he can look at his other chickens

 

[Aussie Lady]

People think I'm crazy for showering my Silkie chicken "Shatzy" with wool-wash and drying her with the hairdryer. I had to unfortunately separate her from my Australorps as she was starting to be bullied by them even though she was the first to use the chicken coop. They chased her, picked on her and wouldn't let her near the food. She had to find time to sneak into the coup to have her share of the feed. Even when I gave Shatzy her own food, they would still steal it away from her. She was getting quite stressed, my poor sweetie. So I gave her lots of TLC, gave her a shower and blow dry which she loves and falls asleep whilst I'm drying her and put her in a coop of her own. She seems to be happier now and can eat in peace. I gave her a piece of corn on the cob and she's happily pecking her way through it. I'm thinking of maybe getting another silkie to give her company. It's a shame, as it started off quite well. Maybe it's because my Australorps are laying now however they seem to be more placid since they started laying but not to the silkie. Never mind, just have to adapt to the new situation. Shatzy should have started laying by now as she is older than my Australorps however it's because of the stress she was under. Let's see what happens now.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

 

[tweetysvoice]

awww.. I'm sorry your silkie is all alone now. Too bad you don't live closer and I could give you a silkie roo that I'm needing to find a home for
My silkies are doing good although they have a tendency to get underneth the feet of my ducks and get stepped on quite a bit! I'm scare someones going to get hurt, but they seem to bounce back as soon as they are free! It's super hot here so we set up misting stations for our birds and the silkies love getting wet. They look like drowned rats when I go out in the afternoon cuz they are sopping wet, but at least they are staying cool. They are the only chickens that aren't panting all day long. The others refused to get wet - silly birds.

Have a great week yourself!!

 

[Kathleen2012]

Just over 6 weeks ago I got my first backyard chickens.I got one Australorp, one Isa Brown and one White Leghorn.
They were part of a package deal that also included a coop, bag of feed(10% protein), feeder and waterer.

I have since spent much more. I was told they were 20 weeks old point of lay birds when I got them. I have not yet seen any eggs.
I have placed dummy eggs in the nest box. I have bought layer feed with more protein and added that in to the other feed. I have given them black sunflower seeds. I have given them fresh food. They are not very interested in the kitchen scraps but they liked the cooked pasta, lettuce and banana I gave them.

I was told that it would be 2-6 weeks until they started laying. The white leghorn should start first as her comb had started turning red. The other two had no combs and wattles. During the last 6 weeks the Australorp has developed a small comb and wattles. The isa brown only in the last two days looks like they might have grown a little. So I am thinking maybe they were a lot younger then 20 weeks when I got them.

I let them out to forage. They like the area under the trees that has lots of leaf litter. I have a small dog but they don't interact very much and she doesn't bark at them. The chickens have gotten used to her and they only move away if she gets close.

I have started a meal worm farm with stock from a pet shop. I have not fed any to the chickens yet as I want to build up the numbers. I have had them two weeks and there are no beetles yet. They are eating quite well. I have them in a five drawer plastic storage unit. Only in the top drawer so far, I have rolled oats and bran as a bedding. There is also carrot and potato. I have used newspaper and a small box for hiding places.

I have seen a few dried up dead bodies but most seem to be still alive.

I am getting very disappointed that there are no eggs and no beetles. I wondering what it is I am doing wrong.
I like the chickens they are fun to watch especially when they are having a dust bath.

 

[Kathleen2012]

I finally have pupae in my farm.