INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

Yesterday, I changed my ratio of roo to pullet from 14-21 to 3-21.

The freezer is full and the chicken yard much quieter and nearly conflict-free. It had gotten to the point that most of the pullets and a couple of lesser roos spent the entire day in the coop rather than expose themselves to the bullying from the roos.

I will never again take on the processing of that many birds in one sitting. My back should be healed up by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

John

That is a lot in one day !!

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Looks like a pretty classic case of feather picking, Thunder Chicken. You can see where some of the others have had feathers pulled as well. If you saw her poking at the area, she was most likely trying to preen or clean up the area. The other hens are most likely the culprits. This is usually either from boredom, overcrowding, or even a protein deficiency. Do you let them free-range at all or very often? I'm guessing you don't have them overcrowded, so my first thought is boredom. I had feather-picking pretty badly one year and ruled out boredom and overcrowding (we had expanded the run that year from about 20x45 to 50x100), so I switched my girls to a higher protein feed. I still see some picking going on, but much less.

What I do if I see feather-picking that bad is I cover the area with Blu-Kote, which disguises the wound and puts the others off from pecking at it. If that doesn't help, you'll have to keep her separate until she heals over. Antibiotic cream wouldn't hurt assuming it does NOT contain any pain reliever that ends in '-caine' (lidocaine, benzocaine, etc.), but unless she is separate, the other girls might see the ointment and poke at her more.

Ok, I don't see the others picking at her but I don't watch 24/7. Where do I get Blue-Kote. I Googled it and I don't see it at TSC or anywhere in Indy. Should I order it online to get it faster? I was expecting to find this on the EEs, not one of the White Rocks.

 

[danand]

Thunder- I got mine at TSC. It's with the cattle and goat meds. Try not to get it on you( almost impossible), cause it stays awhile!!

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Is this it?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...etrade;-blue-lotion-spray-wound-dressing-5-oz

 

[bradselig]

Is this it?  

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...etrade;-blue-lotion-spray-wound-dressing-5-oz

This is the one I have
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dr-naylorreg;-blu-kote-pump-sprayreg;-4-fl-oz

 

[danand]

Mine is a little pump spray bottle for about $7( I think). But yes same stuff

 

[julie0477]

Denand- do you think she got mites because she can't preen herself properly with her beak? I don't know - I have no experience with that - more just asking. I haven't had a chick have that problem (yet). Any chicken can get mites I just wonder if that made her more susceptible. My roo had them horrible in the spring. Makes me itch just thinking about it.

Thanks to all who helped me with the EE question. I was starting to panic. I really need to list a couple of my Roos on craigslist and then this time actually let the person who responds have them lol. I can tell my hens are getting a little irritated. One of my sebrights should really go. :/ besides the constant attempts at mating and annoying my girls i like them. They are hilarious to watch. and one follows my SLW girl everywhere. I think he's enamoured.

 

[julie0477]

Old salt- thanks for posting the feeder pics again. I fully intend to copy your design. And I hope you recover from all of that processing. I wish you lived closer I'd offer to buy some freezer stock. Sounds like you have plenty!

 

[danand]

I hadn't thought about her not being able to preen!! Good thought!! I'm not sure I've seen her try!! And I'm not sure I've seen her dusting either! I can't believe I hadn't noticed them since I pick her up all the time. Well she's dusted now and I'll just have to do her more often! And yes they should make your skin crawl!! They do!! What Roos do you need to get rid of?

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Thunder- I got mine at TSC. It's with the cattle and goat meds. Try not to get it on you( almost impossible), cause it stays awhile!!

This is the one I have
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dr-naylorreg;-blu-kote-pump-sprayreg;-4-fl-oz

Mine is a little pump spray bottle for about $7( I think). But yes same stuff

Great, thanks all!!! I googled again and see it on TSC.. I was wondering why I didn't see it before. Must have misspelled it the first time. I'll pick some up tomorrow.