Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[chicken grandma]

Oh that is awful.

I am pet sitting two chickens. I get nervous when the sun gets on their coop. What are the symptoms of overheating?

 

[fuzzybutt love]

No, my pair of lap buddies.
Not that the other ones aren't friendly, but it was the hen i had always in my avitar, and roo, the pair that always pushed up to my neck to hug instead of just laying in my lap. If one hopped up the other wasn't far behind. It was a hard decision that i am still having trouble accepting to put down my roo as well, but they were inseperable and i think that once he finally understood that she was not going to get up it would have been too much for him. It was a heat related accident, he didn't mean it, but she was too weak to tolerate his advances and he was too quick for me to stop it. I buried them together, neck to neck, as was fitting for them. It is just hard and it will take time for me to be around birds for a while.

 

[NovaAman]

Droopy, lethargy, comb pales, excessive panting.. You will be able to tell right away when something is not right...

 

[fuzzybutt love]

She had wings out, panting, as they usually do when it's hot, but her eyes were vacant and she wasn't able to take more than a step before going down on her hocks. Her abdomen felt burning hot, so i threw her into a partially filled bucket of cool, not cold water. She had no appetite, and didn't want even to drink at first, but i was able to coax grapes down her once she was cooled and after a while she had eaten some of my concentrated vitamin pellets, and drank a ton. Heat distress is pretty obvious. If their poo goes bright green it is bad, that means the liver is failing. Also, if the white is blending with the green, the digestive system can also not be seperating the liquids from the solids. (liquid altogether is just overdrinking, that is normal for this kind of situation.
Hers had been lighter than normal, and the solids not well seperated. but had i been able to seperate her without her going into distress and pacing herself to death in a cage i could have saved her.

This morning she was bright eyed and cheerful, and once she started eating she was going about as usual, but a tad slower and her comb was pale. I knew the rooster was a risk, but she wouldn't live without him, so i kept them supervised so she would keep eating. It only took a second, he saw his chance and he being a bird didn't understand why i had been keeping him away............Had i been able to catch him and put him out of the pen before he darted it wouldn't have happened, that much at least you guys can learn from my mistake.

 

[NovaAman]

Hugs again Fuzzy...

I am having one heck of a time staying awake... I need to get my kid used to getting to bed too... School starts for him in a week and a half, and we really are night owls here. Going to hurt when he has to get up at 7:30....

Have a good night all.

 

[Elliemae 77]

Fuzzy,
So sorry for your loss.

 

[greenmimama]

Aww Fuzzy, Hearing you tell the story is so sad, they sounded like really sweet birds. I'm so sorry that it happened to them.

My 6yo is so loving the new pets, we got our 3 chickens on Fri. night, I have wanted them for years!! and then rabbits the next day, He is just in love, it is so cute, I think it will do him a lot of good to have something to fuss over, instead of picking on his little brothers

It poured here for a short while, but we def. got a nice steady rain for a couple of hours.

 

[teeville5]

Fuzzy, I'm so sorry about your roo/hen couple. What a terrible thing to have happen.
Nova, I totally hear you about the school thing. One week to go and my night owl is so not ready for the 5:30am wake up call.

Ok, I have to share this photo I took today. I have to apologize for pic quality as I only had the camera on my phone to take it with.
This is absolute proof that teens are crazy. See the black dot in the center of the photo? That's my oldest daughter and her boyfriend harnessed together 183ft in the air waiting to be dropped by what I deem a rubber band. Took this today at MI Adventures. She practically ran for this as soon as we got there. Crazy girl.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Fuzzy-

your basketball hen? I am so so sorry

I can understand your hurt. I felt like that after Carmen died. She was so much more a pet than just a chicken, with the personality of a dog. The others were 'just chickens' and caring for them felt like a chore more than not. I almost gave it all up when she died, as well.

I know that you must ride your bike to care for them- and my heart hurts for you, knowing how sad you must be. Have you any eggs from her? Maybe you or someone close to you could incubate them for you.

 

[Brethren49619]

Hillbilly Hen and Fuzzy -

I'm so sorry for both of you. Once the effects of your illness and the pain of your loss is gone, hopefully you will each find a way back to what you love.

Like every other pet and cherished loved one, a loss is something that takes time to heal from.