INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[animallover2202]

ugh i have think i have to get ride of bella he woke my dad up this moring(now) but i will think about it alil more before really geting rid of him

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have seen several references to using triple antibiotic ointment in the first aid kits and it is a must. I just feel I have to add that you have to get the non-medicated kind. It can't have the pain reliever in it. Also, Polyvisol WITHOUT iron is another must. They are actually infant vitamin drops that you get at the drug store or Walmart. A little pricey (like $7-$8) but a LIFESAVER. Literally. I have had two chicks with wry neck that were completely healed in less than a week after giving 2-3 drops twice a day. Just my $.02

Good catch on the triple antibiotic WITHOUT PAIN RELIEVER!

I just wanted to re-hilight that!!!!!!! PLAIN TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT - NO ADDED PAIN RELIEVER! Want to be sure no one missed that. I totally forgot to mention that.

I also have a back-up bottle of the Poly-Vi-Sol WITHOUT IRON.



Cluck - how did the foot washing go?

 

[jhfamily5]

I just wanted to re-hilight that!!!!!!! PLAIN TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT - NO ADDED PAIN RELIEVER! Want to be sure no one missed that. I totally forgot to mention that.

I also have a back-up bottle of the Poly-Vi-Sol WITHOUT IRON.



Cluck - how did the foot washing go?

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

can i feed my baby chicken (6 weeks old) oyster grit?

At 6 weeks all chicks need is their starter/grower which is a complete diet, nothing more needs to be added (think infant formula). If that is all they get they do not need grit, as starter/grower breaks down without it.

If you are giving them "treats", like small grains, etc, they need chick grit, which is much finer than the grit sold for adult chickens.

I would encourage you to resist giving them treats for now...

I know that is hard, but their diet is complete and you are doing what is best for them nutritionally.

It's tough love

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Along the lines of the oyster shell, is there a reason one of my roos is eating it like it was a treat? He started eating more and more of it about a week a go. I had been leaving about 2 cups of the shell crumbles in a small container in the coop. It would last for a month or so, but last week I was filling it up every two - 3 days and it was the roo running to get it each time I refilled the container.

As you said he is "one" of your roosters, I wonder if he is not being bullied away from the feeder?

If you don't have two feeders, you might consider adding another one.

How does his weight compare to the "top rooster"?

Maybe he is getting ran off from getting his fill of feed and is just hungry enough to gobble down the oyster shell.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hey, fellow Hoosiers, I've been lurking here for a while, but I thought I'd join in at the chicken first aid kit conversation.


First of all, my name is Kristin, but I don't mind if y'all prefer to call me Pipd. I'm in the middle of nowhere, Whitley county. I have chickens as pets for now, but I plan on building a barn here in a few years and trying my hand at breeding chickens.


On the topic of the first aid kits, specifically triple antibiotic ointment, I have done a lot of research on this for my first aid kit page (which I saw was posted on this thread earlier ) and what I have consistently found to be true is that Neosporin with pain reliever should be fine to use. This is because of the kind of pain reliever in it. What you cannot use on chickens is any triple antibiotic ointment that has a "-caine" type pain reliever, such as lidocaine, benzocaine, etc.

What I have found by searching BYC is many accounts of using triple antibiotic with pain reliever that was NOT a "-caine" type, and the birds do just fine. After a lot of searching, I also found on this site just ONE report of having used an ointment with a "-caine" type pain reliever, after which the bird did not act right and soon died before it could be remedied.

I personally recommend if you're putting a first aid kit together for your chickens that you go ahead and get the kind WITHOUT pain reliever, as it is possible to miss the small text on the label or misread things and you don't want to run that risk. However, in an emergency, just look closely at that label to make sure it's NOT a "-caine" type reliever before using it on your birds.

I thought this was worth noting, as some people like to have the pain reliever for their birds.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

And to Chic-n-farmer, no we didn't use pennies washers. We used fender washers, they are about as large around as quarters. Had to attach the window wiring as predator proof as we can. This internet thing is an awesome way to learn from others' mistakes. No disrespect to others who have made mis-steps, but we try to learn.

We secure hardware cloth over the solid walls and under the metal siding of the coops. Nothing has ever compromised that.

But I also have never seen anyone complain about the pennies or nickels they have used, either. I have also read about the use of beer bottle caps... not used that one, either (don't drink, therefore no supply of caps

).

Just because we have not tried something is no reason to assume it doesn't work.

Many of these money-saving ideas come from people with years of experience with chickens. These ideas may help someone with a tight budget build a safer coop.

 

[Crafty chick]

Welcome pipd! I went to south whitley elementary and whitko high school. What kind of chickens are you thinking of getting?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I really want to breed silver Ameraucanas (and Easter-eggers with the birds that aren't up to quality). I'm also totally in love with crested cream Legbars and Seramas.

Right now, though, I have 32 hatchery quality hens that are all named and beloved pets.

 

[Crafty chick]

Mine are hatchery buff orpingtons. I've been hatching their eggs. I also got 6 bantams from TSC recently... fun trying to decide what the are and the names.