***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

Posted this on the tube feeding thread about Beau back in early April:

"Have a 5 year old LF Wyandotte cock bird with pendulous crop for a second time. His heavy chest plumage masks the large crop and he is a vibrant bird even when he doesn't feel good...dancing for his girls. Beau has lost weight, I estimate about 1.5 pounds. This time the crop is also soured.


I had to tube flush his crop this morning. And began tube feeding today using a 12 french and a 50 cc syringe.


I use a coffee grinder to make a powder from layer pellets and conditioning feed.

I then mix home-made yogurt, ACV, Pedialyte, honey, hard boiled egg and applesauce in a small blender and add the powdered feed. One batch makes a one day supply for three feedings per day.


The last time, it took three weeks of tube feeding for the crop to reduce in size. He then ate his blended food in paste form for two weeks. Sometimes little chunks of soft fruit and drank water from a cup. Then he got pellets to eat. That was over a year ago. "


Mitzi, you can make a batch and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Then store the cubes in a bag and thaw out what you need to use each day.

Good info to know!  What is a 12 french?

A French is a suction tube that is smooth on the suction end. Often used to clear the cannula on a trachea patient. I have a bunch left over from Roger's surgery. I cut the tube from the nozzle and attach it to the tip of the syringe. A piece of soft tubing will work as well...be sure to smooth off the sharp edges with a finger nail file.

 

[NanaKat]

You know you talk about chickens too much when you see a sno-cone stand being transported down the freeway and think, Ooh, that would make a cute chicken coop! LOL!

I think the same thing when I see a fireworks stand going down the road....

I have 5 brooding with 15 eggs each problem is the favorite nest when the hen leaves to eat or drink the fight is on to get the nest then eggs get broke or new eggs appear what to use to mark eggs

I move a determined hen to a wall cage and fill the floor of the cage with hay. Then I give her the eggs. If you can move a couple of your girls, that mat solve the problem. I mark eggs with a permanent Sharpie... X on each end or a thin line around the girth of the egg....you want a marking you can see easily when you lift the hen for the fresh laid eggs.

Looks like, of the 8 chicks we got earlier this summer (6 SFH, 2 EE) we have 6 roosters.   So, Im wondering at what point you butcher the extra boys? I notice some of them fighting, nothing serious, but definitely more than any of my silkie boys ever did. Theres not much meat now tho, so Id like to wait. Whats a reasonable amount of time? Right now my plan is to process the meaner ones first, if and when I see it get out of control, and anything not really filled out will just go in the stock pot. Most of them are good boys tho, only 2 are pretty mean. We know how to do it, just wondering if we can wait the 4-6 months for them to grow out or if they girls will be hurt before then.

I go more by weight instead of age. A 4 to 5 pounder is average for a large fowl I butcher. The feet, guts and feathers will account for about a pound. A young bird that size could be 6 - 8 months depending on time of year.

 

[NanaKat]

We spent today working up fruit:
4 quarts of spicy tomato juice, a batch of peach/plum jam, and 11.5 pints of applesauce.
It is always nice to get the kitchen cleaned up and see all the trimmings that will go to the birds.
There were some older egg plant, squash and cucumbers to slice up too.
The birds won't know what hit them!

Looks like surgery will be the 22nd unless the doctor has something else come up...

We got a little over 1/10" of rain...would have liked more, but will settle for that since we got 2 inches last week.

We have had 45 Canadian geese spending the past week in the pasture resting up and nibbling grasses. The cows don't seem to mind them at all. We enjoy them from afar.

 

[emilymach]

HELP!!!!

I have a healthy chicken that has gone blind in both eyes fairly quickly. She has been an inside chicken since she was about a month old. The only thing is, when we had that bad cold last year, she got frostbite in both of her feet and lost them. That is why she is an inside chicken. ANYTHING WILL HELP!!

She does not have mites of any kind and has been with another chicken the entire time. They came in the house to be inside chickens at the same time, so the other hen did not transfer anything to her. They both have been completely healthy!!

Anyone?

Thank you

 

[greenbeetle]

Getting kind of scared, my first winter with chickens, I hate the thought of them being to cold, any suggestions on keeping chickens in the winter. Thanks for any help.

 

[NanaKat]

HELP!!!!

I have a healthy chicken that has gone blind in both eyes fairly quickly. She has been an inside chicken since she was about a month old. The only thing is, when we had that bad cold last year, she got frostbite in both of her feet and lost them. That is why she is an inside chicken. ANYTHING WILL HELP!!

She does not have mites of any kind and has been with another chicken the entire time. They came in the house to be inside chickens at the same time, so the other hen did not transfer anything to her. They both have been completely healthy!!

Anyone?

Thank you

Welcome Emily. Many things can cause blindness. Sometimes certain breeds are more prone to blindness and sometimes it could be a virus early in life that finally expresses itself. Since your hen has a buddy, she will have help in finding her food and water. Keep the containers in the same locations. She will adjust to being blind and utilize other senses.
I had an Ameraucana hen that was blind in both eyes and lived a healthy life in the hen house. I would take her outside to eat grass and then carry her back inside to the roost where she had both a food cup and a water container and she even helped raise a chick in her cage when she was older. She laid the prettiest blue egg 3 x a week.

Getting kind of scared, my first winter with chickens, I hate the thought of them being to cold, any suggestions on keeping chickens in the winter. Thanks for any help.

Chickens are more resilient than we give them credit. As long as they have a roost protected from drafty wind and weather, where they can snuggle down onto their feet and tuck their head under a wing, they are fine. Air circulation is essential to prevent moisture buildup in their coop...that is what causes frostbite. Warm bodies produce heat which makes moisture.

This is one of my outdoor coops. In winter I hang a plastic panel on the front (south side) to help break southern winds. But I leave an opening a foot wide on each end as openings for the birds, but also for air flow. I lock birds in by covering the front with a wire panel wired in place. During a snow storm, I slip in two narrow plywood sections to help block out the snow...but it is not air tight. Nice days, the plastic panel is removed and the replaced at night.

Your chickens will venture out into the snow... so don't be surprised.
In the pens, feeders are hung inside to keep food dry and winter water containers are tubs that can be turned over, stepped on to pop out an ice block and refilled twice a day. Often a jug of hot water poured into the tub is all that is needed if there is just a thin layer of ice.


Plastic waterers like the one in the picture are great for warmer temperatures but freeze easily in winter.
Notice the narrow opening on the front up near the roof....that lets air out the top

 

[Ksane]

This is one of my outdoor coops. In winter I hang a plastic panel on the front (south side) to help break southern winds. But I leave an opening a foot wide on each end as openings for the birds, but also for air flow. I lock birds in by covering the front with a wire panel wired in place. During a snow storm, I slip in two narrow plywood sections to help block out the snow...but it is not air tight. Nice days, the plastic panel is removed and the replaced at night. Your chickens will venture out into the snow... so don't be surprised. In the pens, feeders are hung inside to keep food dry and winter water containers are tubs that can be turned over, stepped on to pop out an ice block and refilled twice a day. Often a jug of hot water poured into the tub is all that is needed if there is just a thin layer of ice. Plastic waterers like the one in the picture are great for warmer temperatures but freeze easily in winter. Notice the narrow opening on the front up near the roof....that lets air out the top

I love this! This would be so easy to make for the newest bachelor yard The bachelor yards have 5' and 6' fences & shelters but I don't lock them into actual buildings like the other birds.

 

[NanaKat]

The coop is actually made from three sheets of plywood attached to a 2 x 4 internal structure. I'll have to pull out the plans...
I have several and only when there is a predator attack do I consistently lock the birds in at night.

Caught a grey cat in the live trap last night...not big enough to do any harm...so the trap is set again tonight and all birds are squared away..

 

[Poco Pollo]

I put my Toulouse goose on its back and searched for a vent. Geese have sooooo many feathers down there. I found the vent and pressed the sides down, and I didn't see a corkscrew. I think this means my goose is female.

Our classroom hatch was 50%, but that was after removing all the auction eggs after the first candling.

Auction eggs should be two or three days old. I think some of the eggs I bought were at least two or three months old. YUCK! Four students returned adoption paperwork today, so this weekend I'll contact parents to confirm when and where to meet them to deliver their new chicks. This brings enabling to a new level.

 

[greenbeetle]

Welcome Emily. Many things can cause blindness. Sometimes certain breeds are more prone to blindness and sometimes it could be a virus early in life that finally expresses itself. Since your hen has a buddy, she will have help in finding her food and water. Keep the containers in the same locations. She will adjust to being blind and utilize other senses.
I had an Ameraucana hen that was blind in both eyes and lived a healthy life in the hen house. I would take her outside to eat grass and then carry her back inside to the roost where she had both a food cup and a water container and she even helped raise a chick in her cage when she was older. She laid the prettiest blue egg 3 x a week.
Chickens are more resilient than we give them credit. As long as they have a roost protected from drafty wind and weather, where they can snuggle down onto their feet and tuck their head under a wing, they are fine. Air circulation is essential to prevent moisture buildup in their coop...that is what causes frostbite. Warm bodies produce heat which makes moisture.

This is one of my outdoor coops. In winter I hang a plastic panel on the front (south side) to help break southern winds. But I leave an opening a foot wide on each end as openings for the birds, but also for air flow. I lock birds in by covering the front with a wire panel wired in place. During a snow storm, I slip in two narrow plywood sections to help block out the snow...but it is not air tight. Nice days, the plastic panel is removed and the replaced at night.

Your chickens will venture out into the snow... so don't be surprised.
In the pens, feeders are hung inside to keep food dry and winter water containers are tubs that can be turned over, stepped on to pop out an ice block and refilled twice a day. Often a jug of hot water poured into the tub is all that is needed if there is just a thin layer of ice.


Plastic waterers like the one in the picture are great for warmer temperatures but freeze easily in winter.
Notice the narrow opening on the front up near the roof....that lets air out the top

Thank you so much for the advice an pictures, it helped so much.