Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

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Morning Bob and Diva! :frow
I’m guessing here, but good evening @Ribh and all our Aussie friends! It’s 7:30 am here on the West coast and I’ve just finished the morning Chicken chores...

Today will be an intensive Chicken day, prepping everything for my leaving for the long weekend to the “big smoke” of Vancouver... I need to put everything in order so it’s easy for Andrew to manage while I’m away. Fresh grass for everyone today, if you can call it that. The pasture is all dried up so no decent greens except in the shade of the trees, which come with a complement of Raccoons. I need to gender split the problem Boys out of my 11 Chickens in the meat Tractors, set up additional waterers and feeders for the chicks, throughly scrub all the waterers and fill them, set up and label more feed buckets and generally organize. I will leave fairly early tomorrow morning.

Thanks @aart for the molting info and pictures, I’m not looking forward to having my girls go through this (probably) this fall!
 
Morning Bob and Diva! :frow
I’m guessing here, but good evening @Ribh and all our Aussie friends! It’s 7:30 am here on the West coast and I’ve just finished the morning Chicken chores...

Today will be an intensive Chicken day, prepping everything for my leaving for the long weekend to the “big smoke” of Vancouver... I need to put everything in order so it’s easy for Andrew to manage while I’m away. Fresh grass for everyone today, if you can call it that. The pasture is all dried up so no decent greens except in the shade of the trees, which come with a complement of Raccoons. I need to gender split the problem Boys out of my 11 Chickens in the meat Tractors, set up additional waterers and feeders for the chicks, throughly scrub all the waterers and fill them, set up and label more feed buckets and generally organize. I will leave fairly early tomorrow morning.

Thanks @aart for the molting info and pictures, I’m not looking forward to having my girls go through this (probably) this fall!
:frow
 
Thanks @aart for the molting info and pictures, I’m not looking forward to having my girls go through this (probably) this fall!
That's about the only bird I've had that came near a hard molt, many of them you can hardly tell they are molting, but for the feathers all over the place and the no eggs.
 
That's about the only bird I've had that came near a hard molt, many of them you can hardly tell they are molting, but for the feathers all over the place and the no eggs.

Almost all my rescue girls are missing big patches of feathers, and don’t seem to be re-growing them either. I think they were maybe molting over winter/early spring and because they were on a very low protein diet, 16% layer cut 50/50 with whole wheat, they had problems regrowing them. There were also probably some feather picking issues.

They are IMO very underweight. 2-3lbs each with very pronounced keel bones. Their body condition is slowly improving, but I think I might have to wait for their next molt for the feathers to come back. I’m certain it will clear up in the next year though. The first three girls I took up, Tippie, Puffy, and Bossy, all grew in nice feathers within a few months on better rations.

Would an 8/9 month old be molting along his back? I haven’t seen my Barnvelder since I rehomed him, but losing most of the feathers on his back sort of sounds like a molt to me.

Rant warning...

Furthermore :he:he:he they are going to take on more chickens at the farm “because they aren’t getting enough eggs” :mad: I just can’t anymore... I begged them to let me build tractors for them and to not put them in that parasite ridden coop. They just don’t understand/care about them. I don’t understand it. :hit I’m *this* close to calling the SPCA on us myself. But I don’t want to open up that bag of worms. You have 9 chickens that are laying regularly, who you aren’t even paying for the feed for... you’re not going to be getting over a dozen eggs a day FFS. :mad: They aren’t taking care of the ones they have... maybe if they stopped neglecting them they would have eggs? try keeping them healthy maybe? There’s the thought that the chickens must lay an egg every single day, with no days off forever. I have to wonder what that degree in agriculture is worth/included...

Not to mention, LAST year in October, November, and December, I asked if they were going to want more replacement layers... they said no.
Every summer since we got here this has come up... oh summer people are here and I need more eggs to sell :mad: So they are going to pick up some 1 1/2-2 year old “normal” layers (some sort of production red) from someone who is losing all their chicken to predators, and throw them into the too small, parasite ridden coop with no outside access until they die. And cramming 20 chickens into a 6x8 coop with no run is a good idea :mad: really! And who KNOWS what these new birds might be carrying? More mites? Diseases? :th:confused:

Sorry, I know I rant too much, but sometimes it just gets me very frustrated and angry, and no one here seems to realize that what they are doing is just fundamentally WRONG. But I’m just an un-educated city idiot. I mean, how can you look at Tippies feet and not realize that this is not right? When asked “have you looked at their legs and feet?” The response was “no, why would you want to? Chicken feet are disgusting” :(
 
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Almost all my rescue girls are missing big patches of feathers, and don’t seem to be re-growing them either. I think they were maybe molting over winter/early spring and because they were on a very low protein diet, 16% layer cut 50/50 with whole wheat, they had problems regrowing them. There were also probably some feather picking issues.

They are IMO very underweight. 2-3lbs each with very pronounced keel bones. Their body condition is slowly improving, but I think I might have to wait for their next molt for the feathers to come back. I’m certain it will clear up in the next year though. The first three girls I took up, Tippie, Puffy, and Bossy, all grew in nice feathers within a few months on better rations.

Would an 8/9 month old be molting along his back? I haven’t seen my Barnvelder since I rehomed him, but losing most of the feathers on his back sort of sounds like a molt to me.

Rant warning...

Furthermore :he:he:he they are going to take on more chickens at the farm “because they aren’t getting enough eggs” :mad: I just can’t anymore... I begged them to let me build tractors for them and to not put them in that parasite ridden coop. They just don’t understand/care about them. I don’t understand it. :hit I’m *this* close to calling the SPCA on us myself. But I don’t want to open up that bag of worms. You have 9 chickens that are laying regularly, who you aren’t even paying for the feed for... you’re not going to be getting over a dozen eggs a day FFS. :mad: They aren’t taking care of the ones they have... maybe if they stopped neglecting them they would have eggs? try keeping them healthy maybe? There’s the thought that the chickens must lay an egg every single day, with no days off forever. I have to wonder what that degree in agriculture is worth/included...

Not to mention, LAST year in October, November, and December, I asked if they were going to want more replacement layers... they said no.
Every summer since we got here this has come up... oh summer people are here and I need more eggs to sell :mad: So they are going to pick up some 1 1/2-2 year old “normal” layers (some sort of production red) from someone who is losing all their chicken to predators, and throw them into the too small, parasite ridden coop with no outside access until they die. And cramming 20 chickens into a 6x8 coop with no run is a good idea :mad: really! And who KNOWS what these new birds might be carrying? More mites? Diseases? :th:confused:

Sorry, I know I rant too much, but sometimes it just gets me very frustrated and angry, and no one here seems to realize that what they are doing is just fundamentally WRONG. But I’m just an un-educated city idiot. I mean, how can you look at Tippies feet and not realize that this is not right? When asked “have you looked at their legs and feet?” The response was “no, why would you want to? Chicken feet are disgusting” :(

I really wish there was something that could be done. Maybe sabotage? Burn down the coop before he gets more? Obviously I am not serious but I pity those poor birds. It's just not right.
:rant
 
I really wish there was something that could be done. Maybe sabotage? Burn down the coop before he gets more? Obviously I am not serious but I pity those poor birds. It's just not right.
:rant

I have often commented on “fixing” the coop with a can of gasoline and a match. There’s a complete ban on open burning/fires right now though :( and considering how often I’ve said it, when the extension cord/timer/poorly installed light finally does burn the death trap down I’ll probably get the credit for it. It’s also far too close to two other buildings and the fuel shed.
 
I have often commented on “fixing” the coop with a can of gasoline and a match. There’s a complete ban on open burning/fires right now though :( and considering how often I’ve said it, when the extension cord/timer/poorly installed light finally does burn the death trap down I’ll probably get the credit for it. It’s also far too close to two other buildings and the fuel shed.

How "unfortunate".
 
You didn't happen to worm her near the time she molted didya?
I wormed @ the start of Autumn. Logically she must have been molting but I don't remember anyone having massive amounts of feather loss then. By the end of Autumn my 4 original birds were all molting but my BRs didn't even go off the lay. My other Australorp kept laying spasmodically until recently. Would worming then be bad?

Edited because I haven't had coffee, have muddled my seasons & aren't making sense, even to myself.
 
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