Illinois...

[Faraday40]

My poor Sebright and Spitzhauben are molting and looking pathetic.

DS read my post and was very upset with me for calling "Trouble" and "Poof Poof" pathetic looking.

..... but come on, Trouble has no tail and poor Poof Poof's mohawk looks like a porcupine (no feathers, just quills)

 

[Molpet]

Found an older white meat mutt hen dead in the coop, 3 or 4 yrs old. I usually loose a few in the spring when the temperature goes up and down.

 

[Justso]

I had my 1st scare with an egg-bound hen last Sunday. I wanted to share my experience in case anyone else sees this.

Sunday morning, our little black serama was not interested in some eggshell crumbles. (Normally chickens attack any treats given, and that was the only unusual symptom.)

Sunday after dinner, DD came running to me with the very sick serama. Lethargic, not walking, using wings slightly to balance, closing eyes sometimes, vent pulsing/pushing, moments of panting, no interest in food/drink. At first I thought it was vent prolapse, but she pulled everything back in to normal. Eyes were clear, no respiratory noises, comb was normal red color.

I gave her a 20 min warm Epsom salt soak, wrapped her towel, put her in a temporary ICU with a heating pad under the storage tote. I also gave her a dusting for mites, and forced some electrolytes. No improvement Sunday night and I surely thought she'd be dead by morning.

I woke up around 4:30am and checked on her. Surprised and thankful she was alive! She even walked out of her towel to eat/drink a tiny bit. I went back to bed and returned at 7:30am to give her another Epsom salt soak. (towel, heating pad, etc) She had more energy and did not stay wrapped in the towel. About 10 min later, DD walked by her cage and noticed there was yolk all over her feet & shavings. Not sure if it came out as a soft egg (then broke/eaten) or if egg burst inside. She was acting normally. Because the two house hens are very bonded and were seriously stressed, we put them back together about 8 hours after the egg. Both were pacing and screaming for each other.

As a preventative, all the chickens got dusted for mites and given dewormer on Monday - even the 2 house chickens who have never been outside.

So far, I got 2 eggs from their cage, but unsure who made them. The little black hen is not really eating calcium which worries me. In my panicked grief on Sunday when I thought she was dying, I quickly gathered all the serama eggs from the week and put them in the incubator. Oops. Maybe it was an over-reaction.....

I'm thankful she survived. It was so scary how quickly she declined. I don't know if it will happen again. I believe some hens can have a predisposition for it. That's why I wish she would eat more calcium. We'll definitely be watching her more closely.
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How old is this serama? I would ask if you checked inside her vent but yikes that's a little tiny hen!
I had a lethargic hen a while back, I gave her an epsom salt soak just in case suspecting the same reason. Since she's standard size I did do a vent check and she did perk up the next day. Maybe she was just angling for a spa day.
You hear so often about being egg bound, I'm nervous about it as well. Thanks much for sharing your experience!

 

[Justso]

Also I think my australorp comet mix is laying. This is astounding because she in only 17 weeks ish. She is also gorgeous but hard to get pics of. She is bottom of the pecking order and I have not been able to get close, she runs constantly. I wish the raccoon didn't take my little cockerel, he was even better.
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I would think 16 weeks is about right for production hen. She's a stunner, did you hatch these mix yourself? I really like that look! How many eggs do you figure she'll lay a week and what color.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I would think 16 weeks is about right for production hen. She's a stunner, did you hatch these mix yourself? I really like that look! How many eggs do you figure she'll lay a week and what color.

I did hatch them. Gold comet went broody and she did all the work. Had 8 but she is the lone survivor of raccoon attack. Her name is Lo, short for lonely. I am getting tiny eggs but so far about 4 a week or so. I think she'll give about 5 a week.
The young cockerel I think was BA x RIR. He had gorgeous red patches surrounded by the BA blue incidence . I might try again?

 

[Faraday40]

How old is this serama? I would ask if you checked inside her vent but yikes that's a little tiny hen!
I had a lethargic hen a while back, I gave her an epsom salt soak just in case suspecting the same reason. Since she's standard size I did do a vent check and she did perk up the next day. Maybe she was just angling for a spa day.
You hear so often about being egg bound, I'm nervous about it as well. Thanks much for sharing your experience!

I also had a few hens that got epsom salt soaks - just in case. For those hens I did a vent check but felt no egg. A relaxing bath, some quiet alone time, and some vitamins in the water never hurts.

Between her small vent and my long nails, I decided not to cause additional discomfort and went straight for the bath. The black serama hen is probably a year old, but she's not originally one of mine so I can't be sure. A friend bought her from a breeder & I "borrowed her" for the summer. Eventually, the hen was given to DD.

 

[Faraday40]

Her name is Lo, short for lonely. I am getting tiny eggs but so far about 4 a week or so. I think she'll give about 5 a week.
The young cockerel I think was BA x RIR. He had gorgeous red patches surrounded by the BA blue incidence . I might try again?

Like the name.
My former 'Lonely' now resides with @cavemanrich


There's a chance your 'Lo' may give more eggs in the prime time of spring. (If not broody LOL)

 

[cavemanrich]

My former 'Lonely' now resides with @cavemanrich

In the beginning, Lonely used to hang out with Wendy, her sister from the Faraday Hacienda. In time, she found a new BFF, one of the OEGH. The one she is in the pix below.

I wanted them all in same pix, so I threw down a handful of bird seeds. Yes that is my entire flock of 8.

 

[BReeder!]

I wanted to clean the poop boards again yesterday and put the new sand I have down. Half the poop was frozen though... I guess that chore is waiting. In the process of bringing sand and feed from the garage to the coop I cut through the sunroom and found a bag of feed I left in there before. It's likely a month old, but should be good still. With winter weather we don't use the sunroom so I didn't realize it was sitting there. Nice to have a bonus bag though.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Poor guy has a booboo. I've heard people say if spurs get too long you can just break them off. Any input on this?