I Built A Bridge!

[lizgarf]

Glad to hear Lu made it! Really hope s/he gets better soon. I had one chick with splayed leg last year, and no usually suggested materials on hand, but a few days (4, I think) with an improvised hair elastic brace had cured it completely. Hopefully works the same way for Lu.

And wow on the last pipped egg!!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for it!

Can you send me any details of the elastic brace you made? My tape isn't the best and I think I've made it too wide.

 

[ItalyChickie]

Can you send me any details of the elastic brace you made? My tape isn't the best and I think I've made it too wide.

I think it's easier to show than tell, I don't have the right kind of elastic on hand though, so this is just a piece of cloth, I think anything soft and stretchy would work though. The leg openings are knotted; just make sure to make them too small to stretch and get over the chick's foot (learned that the hard way!)

Let me know if this makes sense!

 

[lizgarf]

I think it's easier to show than tell, I don't have the right kind of elastic on hand though, so this is just a piece of cloth, I think anything soft and stretchy would work though. The leg openings are knotted; just make sure to make them too small to stretch and get over the chick's foot (learned that the hard way!)

Let me know if this makes sense!

So helpful!! Thank you!

 

[tommysgirl]

@lizgarf I have tried both vetwrap...on Curly, and a bandaid on the spring's Bantam. The bandaid work best. The pad part is a guide for how far apart the legs should be. (it is the length of the distance they should be apart) and the tape sticks to itself well but not to the skin. Here is a pic of the Bantam baby


If you halve the bandaid horizontally and center the pad between the legs. You can easily wrap the tape side around and stick it to itself. This was my first attempt and it was too far apart. Also because this chick was feather legged I wrapped a bit of Kleenex around the leg first to keep the feathers from messing with adhesion of the tape.

I almost screamed out

in class when I found out that Little Lu was out. Super cool. Now I am all like this

waiting for Marans baby #2.

 

[lizgarf]

Hi everyone,
Aw man, I'm a wreck at the moment. As I was out by the coop, working on Lu's brace, I heard a weird noise in the main broody nest and when I looked, it was Grace attacking the littlest bubby. I have no idea what triggered it. Thank god I was there, because I was able to rescue her before it was too late, but basically the skin on her head is separated, like it's a movable hood right above her eyes. She's not bleeding, but it's a big wound. I gave her to Rousseau, the hero of the week, who took her in just fine, and ran to the store to see what I could find (after realizing there was no way I could stitch it). I bought new skin and butterfly strips. Ultimately the new skin seemed the best way to go, because I didn't want anyone messing with the strips. I used the strips for Lu's brace instead, because the medical tape I had been using kept coming off. I have no idea how this is going to go.
Now I don't know what to do about Grace. I made their enclosure bigger so that they have room to dustbathe without hurting the babies and she seems totally back to normal, but I just don't know what to do. I'm so exhausted and sad and overwhelmed. I hate that I'm writing one of those sad posts, but that's what I'm doing, and no one has even died yet!
In other news, nothing beyond a pip from Little Cy's egg, which honestly seems for the best at the moment. But, Rousseau, my love, is holding tight and caring for everyone I give her..

 

[16 paws]

Hi everyone,
Aw man, I'm a wreck at the moment. As I was out by the coop, working on Lu's brace, I heard a weird noise in the main broody nest and when I looked, it was Grace attacking the littlest bubby. I have no idea what triggered it. Thank god I was there, because I was able to rescue her before it was too late, but basically the skin on her head is separated, like it's a movable hood right above her eyes. She's not bleeding, but it's a big wound. I gave her to Rousseau, the hero of the week, who took her in just fine, and ran to the store to see what I could find (after realizing there was no way I could stitch it). I bought new skin and butterfly strips. Ultimately the new skin seemed the best way to go, because I didn't want anyone messing with the strips. I used the strips for Lu's brace instead, because the medical tape I had been using kept coming off. I have no idea how this is going to go.
Now I don't know what to do about Grace. I made their enclosure bigger so that they have room to dustbathe without hurting the babies and she seems totally back to normal, but I just don't know what to do. I'm so exhausted and sad and overwhelmed. I hate that I'm writing one of those sad posts, but that's what I'm doing, and no one has even died yet!
In other news, nothing beyond a pip from Little Cy's egg, which honestly seems for the best at the moment. But, Rousseau, my love, is holding tight and caring for everyone I give her..

Hi Liz,
Just got home and cant believe everything your going thru.

I had the same thing happen with my co-broodys. One chick got pecked in the head pretty bad. I took him to the brooder for a while to rest up a bit. Then I separated the broodys and split the chicks. I gave it a day or so and then put them all back together. One broody ended up raising them all in the long run. Glad you have Rou there to help out.

Dont worry about the sad post, I do it all the time, these things happen and I always feel better when I share with others that understand the "crazy chicken lady side of me". We are all here for you, cheering you on.
Things are going to get better, just take one thing at a time and try not to get overwhelmed with everything.
Let us know how its going...
HUGS
Marie

 

[Teila]

Good morning Club

Liz sorry to read about Little Lu being splayed. I have no experience with this apart from what I have read on BYC; I will definitely be taking note of any advice the rest of the club has to offer.

[Note: reading on, as per usual, lots of helpful advice from the Club

]

Wow at the last egg pipping, great news! Maybe not great news for your current craziness but definitely when everything calms down a little and you have another beautiful bubby.

Reading on some more …. Aaaw gees Liz you are having a rough trot but you can do this .. deep breath, a cup of whatever calms you (tea, coffee etc) and back into it. I wish I could offer more than support! I know we have all read over and over again that broodies do not normally attack their bubbies unless they know something is amiss; maybe Grace knows something we do not?

More special hugs for Rousseau, she sure has stepped up on this occasion, what a little darling!!

IC you and me both on knowing whether Tina is broody. She was still hunkered down in the egg-less nest box this morning at breakfast while everyone else was up and about. In the end, I gave her a gentle nudge and she got up for some brekkie and did a huge poop (she did not poop overnight). She wandered around for 15 mins or so. While she was doing that, Blondie decided to camp out in that nest box. Tina actually booted Blondie out a couple of minutes later and hunkered back down again. I went back a little later and Blondie was in the nest box next to Tina.

I made the decision to close off the broody section and move Tina in there with a couple of her dud eggs. She was not happy about the move and wandered around for 15-20 minutes but then went back to the nest box and settled on the eggs. An hour later she was up and moving around again. Still just the two eggs in the nest box so she is not laying and does not appear to be in any distress. However, she is still pecking around the little run. So, at this stage, still not sure what is going on with her. I will leave her in the broody with the eggs and give her some more time to see what she is thinking.

[PS. Just took another look and she is hunkered down under the broody coop, not on the eggs .. leaving here there for now]

Beautiful pictures IC .. love the adventurous bubby on the fence!

 

[lizgarf]

Thanks everyone, your support really does help! It's just so hard when our beloved animals hurt others. But, things have calmed down for now. The chick who was pecked was smaller than the others - I think it was the last Rousseau egg to hatch on Sunday. Maybe that had something to do with it. I removed Grace for a minute, but then all the chicks tried to get out of the enclosure to follow her, as she started to try to show them the big girl feeder. So, she's back in, and hopefully it'll go better with 6 more uniform chicks and more space.
Rousseau and the broken bubbies appear to be holding on in the short nest. I think I'm going to try to move them to a cat carrier inside the dog crate tonight, so that there isn't too much drama with the layers tomorrow (I think they were all fine with a day off from laying today, but might not be tomorrow). Larger flock integration is going to be a long way off, especially with the two disabled ones.
Speaking of laying, in the middle of some of the drama earlier today (which seems mild in comparison to the pecking drama), some guy walked up the 50 steps to my house and knocked, saying he was working nearby and heard the chickens and wondered if I had eggs to sell. Ever happen to you? I said no, and my dog is scared of strangers (as she was barking ferociously to help me out), and he went on his way. It was not the time for an egg sale!

 

[arkansas55]

Thanks everyone, your support really does help! It's just so hard when our beloved animals hurt others. But, things have calmed down for now. The chick who was pecked was smaller than the others - I think it was the last Rousseau egg to hatch on Sunday. Maybe that had something to do with it. I removed Grace for a minute, but then all the chicks tried to get out of the enclosure to follow her, as she started to try to show them the big girl feeder. So, she's back in, and hopefully it'll go better with 6 more uniform chicks and more space.
Rousseau and the broken bubbies appear to be holding on in the short nest. I think I'm going to try to move them to a cat carrier inside the dog crate tonight, so that there isn't too much drama with the layers tomorrow (I think they were all fine with a day off from laying today, but might not be tomorrow). Larger flock integration is going to be a long way off, especially with the two disabled ones.
Speaking of laying, in the middle of some of the drama earlier today (which seems mild in comparison to the pecking drama), some guy walked up the 50 steps to my house and knocked, saying he was working nearby and heard the chickens and wondered if I had eggs to sell. Ever happen to you? I said no, and my dog is scared of strangers (as she was barking ferociously to help me out), and he went on his way. It was not the time for an egg sale!

i;m sorry for all your going thru,just wanted to let you know your post's will help us new chick momma's and poppa's alot,so thank you,i won't freak out when i get chick's and this might happen

 

[Teila]

Just checking back in again ……………

Sorry Liz I did have a little chuckle at the “It was not the time for an egg sale” gees, it sure does happen all at once at your place!

How wonderful that you have Rousseau to look after your little disabled bubs; I am hoping that with yours and her love they will both come through with flying colours. She sounds like a very gentle sole so she is probably the best one to be caring for them right now.

No further news on the pip in Little Cy’s egg?

I do have news! I am now declaring Tina officially broody! She is, once again, hunkered down on those eggs and in the ‘zone’. Now to see if she sticks at it .. I am a little concerned that she has left them for longer than I am used to, but my moving her to the broody may have been the cause for that .. she is stuck fast right now!