NY chicken lover!!!!

[Sally8]

At 7 pm tonight our temp hit -9 and the chickens were toasty warm when I shut them in. I've been reading how everyone has been experiencing loss of eggs through molting. Just to confess how brainless someone (me) can be, I've had an excess of roo's waiting to be processed. Once processed, I went from 1 egg prior to 11 eggs today. Ugh! I agree with everyone that the hen probably didn't die because of the cold. If it had been ill or a defect, then the cold may have been the final straw to an already problem. I have had a chicken die because of extreme heat and not enough ventilation.

afl - loved the hay in the walkway, my chickens have hardly left the coop since the storm before Christmas. I will have a 3 wire hoop coop built before next year just for them to get out of the weather (slash greenhouse)

(For some reason today, I'm missing my turkeys)

 

[ke5hde]

In the few years we've had ducks and chickens, I've never lost one to the cold. Plenty of frostbite here and there and the barnie boys seem to have some today.
Today I went to make my daily trip to the coops after work and found my tiny mottled cochin girl laying on the floor, stiff. I thought for sure she was dead so I picked her up for disposal and she moved. She was still alive, barely but alive. Her feet were frozen but the rest of her was still flexible and she was breathing. She's been inside since 5ish, her feet have thawed and her breathing is somewhat better. I didn't bother with a cage, just put her in a towel on top of the pellet stove and that's where she'll stay tonight. Tomorrow I'll see how she is. If there's no improvement, I'll have to put her down. The little girl is just 6 months old and the smallest of all the cochins. Poor girl.

She took her last breath at 830. I didn't think she'd make it but I had to give her the chance.

 

[Lynzi777]

In the few years we've had ducks and chickens, I've never lost one to the cold. Plenty of frostbite here and there and the barnie boys seem to have some today.
Today I went to make my daily trip to the coops after work and found my tiny mottled cochin girl laying on the floor, stiff. I thought for sure she was dead so I picked her up for disposal and she moved. She was still alive, barely but alive. Her feet were frozen but the rest of her was still flexible and she was breathing. She's been inside since 5ish, her feet have thawed and her breathing is somewhat better. I didn't bother with a cage, just put her in a towel on top of the pellet stove and that's where she'll stay tonight. Tomorrow I'll see how she is. If there's no improvement, I'll have to put her down. The little girl is just 6 months old and the smallest of all the cochins. Poor girl.



She took her last breath at 830. I didn't think she'd make it but I had to give her the chance.

Oh no! I'm so sorry. Poor thing.

 

[Breella]

Are you sure you want to eat something you have no clue why it died? I never process mystery deaths. I either bury them if I really liked the chicken or throw it in the garbage to be eatten by wildlife at the land fill.

Re: her stiffness. It takes 3 days for rigor to release, so if you are going to process her, into the fridge for 3 days, then she will be more plyable.

Eat her, no. But I need practice processing and going through the motions would help me and also maybe lead me to a cause of death.

IF I know the bird was healthy yesterday and it died today I have butchered and eaten them. ESPECIALLY in the 9 to 10 month old range as this is when natural birth defect show up and kill the bird. Every time I have butchered a bird like in this case the heart was soft and surrounded by blood. Heart attack. I have noticed through the years of keeping far too many chickens that when a chicken dies at 9 to 10 months old, it was due to a birth defect that comes to a head at this age. I compare my theory to humans born with a heart problem who most always need their heart fixed in their early 20's.
I probably have shared this theory on this thread before. I certainly have shared it on BYC and other places. When I guess that someones dead hen or rooster is 9 to 10 months old ....and am right.

Can't learn that in some stupid book

.

Stony, as always you are full of knowledge. Thank you.

In the few years we've had ducks and chickens, I've never lost one to the cold. Plenty of frostbite here and there and the barnie boys seem to have some today.
Today I went to make my daily trip to the coops after work and found my tiny mottled cochin girl laying on the floor, stiff. I thought for sure she was dead so I picked her up for disposal and she moved. She was still alive, barely but alive. Her feet were frozen but the rest of her was still flexible and she was breathing. She's been inside since 5ish, her feet have thawed and her breathing is somewhat better. I didn't bother with a cage, just put her in a towel on top of the pellet stove and that's where she'll stay tonight. Tomorrow I'll see how she is. If there's no improvement, I'll have to put her down. The little girl is just 6 months old and the smallest of all the cochins. Poor girl.



She took her last breath at 830. I didn't think she'd make it but I had to give her the chance.

I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Breella]

Double post...

 

[Breella]

and for some reason, triple post! Not sure what happened there.

 

[Lynzi777]

Eat her, no. But I need practice processing and going through the motions would help me and also maybe lead me to a cause of death.

Ohhhh...I was under the impression that when you mentioned "processing" her you wanted her processed for eating. If you have it in you to go thru the motions to figure out what caused her death then more power to you! You go girl! I don't have the stomach for that type of thing. I cracked open my first egg after it stopped developing and that was enough for me!

 

[stonykill]

. I cracked open my first egg after it stopped developing and that was enough for me!

well that is just gross

. That is something I have never done. Yuk!

 

[payner59]

Thank you so much to Lynzi777. Everyone is settled in nicely. . If you are interested I. Silkies, I have 9 white silkies that are about 9 weeks. I also have several more that I'm not sure of the color. I'm a newbie for sure. . If you don't fin homes for your girls, we would be interested in them too. Once again, thanks a bunch!!

 

[Lynzi777]

well that is just gross  . That is something I have never done. Yuk!

Well if I didn't cave and do it everyone would be wondering why I DIDN'T to find out what went wrong. LOL