Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[chickflick]

I hear you, Peep. I have two special needs hens. And they are well taken care of and still enjoying life.

 

[aart]

Just as the AI has popped back into the news and I'm back to thinking bio security....a friend of my husbands bought a bunch of pigeons at the sale and dropped them in my chicken yard! No idea where they came from, if they are healthy. I can tell they don't have any creepy crawlies on them. I'm not sure what diseases they could spread. I don't think there is even anything special about them, they look like plain old rock doves. Anyone know anything about pigeons? My hubby said release or eat them. I don't want to release any domesticated animal and I don't want to butcher them. Some friends!

Grrrrrr!!!

That would totally tick me off!!
Had a 'friend' do that with some pond fish once.

Maybe you know that there is a pigeon forum here.

 

[gladahmae]

I had not heard that AI was back in the news! That stinks! I was seriously considering trying to find a splash rooster and hatching out blue sex-links....but if AI is going around again that is a big fat NOPE. 8 eggs yesterday, so I guess my ladies are just delicate little flowers that need it to be in the 50s to lay eggs.

As far as birds with dislocated hips....I've had that happen here 2x. Both times I ended up culling about a week later because there was 0 improvement, and having a big-bodied bird that can't get around is just asking for a predator issue, or extreme bullying.



"Cutting back" on birds is seriously the most ridiculous notion for me. THREE DAYS after I drove almost an hour each way for chicks, someone on CL lists wheaton ameraucanas (15min away). Then yesterday someone lists Marans (10min away). We are heading to GR for the weekend and I may or may not have checked CL and found lavender orpingtons, marans, lavender ameraucanas, and BBS ameraucanas down there also. And I really want to hoard eggs from my little splash EE hen and I REALLY want to put my BLR(splash) hen in my mini coop with my wyandotte/mix rooster and hatch out all of THOSE egss. Pretty much hatch out all the eggs and be completely covered up in chickens.

 

[gladahmae]

And I KNOW there are a ton of threads about this in the meat bird section, but I'm looking for something a little more succinct from people that I know have given good advice in the 4 years i've been in and out of here. Red/Rainbow/Freedom Rangers vs White broilers. We have done white broilers for 3 or 4 years now (i think 4? i lose track). I usually end up keeping them until around 9 or 10 weeks so they dress out at around 7lbs. That usually amounts to around 25lbs of feed per bird. I don't care about skin color, which I *think* is one of the differences? I am Ranger-curious but I don't want to "waste" my time with them if they take twice as long, don't get as big, eat way more feed, etc. We have 2 8x8 A-frames that are move-able (not particularly EASY to move, and we have had issues with stupid birds getting caught under the edges when we HAVE moved them.) Our landscape is too open and full of predators to reasonably free range meaties, so that's not an option.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

I hear you, Peep.  I have two special needs hens.  And they are well taken care of and still enjoying life.

Aw what happened to them?

 

[mrcush]

Have had a few 'sprain' a leg/foot.
It can happen, bad jump, hen fight, who knows.
If they are hobbling too badly for normal activity, I isolate them for most the day and sometimes the night.
Let them out once or twice a day to assess their movements...put them back in crate if still bad.
It can take a couple few days of rest, then weeks of milder limp to totally heal up.
Keep crate with flock, either in run and/or coop so you don't have to deal with re-integration.

Thanks for the tips! She seems to be getting better. I let her out today for about a half hour or so to stretch it out and she wasn't limping nearly as bad.

 

[birdman55]

 

[1muttsfan]

 

[Folly's place]

Mary

 

[jasonvanorder]

So apparently my boys and girls are still showing their young age. Kept them in the coop all day because of the rain. Had a bit of a break this afternoon so we let them out. While in town running errands it just poured. Get home to 8 waterlogged chickens trying to hide infer the door to the run. Didn't even go under or in the coop. Got to them and shoved them all in the coop one by one. Hope they smarten up a bit with age