NY chicken lover!!!!

[HISIRISHGEM]

Works most of the time ...I think I heard some have trouble with the nipples freezing if it gets too cold .

Electric Heated Dog dish - attached to a heavy duty extension cord .
This works great ....I raise mine up so they dont kick up so much litter in it .. ducks still made a mess of it ...daily


https://www.google.com/search?q=Heated+Dog+dish+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Oh that's pretty neat! Seems easy to maintain too. I wonder if there would be less litter in the dish if it could be raised with some kind of a concrete or brick? Thanks for sharing the pic.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Yes that works ...too ...it is actually setting on a lg plastic flower pot ...

 

[chickenychicken]

Hello everyone!

 

[Glasshen]

Yes, my dog bowl looks just like that, and I have put it on two concrete blocks. It is one gallon, so I just bring out a milk jug of water and the paper towel. Dump out the dregs and give it a swipe to clean out the waterer scum. In winter we run an extension cord from an outlet on the house. It looks a little ghetto, but the chickens like it. The cord on the bowl itself is wrapped with wire so bored beaks won't pretend it is a snake and peck it.

On the subject of heat, chickens are not like people, and it is hard to realize that what we need is not at all what they need. Chickens are well adapted to outdoor life, people are not, so we need tight homes, layers of clothing and additional heat. Chickens need dry, draft free, but WELL ventilated shelter. If the area allows moisture to dissipate, the chickens are fine even below zero. They are wearing down.

I of course had to prove this to myself. So the coop is insulated, and I had a heat lamp in there. (bad idea on many fronts). The chickens were guzzling water, seemed to have diarrhea and panting. You see, they couldn't take off their down coats. They stopped all the symptoms when I removed the light. The light can also cause fire, or, if they get used to the heat and the power goes out they will suffer. They don't need heat. Sometimes in the winter I put my cold fingers in a hens feathers and it is always very warm and toasty.

But the hens sometimes stop laying as the days get shorter. So I did add a timer and rope lights at the top of the wall, I got clear, instead of the tempting festively colored ones. The complete spectrum of light is better I think, to mimic real daylight and stimulate laying. It is pleasant to wake up on those cold, even snowing mornings and look out to see the coop with a cozy glow from the windows.

So, there you have it. Ooops, forgot to say that hens need about 13-14 hours of light a day, so I set the liters to wake them up early. I don't like them to have the lights go out suddenly when they are not on their roosts. So if the lights add the time in the morning, they can have a normal gradual dusk to get settled.

 

[lisa523]

I

posted this in injured chicken forum but I thought I'd try NY also..

I have a very sick chicken. She has little to no appetite does not drink much and is as light as a feather. I am syringe feeding her scrambled eggs and yogurt. She does peck every now and then in between my syringe feedings. I did put electrolytes in her water, she takes a few sips, but not much. When I syringe fed her scrambled eggs, her stomach gurgled a lot. Her poop is watery and whitish clear.
She has very low energy and just stands. I am really not sure what else I can do to help her feel better, or a medication to give her.

I'm not sure if I should take her to the vet who is 1.5 hours away?

Any help would be appreciated

.

 

[Pyxis]

I just got back from the vet. My poor 16 year old cat, whom I have had since I was seven, is a very sick kitty right now. She's been coughing for two days and the vet wasn't able to get me in until this afternoon, but last night she was just not well so I called and made them squeeze me in this morning. Good thing, because she has a fever of 105, is dehydrated, and seems to also have an abscess forming on her face on top of whatever is causing the cough. They can't even begin to try to work on the abscess until they can get her fever down, so I had to leave her there for fluids and x-rays. If everyone could send good thoughts my way I'd appreciate it. She is the sweetest kitty ever.

 

[Purpletie3]

I just got back from the vet. My poor 16 year old cat, whom I have had since I was seven, is a very sick kitty right now. She's been coughing for two days and the vet wasn't able to get me in until this afternoon, but last night she was just not well so I called and made them squeeze me in this morning. Good thing, because she has a fever of 105, is dehydrated, and seems to also have an abscess forming on her face on top of whatever is causing the cough. They can't even begin to try to work on the abscess until they can get her fever down, so I had to leave her there for fluids and x-rays. If everyone could send good thoughts my way I'd appreciate it. She is the sweetest kitty ever.

Sorry about your cat, Pyxis. You have probably had her most of your life! I hope she responds well to treatment. Good thing you were able to get her to the Vet!

 

[boskelli1571]

I just got back from the vet. My poor 16 year old cat, whom I have had since I was seven, is a very sick kitty right now. She's been coughing for two days and the vet wasn't able to get me in until this afternoon, but last night she was just not well so I called and made them squeeze me in this morning. Good thing, because she has a fever of 105, is dehydrated, and seems to also have an abscess forming on her face on top of whatever is causing the cough. They can't even begin to try to work on the abscess until they can get her fever down, so I had to leave her there for fluids and x-rays. If everyone could send good thoughts my way I'd appreciate it. She is the sweetest kitty ever.

So sorry Pyxis - seems like you are having a rough few days - hugs & fingers crossed.

 

[Glasshen]

Good thoughts on their way. Will repeat at irregular intervals.

 

[rancher hicks]

I just got back from the vet. My poor 16 year old cat, whom I have had since I was seven, is a very sick kitty right now. She's been coughing for two days and the vet wasn't able to get me in until this afternoon, but last night she was just not well so I called and made them squeeze me in this morning. Good thing, because she has a fever of 105, is dehydrated, and seems to also have an abscess forming on her face on top of whatever is causing the cough. They can't even begin to try to work on the abscess until they can get her fever down, so I had to leave her there for fluids and x-rays. If everyone could send good thoughts my way I'd appreciate it. She is the sweetest kitty ever.

I too hope things work out well.