Miss Flowerpot
Chirping
- Apr 23, 2023
- 11
- 41
- 69
Hey there, first-time chicken mamma here. I have found this forum to be an invaluable resource and have found all of the answers to my gazillion questions until today.
I have a 25-week-old Easter Egger with an EXTREME scissor beak; I've been fermenting her food, she's underweight but has thrived overall. I tried trimming her beak but it didn't really accomplish anything and was traumatic for us both. Her deformity is so bad that it involves her skull, her upper beak basically goes straight down and her lower beak totally juts out to the left, similar to the letter "L." Anyway, I switched to pellets for my other girls and they're fine, but I've noticed that she hasn't been eating as much of the fermented food. Normally, I go out to feed her around 7:30 - 8:30 am but since my others started laying decided to go out later. She's acting crazy the last two days, constantly crying, following me back to the house and pacing. She takes a few bites of the fermented food and looks at me and cries. After a bit, she was outside with her sisters foraging, though she can't pick up a thing and all seemed fine. Poop amounts on the boards are roughly the same daily. I guess I'm asking, how can you tell if a chicken is REALLY hungry? I would think she'd go to the treadle feeder and just stand there trying to eat the pellets if she was really hungry. Or eat the bowl of food I give her twice per day. I don't know if she's spoiled, which is a distinct possibility since I work for them, totally ridiculous. I can't go on a vacation because she's so demanding and this new behavior had me watching culling videos this morning. Also, I'm thinking of stopping the fermented food, she has it all over her, (think food stalactites) and I can't bathe her and blow dry her on a daily basis. Please know, that the dish is raised up on pavers to make it easier for her and it's a 6-inch ceramic pie plate that's heavy so she can't easily toss it.
I don't see her eating the pellets, but I'm not out there all day long. In the past, she has gone to the treadle feeder but had a difficult time with crumbles which is one of the reasons why I switched to pellets. I don't know if she's being a spoiled PITA actress or is suffering. If she's suffering, how can I tell? Sorry to prattle on, but any help would be appreciated.
I have a 25-week-old Easter Egger with an EXTREME scissor beak; I've been fermenting her food, she's underweight but has thrived overall. I tried trimming her beak but it didn't really accomplish anything and was traumatic for us both. Her deformity is so bad that it involves her skull, her upper beak basically goes straight down and her lower beak totally juts out to the left, similar to the letter "L." Anyway, I switched to pellets for my other girls and they're fine, but I've noticed that she hasn't been eating as much of the fermented food. Normally, I go out to feed her around 7:30 - 8:30 am but since my others started laying decided to go out later. She's acting crazy the last two days, constantly crying, following me back to the house and pacing. She takes a few bites of the fermented food and looks at me and cries. After a bit, she was outside with her sisters foraging, though she can't pick up a thing and all seemed fine. Poop amounts on the boards are roughly the same daily. I guess I'm asking, how can you tell if a chicken is REALLY hungry? I would think she'd go to the treadle feeder and just stand there trying to eat the pellets if she was really hungry. Or eat the bowl of food I give her twice per day. I don't know if she's spoiled, which is a distinct possibility since I work for them, totally ridiculous. I can't go on a vacation because she's so demanding and this new behavior had me watching culling videos this morning. Also, I'm thinking of stopping the fermented food, she has it all over her, (think food stalactites) and I can't bathe her and blow dry her on a daily basis. Please know, that the dish is raised up on pavers to make it easier for her and it's a 6-inch ceramic pie plate that's heavy so she can't easily toss it.
I don't see her eating the pellets, but I'm not out there all day long. In the past, she has gone to the treadle feeder but had a difficult time with crumbles which is one of the reasons why I switched to pellets. I don't know if she's being a spoiled PITA actress or is suffering. If she's suffering, how can I tell? Sorry to prattle on, but any help would be appreciated.
