North Carolina

[FVRM]

Good morning!

FVRM, I could take pictures of my backyard.  Six months ago it was green and pretty.  Now it has a coop, a run, a duck pool, a duck house, way less grass and holes where the ducks dig when it is wet.  Looks awesome now! 

Seriously, FVRM your yard looks great, but I had to go look up permaculture...

JW

Lol yeah chickens and ducks will destroy a lawn if they're not constantly kept in rotation with other animals.

 

[FVRM]

What did you do???
We have NO grass!!!  All sand!
Granted I let my chickens eat all we had, but even then it looked more like the before picture.
Now it's just a giant sand box....

I barely did anything, most of the soil around here is clay. I just had to clear the sand and plant some grass seed. This area has a lot of underground water so the grass stays green even during drought.

Rabbit poop is the best thing to help grass grow. My main reason for wanting to get some.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Hey Everyone! I just read through 20 some odd pages trying to get caught up. Sorry to all those that have had losses, and congrats to those have hatched! Well wishes for everything else in between.


Just to recap, I started with 4 RIR, lost one to what seemed to be a heart attack or something at a few weeks. Replaced that one with a BR bought a supply store as a female. 2 weeks ago I lost another RIR, 9 weeks old...which just didn't seem right from the start, it always did this weird head shaking thing. I haven't replaced that one yet.

So, yesterday, I sent pics of my last 2 RIR to the lady at the farm I got them from so she could sex them for me. They are now 11 weeks old, and she said they are roos. I have become particularly attached to these two, but if they are Roos, they have to go. What do you think?

They look like production red pullets to me?
Not the greatest angles, but I don't see any saddle or hackle feathers.
That much red isn't that uncommon for a production at that age.
Their legs look pretty skinny.

 

[Banriona]

So we got a batch of chicks on May 27th from Murray McMurray. Ordered 15 in a variety of breeds. They sent 18 - all the extras were Polish. We lost one of the Silver laced Polish a day or two after they arrived but the rest have been healthy and happy and growing beautifully.

We got four "Freedom Rangers" to break ourselves into raising our own meaties. Three of the four are doing fine, but as of yesterday one of them is declining. We pulled him/her/it out and brought it into the house today. He was just looking lazy yesterday but with the heat and humidity that didn't surprise me much. Today he is totally inactive - but not lethargic. Eyes are nice and bright generally, but it's not eating or drinking. He's wheezing when he breathes (sounds like a squeeky toy) - but not constantly. It's almost like he got something stuck in his throat. He seemed like he was coughing or sneezing right before we separated him out and brought him inside, but I haven't seen/heard anything since then so not sure if it's a symptom or he just got something blown onto his face.

Any ideas? I'll be perusing the medical related threads, but thought I'd check here too.

Thanks for your help~

 

[FVRM]

So we got a batch of chicks on May 27th from Murray McMurray.  Ordered 15 in a variety of breeds.  They sent 18 - all the extras were Polish.  We lost one of the Silver laced Polish a day or two after they arrived but the rest have been healthy and happy and growing beautifully.

We got four "Freedom Rangers" to break ourselves into raising our own meaties.  Three of the four are doing fine, but as of yesterday one of them is declining.  We pulled him/her/it out and brought it into the house today.  He was just looking lazy yesterday but with the heat and humidity that didn't surprise me much.  Today he is totally inactive - but not lethargic.  Eyes are nice and bright generally, but it's not eating or drinking.  He's wheezing when he breathes (sounds like a squeeky toy) - but not constantly.  It's almost like he got something stuck in his throat.  He seemed like he was coughing or sneezing right before we separated him out and brought him inside, but I haven't seen/heard anything since then so not sure if it's a symptom or he just got something blown onto his face.

Any ideas?  I'll be perusing the medical related threads, but thought I'd check here too. 

Thanks for your help~

I recently had a chick get droopy and sad, I'm guessing it got something from when it rained. I thought it was gonna die but I gave it some antibiotics and he got better.

 

[StarMeKritten]

Well, I heard that someone local was trying to get rid of some chickens so I went to take a look. They didn't really have what I was looking for but I brought home 2 little bantams that had bad cases of leg mites. I felt really bad for them since they had obviously never been treated and probably wouldn't be treated if I left them there. I also had an empty pen for quarantine. One appears to be a silkie mix. If I had to guess, I'd say silkie/ cochin. When I first brought her home, her feet were so awful that I couldn't even tell how many toes she had. I bathed both and gently scrubbed down their feet and put some vaseline on them. They look much better already. The silkie mix does have extra toes, but I think it's entirely possible that she'll lose one of them. The little cochin's feet didn't look too awful after I cleaned them up. They are cute little birds. I think they'll be alright in a few weeks but it really bothers me when people don't take care of their animals.. They seem happier now though. One of them even left me an egg today.

I plan to keep applying the vaseline every day or so as needed for a few weeks. If anyone else has recommendations for leg mites, I'd be interested in hearing them.

 

[Banriona]

So we got a batch of chicks on May 27th from Murray McMurray. Ordered 15 in a variety of breeds. They sent 18 - all the extras were Polish. We lost one of the Silver laced Polish a day or two after they arrived but the rest have been healthy and happy and growing beautifully.

We got four "Freedom Rangers" to break ourselves into raising our own meaties. Three of the four are doing fine, but as of yesterday one of them is declining. We pulled him/her/it out and brought it into the house today. He was just looking lazy yesterday but with the heat and humidity that didn't surprise me much. Today he is totally inactive - but not lethargic. Eyes are nice and bright generally, but it's not eating or drinking. He's wheezing when he breathes (sounds like a squeeky toy) - but not constantly. It's almost like he got something stuck in his throat. He seemed like he was coughing or sneezing right before we separated him out and brought him inside, but I haven't seen/heard anything since then so not sure if it's a symptom or he just got something blown onto his face.

Any ideas? I'll be perusing the medical related threads, but thought I'd check here too.

Thanks for your help~

After doing some reading I figured I'd go with the easiest to treat and work my way down the list. Force fed him some electrolytes and he's much improved already. Already seen him eat and drink on his own. Perhaps some acidosis from too much heat? Upon further inspection the other three of his breed do seem to be handling the heat worse than the rest of the chicks - although not nearly as bad as him. He's stopped wheezing for the moment and is currently chirping hoarsely and angrily at me from the bathroom. I'll keep him in the bathroom overnight for observation but so far so good. Lesson learned: Make sure you are adding electrolytes to your girls water source when the temps are up! I've replaced all the ACV water with electrolyte infused water in both coops (Yes, I have two now) and will begin rotating out with ACV water every 3-4 days.

For your enjoyment here is a pic of my some of my chicks two weeks ago. I *think* that's a speckled sussex in the back, Minorcas on the far left and the far right, gold laced Polish hiding behind one of the chickzillas (aka Freedom Ranger) in the foreground. They are about 3/4 feathered now so already look totally different from this pic.

 

[starlingdaly]

Well, I heard that someone local was trying to get rid of some chickens so I went to take a look. They didn't really have what I was looking for but I brought home 2 little bantams that had bad cases of leg mites. I felt really bad for them since they had obviously never been treated and probably wouldn't be treated if I left them there. I also had an empty pen for quarantine. One appears to be a silkie mix. If I had to guess, I'd say silkie/ cochin. When I first brought her home, her feet were so awful that I couldn't even tell how many toes she had. I bathed both and gently scrubbed down their feet and put some vaseline on them. They look much better already. The silkie mix does have extra toes, but I think it's entirely possible that she'll lose one of them. The little cochin's feet didn't look too awful after I cleaned them up. They are cute little birds. I think they'll be alright in a few weeks but it really bothers me when people don't take care of their animals.. They seem happier now though. One of them even left me an egg today. 

I plan to keep applying the vaseline every day or so as needed for a few weeks. If anyone else has recommendations for leg mites, I'd be interested in hearing them. 

Congratulations on your rescues!! I hope they continue to improve. it's amazing what a tiny amount of care can do for a bird! Let alone a lot of loving care!
The Vaseline should work just fine. I personally use neem oil for things like that but with leg mites, pretty much any oil will work to smother them. Vaseline probably stays on better and longer than plant based oils.


@Banriona
Your possible Speckled Sussex could also be a possible Easter Egger.
My speckled Sussex have always been darker as chicks but different parentage can yield different colored chicks!

I'm so glad your FR is doing better after the electrolytes! I haven't thought much about electrolytes yet but it is so hot I think I will go ahead and put some in the water just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Tikkijane]

When it heats up here, I add a wide shallow pan of water in each chicken house. They use it to stand in when they are hot. So far that's all I've needed. So far.

Froxen milk jugs or 2/3 litre bottles work well. If you have a favorite dust bathing spot, that can be hosed down. Frozen treats like watermelon are good, too. On really hot days, I'll take an oscillating floor fan and put in a corner in the coop to help the broodies in the nesting boxes. If they still need help, small frozen pop bottles or small frozen bowels with lids can go in a corner of the nesting box, or if those are too big, the tubular freeze sticks that go in bottles are good to put along the edge.

I also have a stand mister. I am FAR more concerned with heat than cold.

 

[Tikkijane]

Congratulations on your rescues!! I hope they continue to improve. it's amazing what a tiny amount of care can do for a bird! Let alone a lot of loving care!
The Vaseline should work just fine. I personally use neem oil for things like that but with leg mites, pretty much any oil will work to smother them. Vaseline probably stays on better and longer than plant based oils.


@Banriona
Your possible Speckled Sussex could also be a possible Easter Egger.
My speckled Sussex have always been darker as chicks but different parentage can yield different colored chicks!

I'm so glad your FR is doing better after the electrolytes! I haven't thought much about electrolytes yet but it is so hot I think I will go ahead and put some in the water just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the reminder.

Wood ash mixed in for dust bathing. ...