INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[barb s]

I need to correct my post earlier about Chickenfest. It should read Saturday, June 27th.

 

[flyladyrocks]

So whatever took Vespa yesterday was back early this morning, I would estimate right before sunrise. It left prints around the corner of the coop near the pop door, like it was trying to find its way in. There are also slash marks in the snow from wings flapping. It's definitely a bird, but I'm wondering now with the time of day that it's coming if it could be the great horned owl I saw a week or two ago in the woods.

I can't tell for sure from the prints as it had snowed over them a bit by the time I got out there. Here are some pictures. I tried to outline the shape of the print in the last one, but I'm not sure how accurate that is or which direction the bird was facing when it made that print...

So sorry you have to face getting rid of all your beloved livestock. We all can tell how much you love them so this is a heartbreaking decision to have to make. Praying for strength for you as you care for you mom and watch your animals go to new homes.

Wanted to post quickly a very big

and thanks to so many of you that's sent well wishes/pm's. My Moms health is taking a sharp downturn. Honestly, I just can't see going through another summer worrying every day if my flocks and livestock are getting proper care. After Dads surgery last year and months at the hospital and nursing home, I have to prioritize, the animals deserve good care and attention. I can't just leave them all locked up days on end, none of them have been raised that way. There were days I was not getting home until dark, its just not comfortable for them and doesn't feel right to me.
Its not what I want, but is the best choice for the critters. You guys are wonderful, thanks for caring.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hoping to get ideas here, but I think I have an idea of what's going on. :/

When I went out to check on the girls at about 2, I noticed that my Bielefelder, Violet, was breathing pretty hard. She was with the other hens and looking around, though seemed a bit lethargic. When I picked her up so I could look at her properly, I noticed her comb and wattles were bluish, so I brought her in.

Her abdomen feels a bit swollen, but I can't feel any egg in there, at least as far as I can tell? I went ahead and gave her a warm soak to see if something might loosen up. Nothing doing. Since my other thought was a heart-related issue, I also gave her a dose of aspirin. It's been a few hours, and the only improvement I've seen is that her face is no longer bluish.

Her comb and wattles feel cool like they aren't getting enough circulation. She's still breathing really hard, but oddly does not seem to be overheating in spite of the very sudden move from the outside to her warm soak. She is very tired, but has a bit of an appetite and is drinking some on her own. What droppings she has had have been either completely water or really wet with a small portion of normal-looking poo in it. When she's standing, she has her tail down as far as it will go. Other than being very tired, she seems pretty bright-eyed.

I got to thinking about what some of you were talking about on heart failure at 10 months old. Violet will be 10 months old around the 12th I think, so she's of that age. I'm wondering if the hawk attack yesterday has stressed her and sent her into that predisposed heart failure early. Any thoughts on this? I'm not sure what else I can do for her, so I have her in a warm, dark room for now.

 

[pbirdhaven]

Hoping to get ideas here, but I think I have an idea of what's going on.

When I went out to check on the girls at about 2, I noticed that my Bielefelder, Violet, was breathing pretty hard. She was with the other hens and looking around, though seemed a bit lethargic. When I picked her up so I could look at her properly, I noticed her comb and wattles were bluish, so I brought her in.

Her abdomen feels a bit swollen, but I can't feel any egg in there, at least as far as I can tell? I went ahead and gave her a warm soak to see if something might loosen up. Nothing doing. Since my other thought was a heart-related issue, I also gave her a dose of aspirin. It's been a few hours, and the only improvement I've seen is that her face is no longer bluish.

Her comb and wattles feel cool like they aren't getting enough circulation. She's still breathing really hard, but oddly does not seem to be overheating in spite of the very sudden move from the outside to her warm soak. She is very tired, but has a bit of an appetite and is drinking some on her own. What droppings she has had have been either completely water or really wet with a small portion of normal-looking poo in it. When she's standing, she has her tail down as far as it will go. Other than being very tired, she seems pretty bright-eyed.

I got to thinking about what some of you were talking about on heart failure at 10 months old. Violet will be 10 months old around the 12th I think, so she's of that age. I'm wondering if the hawk attack yesterday has stressed her and sent her into that predisposed heart failure early.

Any thoughts on this? I'm not sure what else I can do for her, so I have her in a warm, dark room for now.

Oh no, you don't need anything else going on! Sometimes when I can't find anything specific going on, I just try to make the bird comfortable and hope for the best. With the watery stool, I wonder if Corid might be in order, though apparently no one else is showing any signs.

I don't know if we have jinxed ourselves or something--my 10-month old LF Polish cockerel died yesterday. Again, could find no sign of mites, weight was normal, etc.

Healing vibes to Violet!

 

[ellymayRans]

Oh no, you don't need anything else going on!  Sometimes when I can't find anything specific going on, I just try to make the bird comfortable and hope for the best.  With the watery stool, I wonder if Corid might be in order, though apparently no one else is showing any signs.

I don't know if we have jinxed ourselves or something--my 10-month old LF Polish cockerel died yesterday.  Again, could find no sign of mites, weight was normal, etc.

Healing vibes to Violet!

I second @pbirdhaven. Sorry to you for your loss Judy!

We are in desperate need of better weather!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

so sorry for everyone that is losing their birds. The predator case with the footprints sounds similar to an owl to me.
I lost 2 hens early this winter but so far after that all has been well. Even with the chicks, I did not lose more than 2% of the ideal order. and they were shipped in extreme weather. Last year I lost more than my fair share to the cold so I'm hoping this year stays better.

For those of you with birds acting a bit off, maybe a bit of honey or sugar in the water and increasing their protein will help. I have given my hens some milk once in a while and they seem to enjoy that. Not a whole lot of milk but maybe a quarter cup per hen in a water bowl. Other favorite treats of my chickens include any and all fast food left overs, cheese, pasta, liver, used soup bones, popcorn, caramel popcorn, old ground beef, and scrambled eggs. Hopefully if you can get your birds eating then you can get their protein up.

 

[ellymayRans]

Speaking of weather! So we got about 8 inches of snow since yesterday. Last night my new Peahen...still nameless...was roosted on the coop roof, I didn't decide to go to bed til about 1:30am, I peeked out one last time at her and she was gone!! So I grab my coat and boots, it was snowing heavily and I found her on the down slope of the other coop roof. One wing spread out, her face and eyes were covered in wet snow, a lot of it!

I scooped her up and put her in the garage. I dried her off and she slept the rest of the night in there.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Hoping to get ideas here, but I think I have an idea of what's going on.

When I went out to check on the girls at about 2, I noticed that my Bielefelder, Violet, was breathing pretty hard. She was with the other hens and looking around, though seemed a bit lethargic. When I picked her up so I could look at her properly, I noticed her comb and wattles were bluish, so I brought her in.

Her abdomen feels a bit swollen, but I can't feel any egg in there, at least as far as I can tell? I went ahead and gave her a warm soak to see if something might loosen up. Nothing doing. Since my other thought was a heart-related issue, I also gave her a dose of aspirin. It's been a few hours, and the only improvement I've seen is that her face is no longer bluish.

Her comb and wattles feel cool like they aren't getting enough circulation. She's still breathing really hard, but oddly does not seem to be overheating in spite of the very sudden move from the outside to her warm soak. She is very tired, but has a bit of an appetite and is drinking some on her own. What droppings she has had have been either completely water or really wet with a small portion of normal-looking poo in it. When she's standing, she has her tail down as far as it will go. Other than being very tired, she seems pretty bright-eyed.

I got to thinking about what some of you were talking about on heart failure at 10 months old. Violet will be 10 months old around the 12th I think, so she's of that age. I'm wondering if the hawk attack yesterday has stressed her and sent her into that predisposed heart failure early.

Any thoughts on this? I'm not sure what else I can do for her, so I have her in a warm, dark room for now.

So sorry. The question I asked when the heart failure was first mentioned, is I wonder if the cold temps could stress a bird enough - or perhaps the huge swings in temps over a very short period of time? We have had such massive swings this year and last. Then for Pipd if you add in the stress of the hawk to the mix with Violet?

I hereby declare that noone else is allowed to lose a bird!!

Oh no, you don't need anything else going on! Sometimes when I can't find anything specific going on, I just try to make the bird comfortable and hope for the best. With the watery stool, I wonder if Corid might be in order, though apparently no one else is showing any signs.

I don't know if we have jinxed ourselves or something--my 10-month old LF Polish cockerel died yesterday. Again, could find no sign of mites, weight was normal, etc.

Healing vibes to Violet!

 

[Acornewell]

11 eggs locked down tonight! Wish me luck!!!

 

[pbirdhaven]

Speaking of weather! So we got about 8 inches of snow since yesterday. Last night my new Peahen...still nameless...was roosted on the coop roof, I didn't decide to go to bed til about 1:30am, I peeked out one last time at her and she was gone!! So I grab my coat and boots, it was snowing heavily and I found her on the down slope of the other coop roof. One wing spread out, her face and eyes were covered in wet snow, a lot of it!

I scooped her up and put her in the garage. I dried her off and she slept the rest of the night in there.

I'm glad you found her and got her safely in.

Enough of this weather!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday was a really frustrating day--not a chicken story but venting anyhow. I got up in a really bad mood--the kind where you just want to kick anything and everything that appears in your way.

We were scheduled to go to UIndy for a dinner theatre production in the evening; my nephew is a senior theatre major there and in the cast. My sis didn't call me to give me the time until I was already on my way to Shelbyville to meet my mom and other sis. When we arrived on campus, she had told us the wrong building and we didn't know where to go and couldn't reach her on her cell. By calling my niece, who then called my nephew, who then called us, we finally located the event. The rest of the audience was already on dessert, the food was luke warm, and the coffee was cold. The play began, and about 10 minutes into it the fire alarms went off and the building was evacuated--a few hundred people with all the events going on there that night. On the way out my sis heard a woman say, "I was in the hallway and saw smoke coming from under a door. The alarm wasn't going off, so I pulled the lever."
While we waiting for the fire department to search the building, we called my nephew. He and the rest of the cast and crew were still inside--they were using a fog machine for that scene, and that was what the woman saw coming under the door.

By then it was snowing really hard and we opted to head for Shelbyville and North Vernon. Fortunately we here in the south didn't get hammered like you central and northern Indiana folks, only a couple of inches. And my mood today is much better!