New Jersey

[Milesofsmiles]

That's the frustrating thing - you WON'T get bloody poop all the time. Most chicken illnesses happen this way. When I go to Kirby's this weekend, I will try and ask for more info about cocci. I had it once, but didn't recognize it, because I was also looking for bloody poop, and there was very little. Finally they got sick enough to have other symptoms. I didn't lose any, but they were not feeling well for quite awhile. That was my only foray into giving non-medicated feed, in my attempt to "go natural." I won't do that again!

The best indicator with ANY illness is the bird's behavior. Unfortunately for us, they are often quite sick by the time we notice anything, as animals project illness differently from people. They won't lie in a corner moaning - they are pretty stoic. I've stood over a dead bird yelling at it about why couldn't it have at least sneezed or something, so I had a chance to fix it!

With the babies, yours and Ginny's, the application of heat is another thing where you use the observations of their behavior. If they aren't huddled up in one big shivering ball, they are probably warm enough. If they are spread out as far from the heat as they can get, they are probably too warm. Use your mom instincts. Once they are outside, the best thing you can do for them is make sure there are no drafts in the coop. It's the drafts that hurt them, and dampness - not the temperature. If in doubt, bring them in the garage. A cardboard box is good for that - no drafts. Sometimes going back and forth between the warm house and the cooler outside is sometimes too much stress.

The hardest thing about having chickens is that they DO die from stuff that you cannot help. It took me a while to accept that. The way I deal with it is to provide the best physical conditions and feed I can, keep an eye on them for signs of illness, and have the appropriate solutions on hand. That's really all you can do. If you've done that, and something still happens, you know you've done your best. You will probably lose some along the way as you gain more knowledge. I lost a favorite bird a few years ago that I could probably save today - I just simply didn't have the knowledge back then that I do now. That's hard to accept. I also lost the three to a hawk this winter, because I didn't realize how sneaky and determined they could be about small openings in my run. I feel very guilty about that, but I've attended to the openings, and had another person check the run, too, so I think I'm safe for now. Thus, the knowledge I gained over that incident has helped the birds I have in the future, and can even help other people I share that knowledge with, as my chicken mentors have shared their knowledge with me. Sometimes we all ask ourselves why we do this (have chickens) when they can e so frustrating, but then we see them taking a dust bath, or sleeping in the sun, or just pecking around, and we know that, despite all frustrations, we couldn't live without them!

Have to go hug my girls now!

Thank you,
I should have listen to my mom instincts yesterday when they were yelling loud and clear to start the Corid. GRR! When I woke this morning there was more bloody poo,more then one chick it looks like and my little one is all fluffed up. Needless to say they are all getting medicated now. I think the part that really makes me frustrated is I am not new to this type of stuff. Maybe chicks in my house, yes farm animals no. There is a farm in my husbands family and we go weekly, when grandmom goes away for a month I am the one that tends to ALL the needs there.I have to worm sheep and goats all the time and have a whole list of things I know I can do when one gets sick. This spring the farm had 20 babies!! I feel I am a good at telling the signs of sickness in these situations. I even helped raise the chicks last year at the farm ( the reason we got some for ourselves). So I am not sure why those farm instinct don't carry with me home to my own little flock. However after reading your post this morning and a pep talk from Grandmom & friends ( my farm crew

) last night. I am confident I can get my little ladies through this, and if I can not I will just have to be ok knowing I did everything I could.

I did sign up for the information class at Kirby's this weekend. I love to learn stuff. I may email Sarah just to make sure there is not a waiting list, and I am not taking up space of more advanced chicken owners. If this is the case I will give up my spot.
Thanks again,

 

[ben is a terror]

found this on the heritage large fowl form
Good Morning,

I wanted to share a small part of an article written by, Karen Davis P.H.D., who is an Avian Specialist.

I believe, if it wasn't for the chickens' ability to lay large number of eggs, they would have been one of the most sought after, and expensive pet animals. In my personal experience, I found them to have much more intelligence than they are given credit for.
I hope you enjoy the article below.

Lual


Capacity for Pain and Suffering
Birds including chickens experience pain and suffering the same as humans and other mammals. Like mammals, chickens and other birds have nociceptors-pain receptors. Behavioral evidence supports neurophysiological evidence of chickens' ability to suffer pain, fear, and other forms of distress. In "Pain in Birds," Michael Gentle writes: "Comparing pain in birds with mammals, it is clear that, with regard to the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral parameters measured, there are no major differences and therefore the ethical considerations normally afforded to mammals should be extended to birds" (Gentle, 1992, 235).
In "Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Pain in the Chicken," Michael Gentle concludes: "The close similarity between birds and mammals in their physiological and behavioural response to painful stimuli argues for a common sensory and emotional experience." Chickens' beaks and skin are full of pain-sensitive nerves. Debeaking and feather-pulling cause pain which has been characterized both behaviorally and physiologically in chickens. To those who ask whether the combs of roosters and hens can feel pain the answer is yes. In comb pinch tests, for example, chickens show "active avoidance behaviour . . . and vigorous escape attempts involving jumping, wing flapping and occasionally calling".

Cognition
Science shows that chickens have complex cognitive (mental) capabilities. In The Development of Brain and Behaviour in the Chickens , avian specialist Lesley J. Rogers says that the chicken has "a complex nervous system designed to form a multitude of memories and to make complex decisions", and that "with increased knowledge of the behaviour and cognitive abilities of the chicken has come the realization that the chicken is not an inferior species to be treated merely as a food source"

Conclusion
Wild and feral chickens raise their families and fend for themselves the same as other birds. Field studies show that domesticated chickens resume a natural state of existence that may be masked but not extinguished by the domestic environment. One example is the feral chickens of Riverbend in North Charleston, South Carolina. These birds left the plantations on which they were originally placed to live independently in the surrounding woods. White leghorn hens rescued from battery cages instinctually roost in the branches of trees and bushes, like their wild relatives and ancestors. It is increasingly recognized that chickens are hardy, social, and intelligent birds and that "birds have cognitive capacities equivalent to those of mammals, even primates"

 

[ben is a terror]

Thank you,
I should have listen to my mom instincts yesterday when they were yelling loud and clear to start the Corid. GRR! When I woke this morning there was more bloody poo,more then one chick it looks like and my little one is all fluffed up. Needless to say they are all getting medicated now. I think the part that really makes me frustrated is I am not new to this type of stuff. Maybe chicks in my house, yes farm animals no. There is a farm in my husbands family and we go weekly, when grandmom goes away for a month I am the one that tends to ALL the needs there.I have to worm sheep and goats all the time and have a whole list of things I know I can do when one gets sick. This spring the farm had 20 babies!! I feel I am a good at telling the signs of sickness in these situations. I even helped raise the chicks last year at the farm ( the reason we got some for ourselves). So I am not sure why those farm instinct don't carry with me home to my own little flock. However after reading your post this morning and a pep talk from Grandmom & friends ( my farm crew

) last night. I am confident I can get my little ladies through this, and if I can not I will just have to be ok knowing I did everything I could.

I did sign up for the information class at Kirby's this weekend. I love to learn stuff. I may email Sarah just to make sure there is not a waiting list, and I am not taking up space of more advanced chicken owners. If this is the case I will give up my spot.
Thanks again,

Hope they feel better

 

[Milesofsmiles]

found this on the heritage large fowl form
Good Morning,

I wanted to share a small part of an article written by, Karen Davis P.H.D., who is an Avian Specialist.

I believe, if it wasn't for the chickens' ability to lay large number of eggs, they would have been one of the most sought after, and expensive pet animals. In my personal experience, I found them to have much more intelligence than they are given credit for.
I hope you enjoy the article below.

Lual


Capacity for Pain and Suffering
Birds including chickens experience pain and suffering the same as humans and other mammals. Like mammals, chickens and other birds have nociceptors-pain receptors. Behavioral evidence supports neurophysiological evidence of chickens' ability to suffer pain, fear, and other forms of distress. In "Pain in Birds," Michael Gentle writes: "Comparing pain in birds with mammals, it is clear that, with regard to the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral parameters measured, there are no major differences and therefore the ethical considerations normally afforded to mammals should be extended to birds" (Gentle, 1992, 235).
In "Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Pain in the Chicken," Michael Gentle concludes: "The close similarity between birds and mammals in their physiological and behavioural response to painful stimuli argues for a common sensory and emotional experience." Chickens' beaks and skin are full of pain-sensitive nerves. Debeaking and feather-pulling cause pain which has been characterized both behaviorally and physiologically in chickens. To those who ask whether the combs of roosters and hens can feel pain the answer is yes. In comb pinch tests, for example, chickens show "active avoidance behaviour . . . and vigorous escape attempts involving jumping, wing flapping and occasionally calling".

Cognition
Science shows that chickens have complex cognitive (mental) capabilities. In The Development of Brain and Behaviour in the Chickens , avian specialist Lesley J. Rogers says that the chicken has "a complex nervous system designed to form a multitude of memories and to make complex decisions", and that "with increased knowledge of the behaviour and cognitive abilities of the chicken has come the realization that the chicken is not an inferior species to be treated merely as a food source"

Conclusion
Wild and feral chickens raise their families and fend for themselves the same as other birds. Field studies show that domesticated chickens resume a natural state of existence that may be masked but not extinguished by the domestic environment. One example is the feral chickens of Riverbend in North Charleston, South Carolina. These birds left the plantations on which they were originally placed to live independently in the surrounding woods. White leghorn hens rescued from battery cages instinctually roost in the branches of trees and bushes, like their wild relatives and ancestors. It is increasingly recognized that chickens are hardy, social, and intelligent birds and that "birds have cognitive capacities equivalent to those of mammals, even primates"

Great article, Thanks for sharing. I had also read one a while back about the emotional rage of chickens. I wish I could find it again.
Thank you. I hope they will be fine and my little lady will be felling better soon.

 

[chickobsessed]

She showed no signs of being sick. Yesterday she was chasing the little silkie around the cage. I had her in my arms. She seemed fine. They are in the kitchen cause there's only the two of them so they get lots of attention. Weird

Sorry! That's strange.

 

[chickobsessed]

I am 90% positive one of my Girls has Coccidiosis. She is all puffed up and there is bloody stool  in the brooder. It just started this morning. I am going to go buy some corid and treat her. I am assuming that I should treat them all to be safe? I feel so terrible, I have been letting them go outside because it has been so nice. they have only been outside twice. I could cry!! Worst part is I wont be able to treat her until later this afternoon. Is there any hope in this situation if i get her treated today? Should I separate her? 

I had a few of mine get it last year. I treated them with the corid and they are all happy and healthy chickens now. It was two that I had gotten from agway that started it. It did spread to a couple others so i treated the entire cage full. It took a little more them 3 days to show improvement. They were fine ever since. Hope they get better soon!

 

[llandry]

Thank you, 
I should have listen to my mom instincts yesterday when they were yelling loud and clear to start the Corid. GRR!  When I woke this morning there was more bloody poo,more then one chick it looks like and my little one is all fluffed up. Needless to say  they are all getting medicated now.  I think the part that really makes me frustrated is I am not  new to this type of stuff. Maybe chicks in my house, yes farm animals no. There is a farm in my husbands family and we go weekly, when grandmom goes away for a month I am the one that tends to ALL the needs there.I have to worm sheep and goats all the time and have a whole list of things I know I can do when one gets sick. This spring the farm had 20 babies!! I feel I am a good at telling the signs of sickness in these situations. I even helped raise the chicks last year at the farm ( the reason we got some for ourselves).  So I am not sure why those farm instinct don't carry with me home to my own little flock. However after reading your post this morning and a pep talk from Grandmom & friends ( my farm crew  ) last night. I am confident I can get my little ladies through this,  and if I can not I will just have to be ok knowing I did everything I could. 

I did sign up for the information class  at Kirby's this weekend. I love to learn stuff. I may email Sarah just to make sure there is not a waiting list, and I am not taking up space of more advanced chicken owners. If this is the case I will give up my spot. 
Thanks again,

try not to beat yourself up over what you think you should have known. I can advise anyone on what to do with their cat or dog. I've talked owners through CPR on their pet while someone drives them to the hospital. My own dog gets diarrhea and I'm like uuuhhhhh what do I do?!?!?!

 

[kahlua]

My latest batch of chicks hatched today...ish. My EE's were early birds again and they mostly hatched yesterday and today. Since I'm using a "real" incubator now, I am pretty sure that it isn't local fluctuations in temperature, it's just that my EE's like to hatch early...
I have a few marans that aren't out yet so will give them more time. And for some reason a lot of the chicks from one of my EE hens didn't hatch. Last time only one hatched out - this time I think 5 out of 12 hatched. 100% of my other two EE hens hatched so I think it's just her.
















Unfortunately, out of the 6 wheaten marans I kept from my last hatch, 5 are boys So I will be keeping some of these chicks a little longer so I can be sure I get a few more girls!

NJchixs how are yours looking???

 

[NJchixs]

My latest batch of chicks hatched today...ish. My EE's were early birds again and they mostly hatched yesterday and today. Since I'm using a "real" incubator now, I am pretty sure that it isn't local fluctuations in temperature, it's just that my EE's like to hatch early... I have a few marans that aren't out yet so will give them more time. And for some reason a lot of the chicks from one of my EE hens didn't hatch. Last time only one hatched out - this time I think 5 out of 12 hatched. 100% of my other two EE hens hatched so I think it's just her. Unfortunately, out of the 6 wheaten marans I kept from my last hatch, 5 are boys So I will be keeping some of these chicks a little longer so I can be sure I get a few more girls! NJchixs how are yours looking???

Congrats on the hatch!! Very cute. Well I'll just carry on that sentiment of all boy, lol. Out of the three Marans two are boys. I getting suspicious of one EE and OE that they may be boys. Another week or so should tell. My Ameraucana eggs look good , the ones I can see through at least. The Orpingtons not so well, maybe (big maybe) 4 developing and better with the Wyandottes. I am going to check them again on Sunday and pull out the rest that look bad and crack them open to take a look.

 

[GAIL328]

Very cute.