NY chicken lover!!!!

[Henicillin]

Six of my slackers were in the nest boxes when I went out there this morning - would you like to try for more than a grand total of nine eggs today, ladies? I really need to screen "Chicken Run" for them...

One of my Leghorns had already laid, as they're of the "git 'er done" persuasion and lay first thing. I picked it up, put it in my pocket - and promptly squashed it when I bent over to get my new mama's waterer for refilling. Pocket egg! Yuck. At least they don't go to waste - I scooped it into a feed bucket and gave it to my dogs, who greatly appreciate eggs. All I could think was "weren't we just discussing this?"

Meepitqueenie, I'm so sorry to hear that you have to give up your flock.

 

[Framac]

What a beautiful day outside. I hope that everyone has a great day!

Here is a strange question. I had 4 breeding birds in a pen, and after doing some moving around of birds, put the 4 into a larger pen. My egg production went from 3 eggs per bird per week, up to 6 eggs per bird per week.

I successfully hatched out about 80% of the eggs I set pre move, but now over 50% are not fertile. Is this probablly more due to the heat, or can the rooster just not catch them?

Framac

 

[greymane]

What a beautiful day outside. I hope that everyone has a great day!

Here is a strange question. I had 4 breeding birds in a pen, and after doing some moving around of birds, put the 4 into a larger pen. My egg production went from 3 eggs per bird per week, up to 6 eggs per bird per week.

I successfully hatched out about 80% of the eggs I set pre move, but now over 50% are not fertile. Is this probablly more due to the heat, or can the rooster just not catch them?

Framac

Well, you doubled his work load.

He may just need time to work up to that.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Ginny--temp is holding at 100 and since they just went in I wont candle till monday night. I am praying to the incubator gods that they give me a good hatch.

I came home to an escapee, namely the littlest silkie chick. It had managed to squeeze out through a gap in the floor of the run. I will have to fill in that hole with rocks and dirt. It doesnt look like we had a visitor last night but I havent seen dh yet to see if he got anything on the game camera. I wired the nestbox shut and the front door. Might be overkill but safety first. Hopefully it will move on because of lack of success at getting a meal here. However, I will remain vigilante and nobody freeranges without supervision.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Ginny--temp is holding at 100 and since they just went in I wont candle till monday night. I am praying to the incubator gods that they give me a good hatch.

I came home to an escapee, namely the littlest silkie chick. It had managed to squeeze out through a gap in the floor of the run. I will have to fill in that hole with rocks and dirt. It doesnt look like we had a visitor last night but I havent seen dh yet to see if he got anything on the game camera. I wired the nestbox shut and the front door. Might be overkill but safety first. Hopefully it will move on because of lack of success at getting a meal here. However, I will remain vigilante and nobody freeranges without supervision.

Keep us posted!! Inquiring minds want to know!!

 

[Henicillin]

Gladys took the Peeps up on the roosts a few nights ago. Up until last night, all three of them tried to jam themselves under her or sit on top of her back. As she's a little BO and they're getting big (especially the Brahma/Sussex crosses), it wasn't working well. So, this evening one of the Peeps is sitting on Gladys, and the two others have taken up perches on the backs of two other hens - the Buff Orp who had the failed hatch with the bad eggs, and, of all birds, Psycho Killer the Speckled Sussex. Neither hen is objecting, either - both of them turned around to settle themselves in more comfortable positions while I was out there, and made sure they moved very carefully so that their burdens didn't fall off.

One of the new babies, a Light Brahma cross, isn't the brightest crayon in the box. It was busy preening its newly-sprouted wing feathers this afternoon, and bit down on them, probably because they're biting and pecking everything at the moment. The bite made it squeak and pull its head back, but it didn't actually let go of its wing, so it ended up losing its balance and tumbling off Mrs. B's back into the shavings, squealing all the way.

I'm thinking that there are two Light Brahma crosses (feathered feet, and their coloration is identical to the LBs when they were chicks), one blonde BO cross, and what is probably a Jersey Giant cross, as it's a little penguin chick. I had thought there were two BO crosses, but I had spotted the same baby twice under her, as it's a quick little beastie. I need to get some photos of them, as they're ridiculously cute. That side of the coop doesn't have an overhead light, though, so I have to wait until it's sunny. I also need photos of the duckehs, as the boys are looking hilariously ratty with their half-filled-in adult plumage, and the Peeps, because the Buff Brahma crosses are turning out to be very pretty.

 

[Lynzi777]

Hi Everyone,
It's been a while since I've been on...been doing a lot of traveling to see family before I move in two weeks. Came up to our house in Cuse this afternoon and let the chickens out. They've grown so much! A few actually sound like adult hens, no more little cheep cheeps coming from them. I believe one of my silkies has a problem though and I'm a bit worried because I googled it this afternoon and got mixed reviews. His eye looked a little funny from afar, almost like it was partially cloudy. So I finally managed to grab him and he has this "foam" in the corner of his left eye. The other one looks normal, the other chickens don't seem to have anything wrong with them, it's just this one eye on my little silkie who I believe is a roo. Anyway, after comparing the two eyelids, it seems as though there is a "bump" on his upper eye lid that is foaming in the corner. I say foam, but it looks like lots of little bubbles, almost like spit. So I wondered if he had something stuck up under his eyelid. Don't think thats the case after reading today. I really hope there is something I can do to fix it and not have to cull him like one person mentioned they did in fear of their bird passing it along to the rest of her flock.

Any thoughts???

 

[vmdanielsen]

Hi Everyone,
It's been a while since I've been on...been doing a lot of traveling to see family before I move in two weeks. Came up to our house in Cuse this afternoon and let the chickens out. They've grown so much! A few actually sound like adult hens, no more little cheep cheeps coming from them. I believe one of my silkies has a problem though and I'm a bit worried because I googled it this afternoon and got mixed reviews. His eye looked a little funny from afar, almost like it was partially cloudy. So I finally managed to grab him and he has this "foam" in the corner of his left eye. The other one looks normal, the other chickens don't seem to have anything wrong with them, it's just this one eye on my little silkie who I believe is a roo. Anyway, after comparing the two eyelids, it seems as though there is a "bump" on his upper eye lid that is foaming in the corner. I say foam, but it looks like lots of little bubbles, almost like spit. So I wondered if he had something stuck up under his eyelid. Don't think thats the case after reading today. I really hope there is something I can do to fix it and not have to cull him like one person mentioned they did in fear of their bird passing it along to the rest of her flock.

Any thoughts???

Can you isolate him? Would be terrible to cull him if there is just an irritant in his eye. Would also be terrible to lose your flock if it is something contagious.

 

[featherz]

Can you isolate him? Would be terrible to cull him if there is just an irritant in his eye. Would also be terrible to lose your flock if it is something contagious.

X2. I'd isolate him just in case, although if it IS, it may have already spread. Bubbles in the eye CAN indicate a respiratory infection like mycoplasma, which is rarely fatal but would make him a carrier to yours and other chickens. Could also just be an irritant, high ammonia, dust, etc. Any sneezing/coughing/wheezing?

Javagirl: One of the little Java roos I promised you managed to get out of the run last night (no idea how) and is running around peeping. Haven't managed to catch him yet, but I hope I can before Ms. Fox eats him. Only way I see he could have gotten out is flying up pretty high and squeezing out of the welded wire. When hubby is up we'll try and catch his little tush, but he keeps running in the woods and I am not dressed for ticks yet.

 

[Lynzi777]

No sneezing coughing or anything like that, just the bubbles and he was also shaking his head from time to time, which leaves me to believe there is something irritating his eye. I'm going to bring him in today and try to get him cleaned up and get the eye washed out with some water and possibly some sort of solution.