Michigan

[keyt1969]

Help!

We have a 6-7 month old Australorp hen that has been acting very strange. For the last week it's like she's afraid of all the other chickens. When she's in the general population, she will stay in the barn and if anyone comes near her she will either stand completely still, not eating or drinking or lay down and curl her legs up like in a fetal position. If she's by herself, she acts totally normal, eating and drinking fine. At night we've been keeping her in the dog crate and it's like she loves it in there!!

She kinda reminds me of my sister's fainting goat she had years ago!

Everyone else is fine. Any ideas?

 

[chickflick]

Do you have a rooster that is bothering her.... that she is afraid of? I had a BR that was so afraid of the rooster, that she stayed in the garage. She once ran into the fence trying to get away from him. She was always hiding from him, never out with the other hens. I think the stress killed her, poor thing. Seems like something scared her... maybe a close hawk attack?

 

[RIRJen]

Yayee!!! It's Friday!!!
So glad...I work this morning until 12 and then off for the weekend. Hoping it stays dry so I can get some things done around the yard.
SOOOOOO get this! My husband got a job at Walmart and hates it but is sticking with it because something is better then nothing. Well apparently last night he got called into the Store Manager's office and got chewed out! He posted on his Facebook that he was irritated that his scheduled day to work had him working on Thanksgiving and his scheduled day off is the day after but Walmart was making him work that day...so he'll be working 6 days in a row over a holiday.(his fixed schedule is tuesdays and fridays off) All he did was voice that it sucked that he had to work that day and I guess the Walmart people actual stalk their employees online and they called him out on posting negatively about Walmart!!! OMG are you serious?!?!?! That is his personal life!! The manager was like "I can't tell you to remove it but..." I can't wait for him to find a better job...but I told him he wasn't allowed to quit until he had a new one...now he's motivated to find better lol.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
Do you have hens that pick on her? That's what happened with one of ours. Hid all the time. When she came out to get water, the rooster jumped her and when he was done, the other hens all swarmed and began pecking at her.

 

[Olive Hill]

Well, it's supposed to be another relatively nice day out there today. I'm enjoying it and would like it to last but have to admit it doesn't bode well for hunting next week; doesn't bode well at all. And I'm not sure which I'd rather have good hunting or good weather. I hate to admit that I'm leaning towards good ... hunting.

Jen, I'm so sorry your hubby got a talking-to. That makes a job you don't like even harder to show up for every day. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart has a brand to control and employee relations is one of the hottest hot-button topics associated with that brand. Every complaint one of their employees puts out there -- especially publicly on the web -- has vast potential to be damaging to their business. I'm not saying what they do is "right", but that is their motive, and they are not alone. Many, many employers "stalk" their employees online. There is a lot of educational material and warnings out there for teens and early twenties teaching them how to use social media without damaging their employability (though of the ones I'm friends with on FB none seem to actually USE that information

), but I think a lot of people forget that while those young people are new to the working world and need the guidance, older workers are new to social media and also need the guidance. I have seen very little for older workers, like your husband, and that's unfortunate because this is what happens.

It would be a very good idea for your hubby to read up on FB's privacy controls and put them to good use. If you're using your privacy controls wisely you can, like Wal-Mart controls their brand, control your voice and reputation. It's okay for family and close friends to share in his frustration, but the whole world doesn't need to, lock that down.

As an aside, don't you be using the dancing emoticon like that unless you have EGG NEWS! I thought for sure you were going to say they started laying when I saw that!

Keyt, maybe she is just low hen on the pecking order and a timid personality combined? I would stop locking her in the crate at night, if you intend to keep her I don't think you're doing her any favors. When the flock wakes in the morning it only reinforces the idea in both their minds and hers that she is not one of them, she is not to be accepted and for her it reinforces the idea that she should be very submissive, that she doesn't belong. Rather than locking her up tonight try waiting until after dark, quietly sneaking out and placing her on the roost, in the middle of the flock while they sleep. Do this a few nights in a row and see if it helps her establish a better position and gain confidence. That or maybe try rehoming her to somewhere with a smaller flock? Good Luck!

 

[lilmstw72]

Quote:
I know a job is a job these days but I agree with you... Walmart does suck! I would adjust his personal settings on his facebook so only friends can view stuff. They say lots of potential workplaces will do internet searches before even contacting people for interviews to eliminate candidates based on what they find. I totally have a 'mommy' facebook page but I still have it only available for friends viewing.

 

[RIRJen]

Quote:
LOL Ya, that's what I was thinking! They can pay me to look at status updates...oh wait, I don't want to make minimum wage.

I shop there for groceries but I don't really care for the way they treat thier employees. Josh's dept. manager backed him up and got into with the Store manager about freedom of speach (he's a veteran) and was pretty steamed about them attacking Josh about something he said in his personal life. Oh well!

Olive, I'm sorry!

Nope, no eggs yet. I'm cutting out all goodies for now and going straight laying feed. No scratch, no pumpkins, no stale bread. (not that they got a whole lot of it) I might hook up a light source this weekend and see if that maybe helps get them going. I hate putting a light in the coop because you don't want to draw attention to your animals now adays with the way the economy is it's like putting a blue light special light ontop of your coop for potential thiefs. These girls do need to start laying so I can get some hatching eggs this spring!

 

[Mish]

Quote:
Maybe she's not eating enough? One of my pullets started acting strange a couple months ago.... inside the coop when all the others were outside and staying by herself. I brought her inside right away, gave her crop massages and hand fed her water, yogurt and smashed pellets. She was acting better the next day. I kept her inside another day and found out what I did wrong - - -> it was the switch from crumbles to pellets. I thought I'd bought Layena crumbles, the bag looked the same. So I mixed crumbles and pellets and then went to pellets and everyone looked like they were doing fine and eating. Nope, she looked like she was eating, but was mostly just moving the food around. I'm new to chickens so learning as I go. Probably isn't your reason and I'm just telling this embarrassing newbie story

since I thought she was acting scared when it was actually hungry.

 

[SillyChicken]

I will attest that working in big box retail, wallyworld, meijer, lowes, home depot does SUCK massively!! The stress it inflicts on you is horrible. I worked in one for 4 years (I cannot complain about the pay I recieved in my position, it was good), They treat people like crap and just LOVE using threats as their "motivation". I applied and applied for jobs, and when it got really bad in the last year I was there, I started applying for jobs I had experience in, but at a higher level that I figured I was qualified for and guess what, I landed one of those! Tell your DH not to limit himself!


Olive, I put my order in for at least a foot of snow, no wind and about 31 deg, for Monday's opener, but I guess I got my order in late! At least it isn't going to be as warm as this week was. All the cold crappy weather isn't hitting until the following holiday week, with rain, snow and icy conditions. I've got all of next week off and can't wait!!! A bad day of hunting is better than a good day at work!

 

[wyliefarms]

Hi Everyone!

Opening night of Annie was a success! It was a sold out crowd! We do 8 shows and including tonight 3 are sold out and tomorrow's 2 shows have just 6 tickets between the two available!!!

It was great to perform in front of a crowd and hear them laughing at the funny parts (which after 12 weeks of practice they lose the funny part)

Off to wash off the makeup and hairspray...not a normal thing for me! And to sleep in

Sarah