FrozenPony
Chirping
Greetings! I've been regularly visiting BYC since early summer of 2017. Finally decided to make the introductions and give many, many thanks to all! This site has been priceless and literally helped me save a rooster's life.
We were forced into chickenhood via a very young rogue red rooster who showed up late spring 2017. Maybe a RIR? Not sure. Bird came from a neighbor's flock but refused to stay there. Silly thing was determined to make our deck and surrounding yard his home. We affectionately named him "Bobby Chickone" after the champion featherweight boxer, Bobby Chacon.
We tolerated him, always at our door in the morning and would roost on our deck railing at night. Tried to take him back to actual owners. He'd just wander back to our place. When he got his "cock-a-doddle doo" he turned out to be the loudest damn bird on the block. But we put up with him.
Flash forward to August. As I was working in my garden, noticed Bob didn't look good. Flies were buzzing around him and he reeked. In the oppressive heat and humidity of late summer in upstate NY, the bird pretty much limped into his roosting box which we'd placed on our deck for him (since he wouldn't go back to where he came from). Then he just sat there looking miserable. I reached in and lifted his tail-feathers up and almost retched. Grossest thing I've ever seen. Worse than a Rob Zombie movie. Worse than The Fly. Damn! Poor thing was being eaten alive by maggots...he had what we now know to be a nasty, nasty case of fly strike. Long story short, we knew if we took him back to actual owners, they'd put him down. So we took him to vet. For $500 and change, they cleaned him up. I nursed him inside for a month - cleaning out his wounds, forcing meds down his throat, putting my fingers (assisted by Q-tips and guaze) in the parts of a live chicken no finger should ever go. He survived and is currently asleep in his bed (cage) in our basement utility room (now the "chicken" room).
Couple months later he started limping. Turns out he'd managed to get himself what I now know to be "bumble foot." I caught it early. Again, he survived just fine.
In November, of all things, a little hen decided to make our back porch her home. She's definitely an RIR. She comes from the same flock Bob comes from. We named her Omelet. They both now reside at night in our basement utility room.
Bear in mind, this is the short version. I could write a book based on our chicken adventures.
All that being said, this site has been utterly invaluable to me. I'm a live-in caregiver for an elderly disabled friend. He didn't want the rooster put down and is responsible for funding the care for "Bob." I am responsible for not only caring for my friend, but also caring for the chickens. I happened on BYC as I was researching fly strike-thankful to have found similar stories that resulted in salvation for such afflicted birds. Hence the decision to take him to a vet. Same thing with the bumble foot. Home remedies offered up by BYC members helped me cure our "Bob" of the bumble foot and has provided solutions and explanations for frostbite to fighting wounds, egg laying to molting, creepy crawlies and feeding. There is always an answer, an explanation, a home remedy available on this site. It's great!
Bob and Omelet are forever in the debt of BYC members. And I am SOOOO glad to have found this site and will be forever grateful to all who post, who share stories we can all relate to as chicken owners. I'm especially grateful for all the posts directed to new chicken owners. I have a love-hate relationship with our chickens. Bob and Omelet drive me crazy - and I must admit, I really despise how the neighbors won't keep their free-range birds on their property and away from ours - but at the end of the day, I get a weird sense of comfort and satisfaction that Bob and Omelet chose us to be their owners - like it was meant to be. Funny and strange creatures they are....
Thanks to all!!
FYI - No, I don't keep the beasties locked up in my basement. I let them out to free range with the neighbor birds and bring them in at night.
Just posted pics in a different thread...scroll down to see.....
We were forced into chickenhood via a very young rogue red rooster who showed up late spring 2017. Maybe a RIR? Not sure. Bird came from a neighbor's flock but refused to stay there. Silly thing was determined to make our deck and surrounding yard his home. We affectionately named him "Bobby Chickone" after the champion featherweight boxer, Bobby Chacon.
We tolerated him, always at our door in the morning and would roost on our deck railing at night. Tried to take him back to actual owners. He'd just wander back to our place. When he got his "cock-a-doddle doo" he turned out to be the loudest damn bird on the block. But we put up with him.
Flash forward to August. As I was working in my garden, noticed Bob didn't look good. Flies were buzzing around him and he reeked. In the oppressive heat and humidity of late summer in upstate NY, the bird pretty much limped into his roosting box which we'd placed on our deck for him (since he wouldn't go back to where he came from). Then he just sat there looking miserable. I reached in and lifted his tail-feathers up and almost retched. Grossest thing I've ever seen. Worse than a Rob Zombie movie. Worse than The Fly. Damn! Poor thing was being eaten alive by maggots...he had what we now know to be a nasty, nasty case of fly strike. Long story short, we knew if we took him back to actual owners, they'd put him down. So we took him to vet. For $500 and change, they cleaned him up. I nursed him inside for a month - cleaning out his wounds, forcing meds down his throat, putting my fingers (assisted by Q-tips and guaze) in the parts of a live chicken no finger should ever go. He survived and is currently asleep in his bed (cage) in our basement utility room (now the "chicken" room).
Couple months later he started limping. Turns out he'd managed to get himself what I now know to be "bumble foot." I caught it early. Again, he survived just fine.
In November, of all things, a little hen decided to make our back porch her home. She's definitely an RIR. She comes from the same flock Bob comes from. We named her Omelet. They both now reside at night in our basement utility room.
Bear in mind, this is the short version. I could write a book based on our chicken adventures.
All that being said, this site has been utterly invaluable to me. I'm a live-in caregiver for an elderly disabled friend. He didn't want the rooster put down and is responsible for funding the care for "Bob." I am responsible for not only caring for my friend, but also caring for the chickens. I happened on BYC as I was researching fly strike-thankful to have found similar stories that resulted in salvation for such afflicted birds. Hence the decision to take him to a vet. Same thing with the bumble foot. Home remedies offered up by BYC members helped me cure our "Bob" of the bumble foot and has provided solutions and explanations for frostbite to fighting wounds, egg laying to molting, creepy crawlies and feeding. There is always an answer, an explanation, a home remedy available on this site. It's great!
Bob and Omelet are forever in the debt of BYC members. And I am SOOOO glad to have found this site and will be forever grateful to all who post, who share stories we can all relate to as chicken owners. I'm especially grateful for all the posts directed to new chicken owners. I have a love-hate relationship with our chickens. Bob and Omelet drive me crazy - and I must admit, I really despise how the neighbors won't keep their free-range birds on their property and away from ours - but at the end of the day, I get a weird sense of comfort and satisfaction that Bob and Omelet chose us to be their owners - like it was meant to be. Funny and strange creatures they are....
Thanks to all!!
FYI - No, I don't keep the beasties locked up in my basement. I let them out to free range with the neighbor birds and bring them in at night.
Just posted pics in a different thread...scroll down to see.....
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Welcome to Backyard Chickens. 
. What a lovely story. Bob is clearly very well cared for despite initially being an unwanted resident! I'm delighted you are finding the site so useful 
We are glad you joined our flock!
