NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Oh I understood why they move him just was wondering if their was any certain set length of time between moves. I guess it is like being in the military but it still must suck moving all the time I would hate it .

Ohh yea they usually give a time frame but as you know everything changes :-/ We were supposedly going to be here where we are now for "5 years" at least. We've been here for three and they want him back in Troy LOL. I just did a quick search on CL and did see quite a few rentals, one with a barn even! Lol so I'll just try to stay positive and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[why do birds]

I'm so behind on my reading but wanted to comment on this. I used to keep my Silkies and larger birds together with no troubles. I only separated them when I acquired a rooster. He was more than 3x their size and I'm sure was hurting them, so the separation. (Knock on wood) I've never had problems with feather picking between them.

Sally, thanks! Yes, that's EXACTLY what's happening. Two of the birds are silkie/cochin mix and they are about the same size. No problems with this hen and roo. BUT add the silkie and it's less than 1/2 the size of the roo, very noticeable how tiny she is when she's wet and those feathers are no longer puffy. The two larger birds roost together, and are "constant companions" and the little silkie kind of sits away from them. I too thought that perhaps the roo was much too big for the silkie. This definitely helps to confirm my suspicions. I thought it was simply due to them being different breeds but now I see that it is because the roo is so much larger than the silkie!

Metalla, Yes, I'm afraid that a dog would be doomed with us. We don't really like them and don't really want one. They are nice in someone else's home but they are not for us. Thing is, I would have no problem what so ever putting down a dog. My ex had one, it was big and bit people, including me and I regret that it lived as long as it did. It was a lot of stress. Thanks for the farm invite. Would love to see the farm. We have no intention of having very many animals. I hope to prepare food from eggs once we get to the farm and obtain chickens that lay eggs. My goal is to have a lot of pierogi, not a lot of animals! Different goals. I am 100% city girl, I love to shop, love cities, would be as happy as ever in the middle of Chicago or Manhattan! My hobbies include fashion, learning about interior design, shopping, the stock market, corporation development and management.

This is a great site. It's given us many great ideas, particularly for housing of birds, such as the hoop coops, and other safe housing options that we are considering for when we move. Our goals are to have safe housing with some form of climate control so that water doesn't freeze. We are considering many options at this time. Thanks everyone for all of the positive input!

 

[Stealth Stealer]

How about betadin

If it is scabbed I would keep her separate from other chickens until it falls off.
If you have/get "blue kote" you could use that to discourage pecking from other chicks if you cannot separate her.
My favorite treatment for open wounds is "vetericyn" a topical gel that heals wounds very quickly!
Good luck

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

Sally, thanks!  Yes, that's EXACTLY what's happening.  Two of the birds are silkie/cochin mix and they are about the same size.  No problems with this hen and roo.  BUT add the silkie and it's less than 1/2 the size of the roo, very noticeable how tiny she is when she's wet and those feathers are no longer puffy.  The two larger birds roost together, and are "constant companions" and the little silkie kind of sits away from them.  I too thought that perhaps the roo was much too big for the silkie.  This definitely helps to confirm my suspicions.  I thought it was simply due to them being different breeds but now I see that it is because the roo is so much larger than the silkie! 

Metalla,  Yes, I'm afraid that a dog would be doomed with us.  We don't really like them and don't really want one.  They are nice in someone else's home but they are not for us.  Thing is, I would have no problem what so ever putting down a dog.  My ex had one, it was big and bit people, including me and I regret that it lived as long as it did.  It was a lot of stress.  Thanks for the farm invite.  Would love to see the farm.  We have no intention of having very many animals.  I hope to prepare food from eggs once we get to the farm and obtain chickens that lay eggs.  My goal is to have a lot of pierogi, not a lot of animals!  Different goals.  I am 100% city girl, I love to shop, love cities, would be as happy as ever in the middle of Chicago or Manhattan!  My hobbies include fashion, learning about interior design, shopping, the stock market, corporation development and management. 

This is a great site.  It's given us many great ideas, particularly for housing of birds, such as the hoop coops, and other safe housing options that we are considering for when we move.  Our goals are to have safe housing with some form of climate control so that water doesn't freeze.  We are considering many options at this time.  Thanks everyone for all of the positive input! 

Have you looked into water heaters?

 

[why do birds]

Have you looked into water heaters?

not yet. do you recommend any? so far we have considered building a coop with it's own heating system for the water, but we also have a barn and were considering using part of the barn for chickens in the future. Systems we've looked at include geothermal, radiant heat, OWB but that requires chopping wood and idk who in my world would do this...lol. We began barn repair over a year ago, it is 30 x 60 and we are having more work done on it this year. The lower level is suitable for animals and I suppose birds at this time. The barn has a water supply from a well but it isn't up and running at this time. There is an electric supply to the big barn.

Would it seem a viable plan to sequester a portion of the big barn to be used for the poultry in the future? It does have space. There was a chicken coop but it is completely down at this time, didn't make it through the winter. It is not usable at all and will require demolition. That structure was about 15 x 30 and the central part was a chicken coop at one time. We can tell that the previous owner had the coop part insulated, it had nesting boxes, and a cement floor. The roof is totally collapsed now.

would you use the big barn's electricity supply for a water system? is that expensive to do? the barn is NOT heated.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all. Finally stopped raining here and the sun peeked out a bit before going away again. So today is day 24 and I have had two more silkies hatch. No, I didnt count wrong but I am sure that they are probably the freshest eggs that went in. My hatch started on day 22 and is still going. I have learned that the age of the eggs does influence the hatch date and to be patient and let the eggs go beyond the 21 day mark. I now have 10 beautiful babies and am hoping that the last few eggs might also hatch. My older chicks are doing well and the ones out in the coop are just dandy. They are coping well with the weather and are feathering in nicely and quickly. Dh was kind enough to take care of the cheeps for me last night and this morning as I have a painful foot issue right now. Hopefully it will go soon.

I would not use bactroban on the wound by the chickens eye. Eyes are very sensitive and its not a good antibiotic to use on chickens. If you can find the veterimycin or veterimycin opthalmic gel that would be better. I swear by that stuff. Works wonders.

Everyone have a nice day.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'm just saying....

I've never heard of chickens living IN the house. I brood my babies in the house, but the sooner they can go outside, the better.

To each their own, though.

Dang I had typed out a few sentences hit the wrong key and poof! all gone. Now will just say, I have. Aren't you luck?

 

[rancher hicks]

Was this directed toward me? Are you nuts? I have a 13 year old who walks behind a chicken. We do this because they aren't potty trained. They aren't stressed out. A good way to kill a chicken is to have it processed for dinner. We keep ours free from disease and other animals, including wild birds. They sit in our laps at night and watch TV with us, including the rooster. I'm not sure what images you have conjured up in your mind but a 13 year old is responsible, not a little kid running around. The chickens walk around slow, thus the comment about the silly birds. If they are loose we have to walk behind them so that they don't make a messy outside of their area. This is simple common sense. We live in a house with them. We clean up after them, Immediately! I'm hoping you aren't directing this toward me. I don't advertise and it's wrong for people here to say that we "torture" our animals. We did an experiment to see a reaction. We plan to separate the rooster so that it doesn't accidentally kill the other birds. If it wasn't for my 13 y/o helping me get the silkies head out of the crate yesterday it's neck would've broke the way the rooster was abusing it. It's head was clearly stuck and it was screaming. If you all consider separating birds because they're being attacked then I guess we're wrong and we should just house them all together and pick up the dead bodies in the morning.

"We tease that poor bird!" "My son then chased the frizzle around the kitchen". Your words not mine. I keep my wife for entertainment but if I tease that poor bird or chase her around the kitchen I'll get a knock on the head with her rolling pin.

But no it wasn't meant for you. Just general comment for those who needed to hear it.

As for am I "nuts". It's not polite to ask someone about their mental state. However Nuts is plural and there is only one of me, and aren't you glad there is.

Now if you had asked "are you a nut ?" That would be no too. Nuts grow on trees.

If I were a Nut I wonder what kind I'd be ?

If you asked "are you crazy?" My motto is "Everyone seems normal until you get to know them". Being older I've met many people and have learned we all have issues. Some more than others. Such is life. Seems to me tolerance is something we all want but aren't always willing to do. you" For some "It's here's to you and here's to me and may we never disagree, but if by chance we ever do. Here's to me and

to you. Eventually we all get ticked off. I just don't have enough sense to hold a grudge.

As a rule roosters don't kill other birds. My Del rooster will tolerate even chicks in the coop. Del roosters are one of the best. I did have a BR rooster who was meaner than second skimmings and he killed a hen. He's gone now.

Now if what I said upset you , please stick around, I'm sure either I or someone else will do it again.

Remember "a friend loves at all times" : Even when we're ticked off.

Peace,

Rancher

 

[AQHAchick22]

Quote:
When are you going to move? I have a house in East Nassau right on 66 that we are fixing up to rent out. It's on 8 acres with a big quiet stream in the back, (perfect for ducks) and it already has 2 big coops on the property (they would need to be fixed up a little bit but they are in pretty good shape). It's about a 25-30 minute drive from downtown Troy. You may want to look in the Averill Park/Sand Lake/Poestenkill area for homes to rent as well, there are quite a few with land around and a quick commute to Troy.

 

[Lynzi777]

Quote:
When are you going to move? I have a house in East Nassau right on 66 that we are fixing up to rent out. It's on 8 acres with a big quiet stream in the back, (perfect for ducks) and it already has 2 big coops on the property (they would need to be fixed up a little bit but they are in pretty good shape). It's about a 25-30 minute drive from downtown Troy. You may want to look in the Averill Park/Sand Lake/Poestenkill area for homes to rent as well, there are quite a few with land around and a quick commute to Troy.

OMG don't tease me I'd be there tomorrow! Lol I have no idea, our lease isn't up here until March next year. I'd hate to have to break it. We didn't get too far into discussion the other night because he knew how upset I was getting over it. However I'm thinking it would be within the year.