hellotrixie
Songster
Hello chicken keepers! I've had a few losses recently, and I have littles, so I want to review my chicken keeping practices to make sure that I am doing everything as best as I can. THIS IS LONG! But, if you'd like to review and give some constructive criticism, I'd appreciate any input.
The Flock
Feed/Water/Supplements
The Flock
- 1 feed store BSL who is about 2 years old
- 5 littles who are about 15 weeks old:
- 2 Ameraucana
- 1 Green Queen EE
- 1 silver Leghorn
- 1 Speckled Sussex that I am pretty sure is a rooster
- I lost my 2 year old BSL to a hawk in December 2019
- My 2 year old EE died suddenly the week after Easter. She had some laying issues - long periods without laying, soft eggs, shell-less eggs, fairy eggs, and straining/panting in nest box without producing an egg (she never appeared egg abound on exam). She had no other symptoms, and was eating/drinking/foraging the day before she died, and roosted normally the night before. I found her dead in a corner where she liked to lay eggs.
- My 2 year old Golden Comet passed away this week. I had a necropsy done at the stat lab and the cause of death was cancer that had spread through the abdominal cavity.
- I have been integrating the littles with the big girls since before the two most recent losses
- I started with the littles in a netting hoop tunnel in view of (no touching) the big girls during the day
- Progressed to letting big girls free range around the hoop tunnel while I supervised
- Eventually the littles moved into a "condo" in the secure run. For weeks, they stayed shut in the condo at night and until I opened the door to the large run in the morning. During the day they were with the big girls.
- They are now roosting in the coop with my remaining big girl and are never separated in the condo.
- My coop is about 6 x 6
- The coop is elevated and has a covered, approximately 100sqft secure run attached (1/4 inch hardware cloth covering, with buried wire aprons). They are closed into this area at night.
- Large daytime run that is not completely predator proof, but:
- Is within our fenced backyard
- Is fenced on all sides with tight fishing line grid overhead
- Has low tree cover
- Has lots of pallets and boards setup to hide under
- We added this after a hawk attack and it is very much a work in progress. I am thinking of converting it to three large chicken wire hoop houses joined by a series of tunnels. This would still be day use only.
- Ventilation:
- Ridge vent in the roof
- Ventilation holes in the gable that is inside the secure run
- A large panel we remove in hot weather, which reveals an opening covered in hardware cloth
- A window that faces in to the secure run (closed in winter)
- Fan in window during really hot months (North Carolina swelters)
- Bedding/Cleaning:
- I use a deep bed of pine shavings and droppings boards. I clean the boards every 1-2 days and scoop any messy shavings before stirring and adding Sweet PDZ. I remove all the shavings and start fresh every 2-3 months.
- I have three attached nest boxes with excelsior mats and shavings. I freshen the shavings regularly, and I change the mats 1-2 times per year depending on how soiled they get and how much the girls tear them up.
- The secure run has a sandy loam soil. I add substrate to keep it freshened - the girls help me mix it in. I routinely add sand, topsoil, pine bark fines, shavings, pine straw, leaves, ashes, and grass clippings. There's very little poo smell in my run.
- My schedule/routine was based on my four original birds. I'll adjust it for the new flock size.
Feed/Water/Supplements
- Currently feeding Nutrena NatureWise All Flock Feed
- Recently transitioned (by gradually mixing in new feed and then reducing ratio of old feed slowly) from Purina Organic Layer Pellets because I have littles
- Always offer supplemental oyster shell and granite grit
- Fresh water daily and I scrub out the bucket/drinker cups with a stiff brush.
- I disinfect the feeder and waterer weekly.
- I occasionally (every few days) throw my girls a handful of scratch (corn, milo, wheat, sunflower seeds). I also offer them pulled weeds from my garden and fresh vegetable scraps from my kitchen. Occasionally my husband will feed them something like crushed up corn chips or stale bread, but we really try not to give them "junk".
- I observe my birds daily, and catch/examine them at least monthly, but much more often if I suspect anything is off. For instance, I used to check my EE with laying issues every few days.
- Here's what I do daily:
- Observe birds behavior at different times of the day, including roosting time
- Try to spot each bird eating/drinking
- Observe color of combs/wattles
- Observe birds stance - tails up/down etc.
- Observe birds movement - check for any abnormal gait or limp
- Here's how I do health checks:
- Palpate abdomen
- Check crops (morning and night)
- Check feet and legs (caught bumblefoot early this way!)
- Look in mouth/at tongue
- Check eyes
- Check vent area
- I also keep an eye on their droppings when I clean the boards
- I keep a chicken first aid kid, a heat lamp, and a dog crate for emergencies.
- I'm not sure how much vet care I am financially able to provide, but I know the chicken vets in my area and am willing to consider it on a case by case basis.
- I have not culled a chicken but am prepared to either do so or take the bird to be humanely euthanized.
- For whole flock issues, I do have access to a mobile poultry unit via the local vet school (budget dependent).
- I recently had a necropsy done on a bird I lost and am prepared to do that in the future to rule out infectious disease in unexplained deaths
I know how it feels. I lost two chickens a few days apart from each other....and it was heart breaking.
) and everything looks good!
