Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[taprock]

Sorry for the lost girls. Nova I lost two girls similar to what you described. There wasn't a rooster involved or prolapse. We did a nacropse and there wasn't anything to note. i guess just their time. Right now I have 2 birds that have been sitting looking old, not sick or anything, just not spry any more, last off the roost, in the coop, kinda grumpy with the other girls. I really haven't expienced aging chicken so I'm not sure what to expect.

Our snow today came with a east wind. My coop's cap was never finished off properly and I usually just stuff the corrugated part with old sheets for the winter....I forgot! So I ended up with snow in the coop that I will have to clean out tomorrow. I went out and closed up the gaps and moved a couple birds that had gotten snow on their roosts. A couple of chickens with silkied feathers were damp so I hope they are ok. I may wade out later and check to make sure they are dry.

 

[NovaAman]

My biggest concern is Florus standing on them... I mean, is it possible for him to kill them by just standing on them?

 

[1muttsfan]

Not unless he is very heavy, they are very small, and he stands on them for more than a few seconds. When the hens squat down it redistributes a lot of the roosters weight to their legs.

 

[Scifisarah]

Sarah, Pat is walking around a lot better now. He's now in a 2x3 section of the broody box during the day, he's also starting to complain more. I take him out to the grass during the warmest part of the day and baby sit him for a while. He still can't run though, so at least catching him is easy. LOL. I'll get pictures of him later in the grass. I have not heard him crow or try to crow yet. Maybe he's a girl.

I've been too busy to keep up on here, but just wondered if Pat had made any more progress since your last post about him/her? Stocking my Etsy shop in a few minutes. My fingers are stiff from so much sewing this weekend!

 

[NovaAman]

He's probably between 7-8 pounds. He's much bigger than Mr. Fluffers was, but Vonna was also a big girl. She was probably about 5-6 pounds. Thanks. I was trying and trying to find anything I could about the Roosters standing on the hens even though they weren't mating. Just standing on them after ya know... Couldn't find anything...

 

[NovaAman]

I've been too busy to keep up on here, but just wondered if Pat had made any more progress since your last post about him/her? Stocking my Etsy shop in a few minutes. My fingers are stiff from so much sewing this weekend!

Pat is doing great! He now has a 2x4 space of his own. Only his silkie hen buddy who would sit on the otherside of the divide with him got killed by that hawk... Well anyway, he's walking really really well now. I also built him a 2x4 hoop run so he can get outside and not get picked on by the bigger birds. Most the birds ignore him, but some of the more jerk headed ones... And Roger Jr isn't a fan, but he loves to stick his head through the lattice and steal Pat's treats. Yes, She/He is still named Pat. I have not heard any crowing, but he is getting more vocal. His comb and wattles haven't really grown any more either. I have him on 22% game bird maintainence feed, he's fattened up a little bit, the feathers on the back of his head that had been pecked off are growing back in pretty good too.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hard when you dont know what they died from.

 

[NovaAman]

I know. I should have autopsied, but I just wasn't feeling the curiosity to see her insides... The last couple hens that died, I did look in though. I did look at prolapse pics to see if that was it, since never had anything like that... And her vent, though swollen/puckered out didn't look anything like that...

 

[gladahmae]

Sorry to hear about losses. We're going to have to take one of our wyandotte pullets here soon. I feel bad for the poor girl. I think part of her problem is neurological too since I noticed that she walks with stiff legs and very high steps.

I have a dog question:
In an attempt to be proactive (slightly) I'm wondering if anyone has experience with dog crates/kennels with METAL pans instead of the typical plastic ones. Our husky has seperation issues, and we generally put him in a run (6ft heavy duty welded wire on cement patio blocks since he is a champion excavator and destoys chainlink) outside when we have to leave the house (which isn't often, and is usually for just a few hours at most) but since he is an inside dog, I feel bad putting him out since he doesn't have a true winter coat. He's a rescue, about 2.5 years old and chews and destroys things if we leave him in the house unattended. Couch cusions, dishes, bottles of juice, bags of apples, our window trim, cooking spatuals and spoons, shoes, hats, the list goes on and on and on. We tried crate training with a molded plastic crate and he ate a hole through the side of it big enough to get his head out of. In 3 days.

Tried crate training again on a much more gradual schedule and the 2nd time we 'tested' him by leaving the house for about 30min (after over a month of working on things) he ripped the plastic tray to shreds and tried to dig through our wood floor. So now that I feel bad putting him outside, and we have a trip coming up in 4 months, I feel like maybe we should try things again. Are the crates with the metal/steel pans that much better? are the pans actually sturdy or are they flimsy and he'll be able to bend and fold it up, rendering it useless within a few uses?

 

[kimmie6067]

I keep trying to respond to posts by quote and the site keeping shutting down,