***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[artsyrobin]

i trim roosters spurs, it soesn't hurt them, and you can either use a dremmel or wire cutters. We all are learning here- don't' beat yourself up-

 

[Kyzmette]

Would separating the roo for a while help? I know they mellow with age, but I'm not sure they do that without having "practice" partners.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I am a mess this morning

.....I feel like the worst chicken keeper (I know we all have to live and learn). I posted a while back about my girls losing saddle feathers do to an overzealous roo (I could kill him but I do want to breed him), and I have been keeping a close eye out for damage (I promise). I have hen aprons on the way (thank you to whoever suggested that btw) but it is difficult to get near the hens that have the worst damage. The ones that have been getting it the worst are my RIR and JG which are just not friendly birds.

So getting to my point as to why I am a mess, I did manage to handle one of my JG and thank god because that poor girl has a 3 inch gash down one side under her wing

. The injury is a couple of days old and thankfully there is no sign of infection. She is in my laundry room right now enjoying some left over noodles and egg, but I feel so bad that I didn't see it earlier. Is there anything I can do for an old injury? I haven't put anything on it because her body seems to be doing it's job. She seems just fine and is eating, drinking, pooing, and trying to get out of her cage.

As for the roo, I have a brooding room (empty now) connected to my coop but I don't want to put the roo in by himself with it as cold as it is. I checked all of the others as good as I could and the poor JG seems to be the only injury.
What do you all think about removing his spurs, they are getting quite large and I am sure that is what damaged my hen? I just feel so bad and don't want any more of my ladies hurt until the aprons come in at the end of the week, hopefully

.



Hope everyone is tucked away warm, we got some snow last night and it is chilly!

I'd say at this point just monitor it, if you have any Veterycin spray the wound once or twice a day.

I've heard people use dremel or wire cutters to shorten spurs. Removing spurs is easy with your hands or a pair of pliers- squeeze gently (not too hard though), twist the pliers, and you will feel a slight pop- then pull straigh out and the spur will come off leaving a small soft spike. There may be a drop or two of blood, if you want you can dip the spur's root in cornstarch or flour. Doesn't hurt them. Here's a youtube link, it's only a 17 second clip this person uses his hands:

ETA: Petsmart was a bust for fish amoxicillian. They had a few other antibiotics for fish but not amox. I'm going to order online and treat with tetracycline in the meantime. Picked up some betadine at walmart. I am DONE running around for the day!!

 

[shelbydog]

I've been trimming with dog nail clippers.

And don't beat yourself up...I myself am feeling like a bad chicken keeper myself...I'm not following the golden chicken rules to a T. I'm doing the best I can with what I have and found I have extremely low will power against pretty feathers.

Here's another mark on my foolish things I've done with my chickens....my new LF favorelles rooster got head pecked pretty bad by my splash marans rooster.....I wasn't there to ensure that everyone would get along on their first day together.

On your hens that don't like to be handled....handle them at night when they are on roost.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

OK I need help. Does this look like bumblefoot? This poor girl has been acting listless for about a week, I finally brought her in to look at her closer tonight and was shocked by the swelling in her foot. Her heavy foot feathering hid the swelling well from a distance. It is so swollen she is oozing blood between the scales and it definitely hurts her. The pad of her foot is 4-5X the size of the other and she can't bring her toes together like the other foot.

I've never treated bumblefoot myself but have been told it is fairly simple. Will someone walk me through this?



ETA: There is no scab, and no hard core to her pad, the whole foot is just terribly swollen. So I'm thinking surgery is a bit premature- daily soakings, betadine dressing, and a round of tetracycline first?

I am no expert, and have no experience from bumblefoot, save for what I've seen here on BYC, but that doesn't really look like bumblefoot to me.

Do you have a pick of the bottom of her foot? To me, it looks almost like something like a splinter might be bothering her. I haven't yet seen any other posts, so if there already is a conclusion, that's good, I suppose.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I am a mess this morning

.....I feel like the worst chicken keeper (I know we all have to live and learn). I posted a while back about my girls losing saddle feathers do to an overzealous roo (I could kill him but I do want to breed him), and I have been keeping a close eye out for damage (I promise). I have hen aprons on the way (thank you to whoever suggested that btw) but it is difficult to get near the hens that have the worst damage. The ones that have been getting it the worst are my RIR and JG which are just not friendly birds.

So getting to my point as to why I am a mess, I did manage to handle one of my JG and thank god because that poor girl has a 3 inch gash down one side under her wing

. The injury is a couple of days old and thankfully there is no sign of infection. She is in my laundry room right now enjoying some left over noodles and egg, but I feel so bad that I didn't see it earlier. Is there anything I can do for an old injury? I haven't put anything on it because her body seems to be doing it's job. She seems just fine and is eating, drinking, pooing, and trying to get out of her cage.

As for the roo, I have a brooding room (empty now) connected to my coop but I don't want to put the roo in by himself with it as cold as it is. I checked all of the others as good as I could and the poor JG seems to be the only injury.
What do you all think about removing his spurs, they are getting quite large and I am sure that is what damaged my hen? I just feel so bad and don't want any more of my ladies hurt until the aprons come in at the end of the week, hopefully

.



Hope everyone is tucked away warm, we got some snow last night and it is chilly!

Don't feel bad, this isn't all your fault. Chickens can hide most injuries right up until the really serious point. As for what to do about the wound, try to keep it clean, maybe clip some of the feathers away from it so they don't irritate/dirty the wound, and just keep a close eye on her.

I think she'll be okay; you'd be surprised what chickens can bounce back from. They're pretty resilient for birds.

 

[The Farm]

I know you'll are talking chickens now. But I was interested who all raises goats???

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I wish I did!!!

No, my parents wont let me. Ugh.

D'oh, well.

So, how is everyone this fine *insert sarcasm here* morning?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

We don't yet but lookinh at getting some registered alpines sometime this year.

I'm thinking not bumble, too. Here are her feet. She's loving her spa soak!

 

[eddieokie]

I was also at the Blanchard auction. Picked up a pair of the Cochin and a black silkie ,after I got back to my seat with the silkie found out that it had some type of twine around its feet so bad that it has lost one of its toes and, may lose another one. Need some advice on how to treat this????