Illinois...

[MeepBeep]

one is barely broken down romaine lettuce.

Interesting, do your birds have access to sufficient amounts and properly sized grit?

 

[Faraday40]

You are RIGHT!!!! I was coming down the stairs this morning and heard her doing some clucking ( which she has not made a sound in days). Won't gross you all out with a description, but she passed the big blockage. It was the romaine lettuce. Still kept her in today, so I could monitor her poops, which are normal and many, happy to say. I was one happy chicken mama, but the worry never ends. Louise CCL was puffed up and on the roost all day. She might be switching spots with Zoey tomorrow. I don't know if it was the snow, or the roos, or maybe the romaine, but she didn't come off the roost. Ugg

So glad to HEAR the good news. When Cuddles was ill & finally started making improvements, one of the first signs of hope was hearing her "voice" again. I'd say her name & she'd make all kinds of happy clucking noises in response. It was so welcome to once again hear my Cuddles. I can completely understand your joy. Even the poop is a good sign.

I never knew romaine could cause problems. Mine have had it plenty of times, but perhaps your hen decided to eat it all herself w/o sharing.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Interesting, do your birds have access to sufficient amounts and properly sized grit?

I think so. I am feeding them a combo of the Nutrena 22% crumble and a feed store 18% grower mix that I know has small grit, then their treats (sunflower, oats etc) and then I add the oyster shell grit. I think my mistake was I took the head of romaine outside and just tossed whole leaves out. They act like they haven't seen greens ever. There are some oyster shells left in the food dishes at the end of the day with the crumble that they don't finish. And besides the grits, they are free ranging in my yard all day long. Plenty of grit for them to pick up, besides the constuction sand in their one run. I have read that chickens can end up with impacted crops from long grass, tough leaf vegetables and even large seeds. So I don't think it was from insufficient grit. Just a freak thing hopefully.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

So glad to HEAR the good news. When Cuddles was ill & finally started making improvements, one of the first signs of hope was hearing her "voice" again. I'd say her name & she'd make all kinds of happy clucking noises in response. It was so welcome to once again hear my Cuddles. I can completely understand your joy. Even the poop is a good sign.

I never knew romaine could cause problems. Mine have had it plenty of times, but perhaps your hen decided to eat it all herself w/o sharing.

I have given them romaine before too, but I usually chop it up in small pieces. All I can think is that perhaps she tore a long piece and ate it. I don't know. I do know I am so happy she is ok, eating soft food and pooping. Here she is all tucked in for the nite.

 

[MeepBeep]

I think so. I am feeding them a combo of the Nutrena 22% crumble and a feed store 18% grower mix that I know has small grit, then their treats (sunflower, oats etc) and then I add the oyster shell grit.

Commercial feed does not contain grit of sufficient size or at all as it's not needed since the commercial feed is already ground up...

Grit for an adult chicken should be about 3/16" - 5/16" sized rocks, anything smaller like sand just passes through the system and does no good, it needs to get stuck in the gizzard to be effective...

I think my mistake was I took the head of romaine outside and just tossed whole leaves out. They act like they haven't seen greens ever.

I feed my birds huge amounts fresh greens and leafy greens weekly if not daily, including whole heads of lettuce quite frequently with no adverse effects, that is why I asked about the grit...

Oyster shells can function as a short term grit, but it's soft and dissolves pretty quickly, you really need insoluble grits like granite...

If anyone feeds their birds anything more than commercial feed I would personally suggest getting some grit, it's a small investment that last a long time and worth every penny...

To give you an idea on cost, I just picked up a 50 pound bag of developer/layer sized grit yesterday day for $7.50 at the local feed store and it will last my 100ish birds several months... For small flock owners it should only be an yearly investment...

 

[Faraday40]

That's interesting about the grit. I have some in a dish but mine don't really seem to use it much. The level goes down so slowly, I was thinking they're just spilling it - not eating it. I also have oyster shell in a diff dish, but I can see the level of that going down each week.

I agree about the cost. I paid $6.99 for a small 7lb bag during my 1st year & then realized a 50lb bag was only $1 more. I'm still using that same 50lb bag!!! It's not like rocks will spoil! Also 50lbs of grit is much smaller in volume than 50lb of feed.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Commercial feed does not contain grit of sufficient size or at all as it's not needed since the commercial feed is already ground up...

Grit for an adult chicken should be about 3/16" - 5/16" sized rocks, anything smaller like sand just passes through the system and does no good, it needs to get stuck in the gizzard to be effective...
I feed my birds huge amounts fresh greens and leafy greens weekly if not daily, including whole heads of lettuce quite frequently with no adverse effects, that is why I asked about the grit...

Oyster shells can function as a short term grit, but it's soft and dissolves pretty quickly, you really need insoluble grits like granite...

If anyone feeds their birds anything more than commercial feed I would personally suggest getting some grit, it's a small investment that last a long time and worth every penny...

To give you an idea on cost, I just picked up a 50 pound bag of developer/layer sized grit yesterday day for $7.50 at the local feed store and it will last my 100ish birds several months...

I know the commercial feed does not contain grit, but the feed store mix does contain grit. It is not a processed feed besides the pellets they add, otherwise it has whole seeds, grains and grit. My side yard where they range is covered in small crushed rock and pebbles from the nice walking path I had there prior to chickens 2 years ago. I did remove the walking pavers, that would have been considered large grit, maybe should have left them. So again, I don't think they have a grit shortage. But I will definitely, do some research on the oyster shell. Thanks for the info and I will have to check and see if the feed store carries the granite or maybe I could ask them if they could order it for me. If not, I will have to take another long ride out by Faraday's family. Only on a nice day though, that was almost a 5 hour long trip, but was worth it that day.

My guys get plenty of kitchen scraps daily and this has never happened before. I have given them whole heads of cabbage, talk about tough leaf veggies, but for some reason this happened this time. Unfortunately, I have come to realize I can't control everything, from my husband to my adult children and my chicken's illness. The dog listens though, thank goodness for the dog.

 

[Faraday40]

Since we're on the topic of feeding rocks..... Is there a way to help a hen eat more calcium? My son's 1st hen has always been a giant egg producer. (both size & number) Her eggshells always seem thin when compared to the others. I have oyster shell available in addition to the layer feed. Because we have 2 hens still finishing up a molt, some of the feeders have All-Flock. Most of our eggs have very strong shells, but this hen must not be eating her calcium. Now that she is 3, I worry because sometimes her thin shelled eggs are getting bumpy, rough deposits. Any advice?

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Since we're on the topic of feeding rocks..... Is there a way to help a hen eat more calcium? My son's 1st hen has always been a giant egg producer. (both size & number) Her eggshells always seem thin when compared to the others. I have oyster shell available in addition to the layer feed. Because we have 2 hens still finishing up a molt, some of the feeders have All-Flock. Most of our eggs have very strong shells, but this hen must not be eating her calcium. Now that she is 3, I worry because sometimes her thin shelled eggs are getting bumpy, rough deposits. Any advice?

I have the same problem with my RIR, she was one of my first 3 chickens I got, so she is a little over 2 yrs old. No matter what, her shells have been thinning quite a bit. She is also the one that lays the bullet eggs. I am interested to hear any recommendations.

 

[cavemanrich]

IF HMMMMMMMM there was such a thing as reincarnation, then I would want to return as a chicken at Chicagocluckers coop. WAIT WAIT WAIT....... is it probable that I would be a ROOSTER????...... Let me think about that........... I THINK I'LL PASS