North Carolina

[sbrooks88]

Gosh and I thought a pregnancy scare was bad. Hope things have worked themselves out @sbrooks88

Who asked about broody hens? Yes, I've had way more this year than ever before. Still have one, hopefully she's the last. Was there something in the air?

I have an odd question, could losing spurs cause a rooster to lose his...er...virility? Mine lost one whole a year ago and then another whole a month ago (neither are growing back) and ever since he has been acting weird...going to bed before any of the hens, not letting them eat first in his usually gentlemanly way...I haven't seen him mount any hens but I'm also not watching regularly. I've sold the majority of the eggs I've had lately so I don't have an accurate feel of how many are/aren't fertilized but I've noticed several that aren't. Not sure what else could be going on with him.

I sold about 20 pullets/cockerels about a month ago now and that made such a huge impact on the chicken insanity at my house. One more round of downsizing to go and then maybe things will be back to normal. I did discover that one of the Polish chicks I got this year is a rooster BOOO. I was really hoping it was a hen. My son is attached to him too, so I guess I'll keep him. Especially if Uncle Clucker has, indeed, lost his mojo.

Haha. Just had one of those too! Pregnancy scare! Whew. It was close. Maybe I should heed more precautions in my life in general. Haha. 2 months straight of pregnancy scares and a newfound phobia of rabies. I need to get a life. I wish the rain would end. At least long enough for me to clean my coop out! It's so muddy underneath it I can't move it as the darn wheels are buried in the mud. I keep putting down gravel and hay so the chickens won't get all gross n muddy or worse sick.

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

I guess I am just worrying myself sick over this. Everyone thinks I am nuts. And I know it sounds nuts. As I have obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorder with panic attacks and I have not been on medicine in about 2 years and I haven't really had any bad "episodes" until now. I am torn because I literally do not have the money to go to the hospital. Or the doctor. And payday isn't until Wednesday. And Thursday will be 3 weeks which is when the rabies virus starts showing symptoms in humans. I have googled so much I think it's done more harm than good.

Google is not always our friend!!! Seriously, though, I'm sorry you are going through this worry, but I really think you should be ok. If the cat was dead or missing I'd be concerned, but if it is still alive this long after the bite, I'd bet money that you are ok. However, I am not a medical doc, nor do I play one on TV. I am very sorry you are dealing with the stress of this, though.

 

[Wyandottes13]

I was petting him and he just "grabbed" my hand hand with his mouth. Naturally I yanked my arm away and his tooth cut into my skin. Other than that he seems perfectly normal. Although his meow sounds a little hoarse now for some reason. I can only assume because he has been out in the rain for days.

I am a BIG cat enthusiast ( not saying I am an expert, though) , but it seems like you were petting him, he had enough, and maybe you kept on going, and he bit you to stop you. Or maybe he had a bite, scratch, or sore spot that was sensitive, and you touched it and unintentionally hurt him. I know strays and part feral cats can quickly have enough of petting. Did you see any warning signs like ears slightly back or flattened, or tail twitching?
Anyway this seems like perfectly normal cat behaviour, and there is always a reason for a cat scratching or biting. I wouldn't worry, I have had many cats do this because I didn't listen to their body language close enough.

 

[ramirezframing]

Gosh and I thought a pregnancy scare was bad. Hope things have worked themselves out @sbrooks88

Who asked about broody hens? Yes, I've had way more this year than ever before. Still have one, hopefully she's the last. Was there something in the air?

I have an odd question, could losing spurs cause a rooster to lose his...er...virility? Mine lost one whole a year ago and then another whole a month ago (neither are growing back) and ever since he has been acting weird...going to bed before any of the hens, not letting them eat first in his usually gentlemanly way...I haven't seen him mount any hens but I'm also not watching regularly. I've sold the majority of the eggs I've had lately so I don't have an accurate feel of how many are/aren't fertilized but I've noticed several that aren't. Not sure what else could be going on with him.

I sold about 20 pullets/cockerels about a month ago now and that made such a huge impact on the chicken insanity at my house. One more round of downsizing to go and then maybe things will be back to normal. I did discover that one of the Polish chicks I got this year is a rooster BOOO. I was really hoping it was a hen. My son is attached to him too, so I guess I'll keep him. Especially if Uncle Clucker has, indeed, lost his mojo.

A rooster loosing spurs would not cause anything. I have had roosters pop theirs off and have popped some off myself. Some might bleed if they hit the quick but that's about it. I have read that if you cut the quick back to the leg, that it stops the spur from growing back. I don't think it is true as I had one rooster break both of his spurs back flush to his legs. They have taken a little longer to grow, but they are growing back and he has had no other issues. During this time of year, birds should be molting which not only slow down the egg laying sometimes, but also will slow down the boys on mating. I have read in several places that it actually takes the male longer to get back into mating than the hens egg laying after winter.

 

[cwhittington]

A rooster loosing spurs would not cause anything. I have had roosters pop theirs off and have popped some off myself. Some might bleed if they hit the quick but that's about it. I have read that if you cut the quick back to the leg, that it stops the spur from growing back. I don't think it is true as I had one rooster break both of his spurs back flush to his legs. They have taken a little longer to grow, but they are growing back and he has had no other issues. During this time of year, birds should be molting which not only slow down the egg laying sometimes, but also will slow down the boys on mating. I have read in several places that it actually takes the male longer to get back into mating than the hens egg laying after winter.

Thanks for your response...when he lost his spur most recently, it bled a lot. Made me wonder if he was having trouble mounting hens. But the molting makes more sense. I noticed last night that he has lost his longest tail feathers.

 

[Amina]

I am a BIG cat enthusiast ( not saying I am an expert, though) , but it seems like you were petting him, he had enough, and maybe you kept on going, and he bit you to stop you. Or maybe he had a bite, scratch, or sore spot that was sensitive, and you touched it and unintentionally hurt him. I know strays and part feral cats can quickly have enough of petting. Did you see any warning signs like ears slightly back or flattened, or tail twitching?
Anyway this seems like perfectly normal cat behaviour, and there is always a reason for a cat scratching or biting. I wouldn't worry, I have had many cats do this because I didn't listen to their body language close enough.

I'm also a big cat enthusiast, and I agree that this sounds like very normal cat behavior. If you pet a cat too much or in the wrong place, he will get overstimulated. Most cats will give a bit of warning, with a twitching tail. Some cats give more warning than others. My cat that I currently have is usually patient and will twitch his tail if he doesn't like something, but you'd better not pet his belly or he is likely to bite without obvious warning (the belly thing is true of most cats, by the way). Occasionally he decides he is not in the mood for petting, period, and he will bite to let you know. In those cases, it's meant to be a warning bite, so he won't break the skin and it doesn't really hurt, but I don't pull my hand back either. If I jerked my hand back, it would be likely to leave a scratch.

You have to know the individual cat to know what will bother him and how much warning you can expect before he will bite or scratch. I know what signs to look for, but even so, I have been bitten and scratched by cats and I'm sure I will be again. If bitten, don't pull your hand back until the cat lets go.

I'm sure you will be fine and not contract rabies from this incident. After all, if the cat were rabid, he should be very sick or dead by now. But in the future, if there's an animal that you'd worry about getting rabies from if you were bitten, don't pet or touch that animal. If you make a habit of petting any animal, you are likely to be bitten or scratched by it at some point. Even if the animal never means to hurt you, accidents happen and you may be scratched accidentally.

 

[sbrooks88]

I'm sorry for sounding so juvenile about it. I tend to really over think things. I do not intentionally overthink them it's just part of my OCD. Hopefully I will see a doctor soon to get put back on some medication for it. He didn't give any warning sign that he was going to scratch or bite. He just did it. It was weird. I can walk outside now and scratch his head but that's it. I am terrified of it happening again. During the storm yesterday the crazy cat is just sitting out there in the pouring down rain with thunder and lightening like its nothing to him. I guess it's just where he is used to being outside all of the time. I would love to take him and adopt him after he gets shots n stuff. Maybe even get him fixed. I have a feeling he is older than he looks too. I've had cats all my life and I grew up on a farm and at one point we had like 30 cats that just roamed. Only 1 of those cats ever bit me. And I remember freaking about it when I was 10 just as I am now. Except she bit and did not let go. I had to walk back to the house with the crazy cat attached to my knee. I think maybe he just brought up some suppressed memories of that. I had done very well controlling any weird obsessions like this until he bit me. Now it's all I can think about. Lol.

 

[Buckbeak01]

Hey y'all! Haven't been on in a while. Hope everyone is staying dry. My girls are staying up on their roosting poles. The divas don't like the mud. LOL! Poor girls are molting and a few of them are really taking it rough. My beautiful Speckled Sussex lost most of her tail feathers and some around her neck..... poor Dottie looking all beat up.

Hopefully they will be back to beautiful by next Spring. Have a great October!

 

[CricketR4]

Hey all! I hope no one has floated away!

This weather is so bad for my health, I haven't been doing much of anything lately, except school with the kids. I've had a migraine almost every day for a week now. Plus the weather messes with my Fibromyalgia, making for a very miserable week this past week.

My broody hen hatched out only one chick on Saturday morning, and by Sunday evening one of the other hens (a bully) had killed it. Broody Momma was a first time Momma, and she's my sweetest, most gentle hen, so I'm not super surprised she wasn't able to defend her baby against the bully, but it's still sad.

 

[rainbowchick]

Hey all! I hope no one has floated away!

This weather is so bad for my health, I haven't been doing much of anything lately, except school with the kids. I've had a migraine almost every day for a week now. Plus the weather messes with my Fibromyalgia, making for a very miserable week this past week.

My broody hen hatched out only one chick on Saturday morning, and by Sunday evening one of the other hens (a bully) had killed it. Broody Momma was a first time Momma, and she's my sweetest, most gentle hen, so I'm not super surprised she wasn't able to defend her baby against the bully, but it's still sad.

Speaking of single chicks... My broody is sitting on ONE fertile Ameraucana egg right now (apparently my Silkie cockerel hasn't figured out his job yet in my bantam pen).
Has anyone had success with a mama raising only one chick? My friend said that her broody with one chick killed it, and now I read CricketR4's story and I'm kind of worried....
Also, she already ate the other fertile Am egg. I had two Am eggs and 4 bantam eggs (all infertile) under her. Is that indicative that she might kill the chick too? She wasn't leaving the coop at all and I finally was able to clear the chicks out of my "nursery" for her to go in, so now she has really easy access to food and water (whereas before, it was down a ramp and 8 feet away). I'm thinking maybe eating the egg was just a sign that she was starving...