Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Mr Dummy Update.
Last night I got him to eat a little bread soaked in water+rooster booster. I put a towel over the top of his bed/nest to keep him calm at night. This morning DH peeked under the towel to see if he was alive. For the next 10 min Dummy serenaded us. It was so funny to hear a loud crow throughout the house.

Let's just say everybody was wide awake!

DD got him to eat & drink a little. I'm glad it's a Sunday b/c I know she'll play nurse and take good care of her sweet rooster. His comb/face are all black & his feathers have dried crusted blood. The good news is that he's relaxed, calm, and breathing normally. I'm cautiously optimistic because of all the recent improvements.

What's hard is that if we needed to rehome of a roo, Brick would be the one to go. He's a great little guy, but I know I'd be able to find him a loving home. Dummy is more of "a pet" and Moose we kept for breeding. I hope this one fight was enough to settle the pecking order. (I'm nervous, though, that Dummy won't give up that easily. He's never been athletic, but his giant stature & commanding presence have always kept the peace.

 

[cavemanrich]

General question.. Spurs;; My RIR hen has them. It is not a problem, but I was wondering if anyone files the tips down or can the spurs be removed further. None of my other hens have them.
@NotAFarm.. If you had an extra Icelandic hen, I would be interested in one.

 

[Faraday40]

Spurs: I have seen Youtube videos on how some people use a hot potato then pliers to twist the spur off. In the videos the spurs are always HUGE. My boys have small rounded spurs, & they are calm roos, so I just file the spurs every few months.

 

[bandittheroo]

We clipped the spurs on our big bandit then let them grow a bit. After that now we just take one of those electric dog toenail things to file them down.

 

[bandittheroo]

Best option for your hen is to use an electric dog toenail filer since i doubt the spurs are that big.

 

[LiberalCluck]

Hi IL! Oak Park doing some urban chickioneering! Anyone near Chicago!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Welcome Liberal Cluck. There are a couple of us city chicken folks in here. I am on the south side, Mt. Greenwood area.

 

[Faraday40]

Hi IL! Oak Park doing some urban chickioneering! Anyone near Chicago!

Hi
Western Suburbs Here!

 

[Faraday40]

Mr Dummy's doing much, much better today. He ate like a pig & drank like a fish last night. This morning when we removed the towel, he belted out some crows. Because of his crowing, we decided to allow him some time with the flock. For Dummy's safety, I locked Moose in the chicken tractor. (Both put their heads down & hackles out as soon as they saw each other.) The hens & Brick had no problem with Dummy. There are a few hens surrounding Moose's area. I think it's just curiosity of why he's in there or simply the fact that Moose has got his own private feeder.

 

[chickendreams24]

Mr Dummy's doing much, much better today.  He ate like a pig & drank like a fish last night.  This morning when we removed the towel, he belted out some crows. Because of his crowing, we decided to allow him some time with the flock. For Dummy's safety, I locked Moose in the chicken tractor. (Both put their heads down & hackles out as soon as they saw each other.)  The hens & Brick had no problem with Dummy.  There are a few hens surrounding Moose's area. I think it's just curiosity of why he's in there or simply the fact that Moose has got his own private feeder.  

Glad Dummy's doing better! Poor guy. Glad he's out with the ladies and getting some sun.

I've been pretty much down all weekend with what I believe to be a very nasty flu(or food poisoning but I dont think its that)and I'm miserable. Absolutely miserable been two nights with very little sleep and I've barely eaten anything BC when I do I regret it.

I hate the flu. Thank goodness we have peppermint sticks as they have done some good to help settle my tummy. I don't want to move BC then I feel worse. Thank God for DH2B as he has been having to pick up all my slack and he's been great! He even made me breakfast yesterday which tasted great but I ended up regretting. I've never had such awful stomach pains before except when I had the h1n1 the first year it was here and maybe last year when I had food poisoning.

Anyway I hope all is going well for everyone and I hope Dummy and Moose can work things out and get along.