Lumley Farm
Songster
Ok, so we know "Old Wives Tales" do have some fact applied to them. Here it goes with my experience just recently. Just acquired two new hens. 9 month old Rhode Island Reds. Lady was talking to me blah, blah, and said she "usually gets the chickens to come to her when she throws some bread at them...." ... Ok, so at the time my brain saved this information. I didn't have a say in what chickens I really wanted so I did end up with one that had her comb folded over. No big deal, I saw that the enclosure was not the best...(understatement) so I said to myself that this was a rescue mission. The one with the folded comb was indeed skinny, felt her breast bone. 23 hours later she was panting and wings out, obvious stress and trying to fly out of her new enclosure, in and out of the presented nest box all day. Fast forward. Thought I'd see an egg cause she was scratching and playing with the 'incentive egg'. Her crop was so full, I realized she was just trying to expel. My client has a lot of experience with chickens so I asked for help. He didn't feel an egg that why I thought maybe she just has to GO. Here's where you have to pay attention. He said he had a friend that had fighting cocks and when the birds were so stressed, water was squirted on them. I KNOW, HE'S OLD SCHOOL NEW YORK NEIGHBORHOOD.....please no hate mail...... Putting your chicken in a little water TOTALLY calms them down!!!!! I was so hesitant, but she quit panicking instantly. I let her 'sip' vegetable oil from a syringe and every hour or so I have been massaging her croup. It has gone down. She is drinking and has eaten all day. That lady giving her chickens bread was so wrong!!!! I hope my Dolly makes it. PS: her poop in the nest box was like a hard Styrofoam ball. never saw anything like this.... So the take away is this: if you have a chick that is freaking out and can put her in water without further harming her and weather conditions allow, put them in a shallow puddle of water....! It works!
