NY chicken lover!!!!

[wny egger]

Thank you all well wishers ...she passed tonight in my arms ..
I couldnt kill her ...so we gave her a little whiskey to ease her pain .
She started to lay real early ...at 4 - 4 1/2 months ..It is common for them to get egg bound when they lay too early.
I will probably look at her body inside tomorrow to see if I can tell
I have 4 others her age that are the same ...so I will be watching them for problems too .
She is one of the 6 pecked upon babies I rescued from TSC...this spring ...one I lost as a chick

so sorry to hear this ..its never easy ..i am sure she was thankful for your care and you gave another chance at life by saving her from the tsc bullys ..

 

[chickenchick86]

They need shelter ...if you feel it is too open you can put up plastic ...
They are probably fine just as long as they have cover & are out of the wind .
They roost together & on their feet thats how they stay warm ...go in & touch them Im sure they are all toasty .
Wild birds dont have shelter ...Stonys birds ( Sumatras ) roost in trees all winter & they are just fine

I was gonna put plastic up anyway. The girls did seem cold when I picked them up last night. I'm going to check on them now so we'll see how they all faired the night.

 

[wny egger]

Totally worried about Rooster McChickenpants (my rooster). Just named him that tonight and he seemed to respond to it (he looked at me). Never was gonna name any of them because eventually we are gonna eat them all anyway. Sooo.. back to why I'm worried it's snowing and as you'd imagine freezing cold. They have a coop but it was my first attempt and totally not a good one either. It's way too big and they roost on top of it. So I went out to check on the flock and make sure they weren't too cold. I ended up using a decent sized Rubbermaid tub and put all the girls under it (with a rock propping it for a small bit of air flow) inside the coop. Now a little back story I've had the girls since they were 3 weeks and from the start would pet them and pick them up so they don't mind when I do it now; but the rooster I got when he was about 3 months old, was skittish from the start and is impossible to catch. Thus being the reason I'm worried about him. I can't get him to sit still long enough for me to catch him and put him with the girls. I hope he makes it through the night.

P.S. I'm working on a new improved coop that I was hoping to finish before the first snow but is very close to being done. Hopefully I can finish it this weekend so I won't have to worry anymore about the flock making it through the winter.

P.P.S. Any advice to keep the flock warm until the new coop is done?

i no we all love our feathered family members but sometimes we can over do it and love them to much in the winter..its no were near as cold as its going to get this winter and birds live in the outdoors all yr round with little or no bad effects ..so be careful with how much heat your giving them ..remember they create their own heat ..and as gramma said as long as you stop drafty spots and give them plenty of fresh water and feed they will be fine ..you dont want to have them to closed in were the moisture cant exscape or they will get frost bite on their combs and waddles..i always grease my birds combs and waddles with vasilean when it gets real cold or below 32 degrees in the coop..infact i should prolly buy stock in vasilean ..lol
birds are in more danger in the summer heat then the winter cold..

good luck and remember winters just starting ..ugh..lol

 

[rancher hicks]

I am pretty sure I have a impacted hen ...She is staying in one place ....Swelled bottom & Nasty poop.
I used a syringe to take out some fluid & it was non clear yellowish ...She got a Epsoms salt bath / soak last night .
She seemed to enjoy . Has any one ever given a chicken a enema ?


she is obviously sick SOOO docile

there are many posts on internal egg laying and I thought I understood the science of it but was told I was wrong. You might want to have a look.

I am sorry for you girl and she seems to enjoy the bath.

I still wonder if not enough calcium and insoluble grit might cause some trouble. It just seems to me a soft shelled egg going through the system is more likely to break with trying to be pushed out their little butts.

My Buckwheat got all swelled up and when I quarantined her, she laid a skin egg. I gave her Duramycin and added lots of grit to her feed. I can only tell you what I did. Perhaps some can not process the calcium well.

I just look at it like myself. If I eat to much fiber I'll become constipated. To many prunes and well you get the idea. I noticed when my girls got lots of bread their shells were funny shaped and thin.

It's just my opinion and how I see things you understand, but it is what it is.

I wish you well,

Rancher

 

[rancher hicks]

Evening all. Looks like I got my snow tires on just in time. I know you peeps north of me are getting snow. Bout time winter decided to make an appearance. Hit up Michaels today as they were having a great sale on yarn. Gotta get it when its cheap. I have projects to make.

Lynzi--you might need a backhoe for jaggers mess! Although I think I need one for eowyn. For such a little silkie, that girl lays killer poops when she is broody! You could break a leg tripping over it.

Rancher--find a doc. Its not going away and dont do all the crazy things people do to get rid of the symptoms.

Gramma--I hope your hen recovers. I hate to see any animal suffer.

Wry--at least you will have something to do in the spring. I like to use mealworms to boost their protein. I them yogurt and cat food too.

Working all weekend again. I'll pop in and out when I can. Opening season on saturday. Be safe hunters and good luck. Im hoping for some fresh venison (and so are the cheeps!).

Well now I had one Egg and one slice of bread for breakfast and no trouble. I did quite a bit yesterday outside,

, and got nearly everything put away or covered with tarps and my side hurt a little. I do have a small hernia on that side, but wonder if the weight I've gained sitting through much of the summer with DW is causing a stretching Lord know I could stand to tighten things up around the middle.

DW was big on buying candy and other stuff and I'm a sugar addict for sure. I've read an article in Nat. Geo and boy it was an eye opener. I could look it up but will ask, What is Sucrose, Glucose and Fructose? I know two of these but one I couldn't find in the article.

I haven't called the Doc cuz we have lots of bills to pay now.

 

[rancher hicks]

Totally worried about Rooster McChickenpants (my rooster). Just named him that tonight and he seemed to respond to it (he looked at me). Never was gonna name any of them because eventually we are gonna eat them all anyway. Sooo.. back to why I'm worried it's snowing and as you'd imagine freezing cold. They have a coop but it was my first attempt and totally not a good one either. It's way too big and they roost on top of it. So I went out to check on the flock and make sure they weren't too cold. I ended up using a decent sized Rubbermaid tub and put all the girls under it (with a rock propping it for a small bit of air flow) inside the coop. Now a little back story I've had the girls since they were 3 weeks and from the start would pet them and pick them up so they don't mind when I do it now; but the rooster I got when he was about 3 months old, was skittish from the start and is impossible to catch. Thus being the reason I'm worried about him. I can't get him to sit still long enough for me to catch him and put him with the girls. I hope he makes it through the night.

P.S. I'm working on a new improved coop that I was hoping to finish before the first snow but is very close to being done. Hopefully I can finish it this weekend so I won't have to worry anymore about the flock making it through the winter.

P.P.S. Any advice to keep the flock warm until the new coop is done?

There are plenty of posts on wintering chickens. Do you have pics of your coop? How many chickens do you have? I can only offer you my opinion and that is not to add heat to your coop unless you can keep it dry. Warm and moist are a disaster waiting to happen.

Here are my coops, which I'm sorry to say I'm proud of. Somewhat anyhow. No heat and roosters in them all. Just keep them clean and dry.





Door is open all day.




Same door open all day. No cover on the part above the feed bag. Only feed bags on the back. Door is covered with fleece.

 

[rancher hicks]

They need shelter ...if you feel it is too open you can put up plastic ...
They are probably fine just as long as they have cover & are out of the wind .
They roost together & on their feet thats how they stay warm ...go in & touch them Im sure they are all toasty .
Wild birds dont have shelter ...Stonys birds ( Sumatras ) roost in trees all winter & they are just fine

Be aware chickens exhale a lot of moisture. Ventilation is VERY important. If it feels like a sauna you need more ventilation up top.

Some breeds do better in the cold climates than others mind you.

 

[rancher hicks]

Thank you all well wishers ...she passed tonight in my arms ..
I couldnt kill her ...so we gave her a little whiskey to ease her pain .
She started to lay real early ...at 4 - 4 1/2 months ..It is common for them to get egg bound when they lay too early.
I will probably look at her body inside tomorrow to see if I can tell
I have 4 others her age that are the same ...so I will be watching them for problems too .
She is one of the 6 pecked upon babies I rescued from TSC...this spring ...one I lost as a chick

I am sorry for your loss. Sometimes we do all we can and it's just not enough. Remember, all chickens go to heaven. No joke.

Rancher

 

[rancher hicks]

they wonder where is that room service!

It looks so cozy. Very nice. Do you rent it to people in the summer?

 

[chickenchick86]

There are plenty of posts on wintering chickens. Do you have pics of your coop? How many chickens do you have? I can only offer you my opinion and that is not to add heat to your coop unless you can keep it dry. Warm and moist are a disaster waiting to happen. Here are my coops, which I'm sorry to say I'm proud of. Somewhat anyhow. No heat and roosters in them all. Just keep them clean and dry. Door is open all day. Same door open all day. No cover on the part above the feed bag. Only feed bags on the back. Door is covered with fleece.

They all made it through the night and I even got my usual 2 eggs this morning. They are actually spending a lot of time inside the coop today so it must be somewhat warm in there. I will try to post pics of the current coop, and some of the not quite finished one. I'm hoping me and the hubby can finish up the new coop tonight after we get home.that would really put me at ease. Also I kind already knew chickens make their own heat but I'm still kind New at the whole chicken farming thing and some of the post on here can make a person really paranoid. Oh and thanks for the tip about Vaseline. The roo won't let me touch him but the girls will definitely get some.