Michigan

[LoveMyChicklets]

Quote:
Thanks Sam - Good information - We must have a bunch molting right now then....out of 27 hens we only getting about a dozen or so eggs and there are feathers everywhere - inside and outside of the coop. And this would be about 18 months since we got the first dozen so I'd say most of our girls are late molters.

Sad news: we had to put one of our dogs down yesterday. He had 2 seizures in early January...and had been fine until yesterday when he had about a dozen seizures back to back. The vet game him valium to stop the seizures, but was only successful for a very short period of time. We picked him up last night around 6:30 to bring him home and see how he'd do for a day or so, but we hadn't anymore started down US27 when he had another seizure. Made the difficult decision to take him back and send him to doggie heaven. Hershey was a black lab/shephard mix and we'd probably had him about 12 years or so - suspect he was about 14 - had been a rescue dog. His gal pal, Savannah keeps going to the door and crying. She spent some time with him here in the house before we moved him outside. We have him wrapped in a blanket on the deck...and she's been out to spend some time with him...each time a little less, so I hope she's recovering somewhat. hubby is going to see if he can make any headway in the ground today.
Enjoy the sun everyone - Nancy

Oh Nancy, I'm so sorry

We lost our little Boston Terrier last December because her cancer got to bad and we had to put her down. It's a very hard thing to do. I hope Savannah is recovering along with her human friends

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Good morning all

Nancy, I am sorry about your dog. We had a little sheltie mix that had seizures and the last one she could not come out of so we had to put her down. It was real tough to deal with, especially for my youngest son. We got her when my son was just 1 and she slept with him every night once he was old enough to sleep in a bed.

One of my little chicks vanshed yesterday. I had put both babies in the divided area of the coop because mama quit being a mama. Anyway when I went out to the coop last night I could not find the black one. The other one was upset about being alone so I let it out with the big chickens. It actually managed to get on the roost with mama. It is 6 feet high. I looked and looked for the other baby and could not find it. My DH even looked for it. This morning DH woke me up to tell me that the chick was in the coop running around. It must have been hiding under a big chicken on the roost.

Yesterday DH told me that having chickens has been good for me, he's glad that we have them. We are going to go this weekend to pick up supplies to build a hoop house run and materials to convert a shed into a bigger coop for the gang.

 

[Whatshisface]

Quote:
Boy did I learn that the hard way. A couple of years ago I set out a live trap near the coop and I was catching a mixture of raccoons and opossums. I kept letting the opossums go, but not the raccoons. After a while all I was catching was opossums and my chickens were still being attacked. At first I thought that I had a raccoon that was too smart to go into the live trap then I realize it was the opossums that we killing my Buffs.

Good morning all.

 

[wyliefarms]

A while ago, folks were interested in learning how to test and be a pullrum free flock. Well, thanks to our friend across Lake Michigan, I found out it is here! The class is this Tuesday, March 9, at the MSU pavillion in classroom C/D from 8:30-noon. Cost is $15.00 and the certification is good for 3 years. No registration is required. Questions? call Dr. Mick Fulton at 517-353-3701.

Immediately following the testing class there is a Small Flock Poultry Workshop from 12:30-5pm. Cost is $30 and lunch is included. Registration is required. Email Darrin Karcher at [email protected]

I am planning on going to the testing workshop. Not sure about the small flock yet. I need to check with my husbands schedule and I have attended several of Darrin's workshops before, so not sure if it will new information for me. Darrin is very knowledgeable and a great speaker.

Sarah

 

[Opa]

I was talking with Bluemoon (Chelsea) about how some birds could benefit from being giving an electrolyte if they are stressed or they just seem to need a boost of energy. I was explaining that you added it to their water and all you birds will benefit but that I like to give a few drops of straight Poultry Drench into their bottom bill of the bird I wish to treat. I explained how you could use an ace bandage to trap the wings and legs to allow you to treat the bird by your self. As we were speaking a moment of inspiration hit me. If the bird is feeding without difficulty you could drop the Poultry Drench onto a few pieces of bread and feed it to the bird you wish to treat.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Oh man, the oldest DD stayed home from school today. Definitely has a stomach bug. Feels like I can't shake sickness from my home. It smells of Lysol all the time right now! The kids had a nasty cold virus for about three weeks and now this. Can I go to sleep now?

 

[ben_r]

I'm here too... in Lansing, a block from Sparrow Hospital. I started last spring with four BR chicks from Soldan's, got them big and fledged out, moved them to the coop. Then one night the neighbors came by cuddling one of the pullets which ended up pecking at their window. We went back to the run and found chicken massacre. One completely gone, one without a head, and another torn apart. Raccoons. I never imagined they'd be here in downtown. Anyhow, we put the last chick back in the coop and nailed the door opening shut with some finishing nails. Two nights later the raccoon pried the door off and finished the last bird. Raccoon was trapped and neutralized.

Anyhow, this was around June, perfect time for Lansing Chickenstock. By this time, I had reinforced the chicken access door and equipped it with a lock and hasp, and put a batten across the maintenance access door with another combo lock. Raccoon are clever, but very bad with numbers. I picked up three RIR hens at 1.5 years from someone at the Chickenstock (don't recall your name, sorry). They were pretty content, though one sort of stopped doing anything - moving, eating, drinking. I was thinking she had gone broody, until I found her stretched out on the run. I don't know if she was sick or what - she may have eaten a nail or staple or something. Sadly, there's enough loose trash around here downtown that all sorts of litter blows into my yard. The other two have been healthy and happy ever since, though I think they're ready for the snow to go. When it does, I'm going to go over their run and the garden with a metal detector since I don't know what other scrap they might scratch up - the house is 101 years old. I'm also going in with a co-worker who is interested in chickens, and I'm ordering two BR chicks to re-fill out the flock.

 

[wyliefarms]

Quick post:

Update on my SIL Amy. Test results they just got back this afternoon show that Amy's cancer has spread to her lungs and they are giving her days to live.

I am off to get Jim and Amy's kids and take them back to their house for the night.


Thank you for your prayers in this difficult time.

Sarah

 

[Huston's Happy Hens]

Sarah, I'm sorry to hear about your SIL - Prayers of support for everyone involved. I lost a brother to lung cancer in October - 5 months ago tomorrow. Smoked 30 years ago....difficult transition without him.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Quote:
We gave her a couple drops in her mouth straight. She's so laid back, she didn't mind. I think she likes the taste. I'll put some in the water tomorrow morning when I clean the waterer. She's still seems to be fine. She was chasing the young rooster around because he was annoying her. I think she enjoyed the bath, and blow dry. I looked her over real good while bathing her, no signs of mites, lice, nothing.

Ruby the RIR gets cleaned up tomorrow. She's the trouble maker.

She's also Houdini's favorite gal, so I have to watch my back when I go grab her.

Bluemoon


I also got me 3 BIG boxes of kleenex. Stupid cold.