Icelandic Chickens

[Chickielady]

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Congrates my dear!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Robin, especially since I got them from you. Spike (Birchen boy - we call him Spike after Spike Milligan, the British writer and Comedian) is a really wonderful boy - he is so proud, strutting about, looking after everything, even to making sure the ducks are behaving! The only thing he isn't good at, is keeping the little girls inside the pasture. They found out where hubby spilled the wheelbarrow full of rabbit poop, and were having a feast of maggots. I guess he was torn between staying inside with the other 18 girls, or going out to be with the little three. The 18 inside won!

I'm going to wait until spring before trying to hatch any eggs. Wait until they are a bit older and the eggs are bigger.

Question:

The other rooster, Beau, he keeps his distance from Spike, who is obviously top Chicken here. Will Beau get any chance of breeding or will Spike just keep him away from the girls? So far, every time Beaus gets close, Spike is after him. Just want to know so I know which is the male parent. Whether or not to keep them separate, give him a few girls of his own.

First of all, all of the icelandics that I sold to you are all the same age, and from the same hatch.
As far as what do to with breeding each..maybe ask Mary or Kathy...as far as if it were me, I would give Beau every chance as he is gorgeous!
Spike (aka Birchen Boy) is a fast deed isn't he???
The little guy RUNS!!!!!!!!!!

Beau is more sensible....so, saying that...it may well be that giving each his own would be good.
Hatching as soon as you can will give you a start on a good flock of pullets by mid spring as well.
Hope you had a good Holiday & your ankle is getting better!!

 

[The Sheriff]

Oh no Kelly! Prayers said that she returns tomorrow. What is up today anyway?

 

[The Sheriff]

Ok I will try to explain the convoluted tale of my splash Isbar's disappearance today. Try to stay with me because in the end one thing has nothing to do with the other.

1. A couple of weeks ago I notice that one of my splash Isbar juveniles has a weird beak. It is not crossed but curved so that it is open along the sides but closed at the tip. Here's a picture from that day.

2. The next day Kelly visits and I point it out to her. We decide she shouldn't be used for breeding so I plan to move her to the layer coop when that time comes.

3. Today there is a hawk in the tree and it gets into the yard. The birds go nuts. After the hawk leaves I go outside to give the girls a treat and notice that one of the splash Isbars is missing. It is the one with the funky beak.

4. I come back in the house and tell Michael we lost a bird. One is missing and the yard is full of feathers. I cry. Michael and I shore up the netting in the area around the tree trunk.

5. This evening I go out to close up the coop and hear the sounds of a chicken in distress coming from inside the 8x8 coop I am standing in. There is a nest box on the wall a roost and two feed bins. I check everywhere and cannot find a bird. I go outside to see if something is stuck between the fence and the coop. Nothing. Go back inside the coop and hear it again.

6. I run in and get Michael to come and look. He gets down on the floor and can see two chicken legs behind the nest box suite. There is a tiny opening under the set of nest boxes and the wall. The chicken has managed to get herself in there and stood up and became wedged in. Michael can't fit his hand in there to get the bird so I run for a drill to take the nest boxes off the wall. By the time I got back he had pulled her from behind there by her legs.

7. We get her outside and he hands her to me to look her over. I am shocked to see green mesh sticking out from both sides of he head behind her ears. It is the darn mesh that came with the sod that was supposed to not be there!

8. We rush into the house with her to see what is going on. This picture shows the green mesh.

9. The mesh goes through her mouth and around the back of her neck. As I pull on one side Michael sees her beak being pulled towards me. I follow the mesh on my side and find that it is imbedded in the back of her neck and the skin has grown closed over it. I go around to Michael's side and cut in front of the knot in the plastic mesh. I am then able to pull it through the skin on the back of her neck and out the other side of her beak. She obviously has a horrible infection and as she has grown the mesh has cut through the area at the sides of her beak about 3/4 of an inch. The pulling of the mesh was what had caused the beak to curve.

10. Here is a picture after the mesh was removed. You can see how far back the mouth is cut and the infection.

11. The green line in the drawing is how the mesh was located. She must have gotten it caught in her mouth and over her head and couldn't get it loose.

12. I went back in my pictures and realized that the mesh had to have been there for 9 to 12 weeks.

Here it isn't present.

And three weeks later in this picture you can see it.

Poor sweet thing. I cleaned her up, gave her a shot of penicillin and she drank a ton of water. It makes me wonder of she had been stuck for a couple of days.

I am hoping that once the foreign body is gone that she will heal up. I doubt the beak will correct itself but if the infection goes away she should be fine. Plus since it isn't genetic she can stay with her friends in the breeding flock. I am going to crawl around on my hands and knees tomorrow and cut any more of that darn mesh I find out!

I feel like a terrible chicken Mom but I have my girl back and for that I am grateful. I just hope the infection isn't overwhelming. I know chickens are resilient and I need that now.

Here's what I pulled out of her!

 

[Jake Levi]

Mary alls well that ends well,

you and Michael are excellent flock keepers, finest kind !

I wish we had many thousands more like you and your beau.

Life is good and better with Icelandic Chickens !

 

[kathyinmo]

Good job, Mary! This is just great news!

 

[The Sheriff]

Can you even believe that Kathy? OMG what a mess. I was just telling Jake via PM that there is an area inside her mouth that looks like exposed bone. That is why I didn't mess too much with the infected area. I am hoping the antibiotic will do the job and then everything will close back up. Poor sweet dear. I am so lucky that when I call a real distress Michael responds and is willing to help.

I so hope she makes it. She drank enough to sink a ship even after we put her outside and she ate some bread.

The little Isbars are really skittish and she stood on my desk and didn't seem fazed by me and Michael. Oh my heart just melts for a sweet little chicken.

 

[RingedTeal]

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Mary did you get my PM.

 

[The Sheriff]

I got your PM and just responded.

 

[kathyinmo]

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It is just unbelievable! I am soooo glad she started making noise and you heard her! They are resilient and I bet she is gonna heal up right quick!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I hope she heals up well for you Mary. Accidents happen.