Minnesota!

[The BlanchRanch]

Just a pic of the coop from today while it was snowing. Some of them actually ventured out!
And the dog was gobbling up "treats" dispensed from the back end of a chicken....



Some of my original girls... Lucy the SLW is working through a pretty tough molt right now. That's Mabel the BA in the middle and Meredith by big broody mama BA on the

missed the outside shot. WOW!!!

 

[FoxyChicken]

missed the outside shot. WOW!!!

Thanks! The portion on the left with all the windows is actually a greenhouse that I open up to the chickens only in the winter. They really enjoy the sunshine on cold days, and it warms up nicely in there too on sunny days.

 

[scandiafowl]

The roosters have been granted a reprieve for the time being.
After my flu shot yesterday I'm feeling a bit fluey. My mind is not in the right place either.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

Snowing NE? Where about?

 

[scandiafowl]

WOW!! What a coop with all the windows!! I need more pictures.

Indeed! Gorgeous coop!

 

[The BlanchRanch]

The roosters have been granted a reprieve for the time being.
After my flu shot yesterday I'm feeling a bit fluey. My mind is not in the right place either.

Lucky boys. Hope you feel better.

 

[FoxyChicken]

Snowing NE? Where about?

Grand Marais. It was just a quick little squall that came through, only lasted a few minutes.

 

[Minniechickmama]

how common is sour crop? will we eventually have to deal with it? or does it depend on the chicken?

It is not uncommon, as in rare, but it is not something you need to worry you are going to have a lot of if you watch what your birds have available to them. String, twine, straw, hay, long grass, whole corn can all be culprits. However, not all chickens will eat straw, most will just scratch and peck through it to get the seeds that didn't get harvested off. As some have said here, some chickens will eat hay, while others see it as a nesting material or litter. I would think straw would be preferable to hay for those. I have some birds that gorge themselves on grass when they are first let out on it.
Sour crop comes from the entrance to the gizzard gets blocked and food can't pass into it or the bird has gorged themselves on something long and stringy that binds up in their crop. The crop them becomes 'sour' because the feed they eat with it then begins to ferment.
The first thing I do is try to vomit out the mess in the crop. Sometimes if it is impacted with grass or straw, then you need some lubricant to assist in this, like olive or vegetable oil put directly down the throat into the crop. But all of this has to be done carefully so that the chicken doesn't aspirate it into their windpipe and starts another problem.
I have had some that if they just had a piece of corn or something like that, then stimulating the crop and vomitting the contents out have cleared it up. Others, I would then give them water with ACV only for 2-3 days, followed by active culture yogurt (can use Probios for horses) then some scrambled egg, then start reintroducing the feed but no scratch until it has all cleared up.
As I said, with my own birds, I can't recall any besides my Welsummers getting it. Why they would have it more than others, I don't know. I am certain it is something genetic if they are the only ones I have had to worry about or have found it with, and it has been with both males and females. Almost every case has been where they were eating a bunch of grass.
The first hen I had get it was very impacted and I couldn't get it to clear out. I did surgery to clean out all the grass and other stuff she had packed in there, but then her crop ruptured where I stitched her up and caused a secondary infection and I lost her.
With the first time, I believed it was whole corn that messed her up. I was feeding mash from the local mill and often would have whole grains in it, while everything else was dust. I switched to crumbles and the only ones I have had since are with grass in their crop too.
If you don't do something to resolve it when it presents itself, a bird will slowly starve, so just keep an eye out. You can tell they have it by a saggy, gassy bulbous crop.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

Quote: I was raised Methodist. I think it is one of the better religions. Not so strict or judging. I think Buddism is interesting too. 7th Day Adventists have an interesting twist on things.
I personally do believe in God, but I have a hard time believing in a type of religion or even some of the things in the bible. I figure anything pure is no longer pure after being touched by man. But religion does some great things like bringing together people. Just MHO. Jesus was Jewish and they don't even believe in him. It is all interesting.

I think all viewpoints are great to learn about and it would be a very boring world if we all thought the same.
Hope I don't sound like a nut.

 

[Minniechickmama]

That is really scary. I would get him a hepi pen in case he was way out somewhere and couldn't get too any medical help. It would save his life in that situation.

When he was young, I had talked to the docs about having an epi pen, but we decided there wasn't enough of a reaction to warrant one. This time, his throat was swelling because the dang thing bit him right back where his tonsils used to be, very close to his throat. He had a big lump where it bit his lip on the outside too. This is localized swelling, not anaphylactic reaction. The first encounter he had with these was the really freaky time, he was covered with welts from them crawling all over. He had no idea they were biting. He was 3 and I almost rushed him to the hospital, but I called instead and they calmed me down.