INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Update on Skua and her 'fly strike' - We must have missed some eggs because it picked up again. :/ After some research, I came across this stuff called SWAT, which is supposed to kill flies and larvae on contact. Mom slathered it on and they definitely don't like it, so I hope this time we've got it for real. Skua's a trouper through it all. I can tell she's hurting, but she's staying strong, has a good appetite, and seems healthy other than the obvious.

If anyone wants to read more about fly strike, I found a good non-graphic guide that you can read and know what to look for and what to do if it happens, and you don't have to look at nasty pictures the whole time: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1114197/flystrike-treatment-illustrated-without-graphic-images This isn't exactly how we treated Skua, but similar. The only real difference is that we used a syringe to flush Skua's wound with the povidone-iodine solution, which I think worked better to clear the existing larvae from the wound than just wiping it with the solution would have done. EDIT: Oh, and we have Skua inside, so I didn't do the last step in that post, the one about essential oils as an insect repellent.





RE: Beating the heat - After losing Georgette, I did a BYC search on the topic and put together a short list of ideas that are easy to do with what you might have around the house. Sorry if there are any repeats, I'm just doing a copy/paste:

• Run fans in the coop to keep air circulating
• Freeze gallon jugs and 2-liter bottles of water and sit them in shady spots for birds to lay against (or put them in front of the fan for a makeshift air conditioner)
• Freeze smaller water bottles and put them in waterers to keep their drinking water cool
• Put out shallow pans of cool water for the chickens to stand in or drink from (I've also heard of people putting out small kiddie pools with just a couple inches of water and putting paver bricks in it for the chickens to stand on)
• Spray water on the outside of the coop (especially on the roof) to help draw away heat with evaporation
• Wet the ground in shady spots for them to stand on and cool off (my flock also ranges around the side of our house and there's a small section of brick wall that's shaded under the lilac bush, so I wet the bricks down and it feels much cooler there)
• Run a mister in shady spots -- My girls absolutely HATE misters and won't go near them, but some people swear by it, so I thought it was worth adding.
• Freeze (or at least refrigerate) fruits and veggies and put them out for the birds to peck at (especially watermelon!)

I have also seen a picture circulating of putting corn in water and freezing it in muffin tins. I think it would work with any fruit or veggie, and personally I wouldn't use corn as it is said to warm the body while digesting it. I also would use only just enough water to cover whatever I'm freezing, as I can imagine my girls getting bored of trying to peck through the ice and wandering off until it melts away, which kind of defeats the purpose. Just some thoughts there.

Hope everyone fares well in these next few hot days!

 

[Crafty chick]

Oh my, haven't been on here for a while. Chickens are doing well considering the heat. One of my young ones started laying yesterday. I have them in a move able coop in grass I have let grow about 8 inches high, it's full of clover. I will be moving them under the trees when I get home from work this evening. I put a lasagna pan full of ice in their run before I left. Hoping they atleast get their feet cool. The whole thing is shaded, but with no breeze and the humidity I worry about them. I even thought about letting them loose in the yard, but I've had nightmares about coming home to a slaughter. What are everyone else doing for the heat?

 

[Indyshent]

@Indyshent Here is a photo of one of those Middletown lavender royal palms. I bought two of them three weeks ago to replace one of my own poults that disappeared overnight. (Turkey math works just like chicken math.)

They were only a few days old when I bought them, and sadly one of them refused to learn to eat.

But the remaining one is doing fine.

I'm sorry about your loss of two poults, but really happy the one lived (It's adorable

)

So far, between congenital problems, an unexplained head injury, a psychotic neighbor boy, and a sudden nearly-symptomless respiratory ailment, I've lost 3 BBW, one Palm, and two Bourbon Reds this year. It's really taken a toll on me, but I'm so in love with turkeys. They're magic like that.

I know what Greenthumb83 and Faraday40 mean about waiting for the big day when they lay their first egg.

We have 3 Araucana chicks that will be 12 weeks old this Saturday. From the beginning, one of them looked like a roo. Lately, the neck feathers on TWO of them look like roos, but I'm trying to ignore that. Hoping it's nothing. Yesterday morning, I heard a pitiful attempt at a crow. I was really hoping they'd lay pullet eggs real soon and nobody would ever crow. I think I'm out of luck.

I think the white one in the middle is a pullet. I had hoped the black one on the bottom was also a pullet, but she sure has some pointy neck feathers.

Here's the crew:

The white one is the most suspect by far to me. It looks like a smutty Colombian from this angle, but any chick with a black chest (without the rest of the body being black) is likely a boy. watch out for epaulettes. Pointy or even rounded neck feathers at this age can be wrong. I've had lots of girls with somewhat pointy hackles, and lots of cockerels with rounded hackles at this age. Wait til the next molt shows up to make a definitive call on it.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I am feeding refrigerated produce. We have friends that operate a vegetable stand, and are generous to share leftover stuff. Especially the melons, its really helped to keep them cooled down. We have a lot of shade also. I make a point to keep water fresh, clean and put frozen bottles in. The geese love them in the swimming pool! they bite and play with them.

Bo our goat buck is learning about electric fence, he is the last one of the livestock to train. Once he settles in with it, I will be training my geese to it next. They will be living with the livestock, since the pond is included in the next pasture. That pasture will be a big one, and that's where the tractor coops move next. Next coop project is for guinea housing, my babies already have adult voices!

 

[wheezy50]

Whoop whoop, I graduated from Purdue! Welcome!!

I graduated from Purdue as well! Summer of 2003 for me

 

[Crafty chick]

Jchny2000- I had put 2 frozen water bottles in their waterer this morning, seemed to help. I have a bigger juice jug that's in the big freezer right now. I plan to lay it in the roosting end of the coop after they go to bed. I've gone out and replaced their ice wading tray 3 times today. Let's just hope these hot day's go fast.

 

[Crafty chick]

Oh yay! A storm is coming, maybe in 45 min. I hope it helps! Thought it was just haze, but radar is showing a good line coming.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Had my second loss to the heat already. My two young cockerels started fighting a couple days ago, and Umru, who is already HUGE because he's a Brahma, beat the tar out of Donnie and had him afraid to go in to get a drink. By the time I figured out that Don was having problems with heat and dehydration, it was too late. He passed in my arms a few hours ago. I'm so crushed. My little man.

Take the heat seriously, y'all. It kills so quick.

 

[Jntnrmn]

Had my second loss to the heat already. My two young cockerels started fighting a couple days ago, and Umru, who is already HUGE because he's a Brahma, beat the tar out of Donnie and had him afraid to go in to get a drink. By the time I figured out that Don was having problems with heat and dehydration, it was too late. He passed in my arms a few hours ago. I'm so crushed. My little man.

Take the heat seriously, y'all. It kills so quick.

oh no! Not donnie! I'm so sorry to hear this...between the losses from heat and the fly strike, I feel, like I am about to have heat stroke..I am out there so much trying to make sure everyone is ok.I am picking up poop ALL DAY LONG to reduce flies and I am hosing everything andone filling water containers all over the yard...I am so worried. My girls walk around with their wings out. My bantams STILL primarily stay on top of pen, no food or water up there....my heart hurts for all of you dealing with any losses.

 

[Leahs Mom]

That's awful, pipd....