Peeps in Europe!

[BDutch]

I didn't mean it like that @Papa John59 ... I meant that they are older and not interested to roost like that during the day. Kinda like grown ups now.
I was cleaning the run the other day... put down my bucket and started scooping with my pooper scooper... when I wanted to dump it into the bucket there were 5 or 6 chicks sitting on the rim of the bucket. Now you wouldn't catch the older chicks (well teenagers) doing that... and forget about the hens... they wouldn't even think about it.

I haven't been so lucky with my chickens lately. Remember when I was noticing that something was wrong? Their poop was off and a little bloody? Well, it came back being coccidia and they needed to be de-wormed. I drove up to Gießen and picked up the medication. First the coccidia treatment... then the de-wormer... while I was giving them the de-wormer they still had the off colored poop. Called up there... they were asking me to wait for a few more days. Ok... I did. It got better... and then it went back to being bad. Drove up there to drop off another "sample" and yes, they need another treatment. I upped the weight for them... because I think I might have set the weight too low just estimating it. As well as I gave them the meds in less water than they drink during the day and filled it up with regular water... that might be the reason only some still have the coccidia. Well.. either way... this was the last coccidia treatment. They need to be able to build up their immunity to it... can't keep giving them meda for their whole life.... it's either you make it or you don't. So far I have not lost any... which is really good.
So... now 2 evenings ago I noticed a lot of sneezing in all my 4 coops. I feel like everything is going wrong. They seem to have caught a cold while it was so cold and wet. But (maybe I'm just imagining it) today I thought there was less sneezing going around. I don't want to treat them with anything because it might have an effect on the coccidia treatment.
Well, then last night I'm having a seat with my chicks (the 8 week olds) when I noticed that the other chicks in that group were really interested in that one hen... they kept picking at her behind. I looked and noticed she had a bloody behind. A couple of chicks are having a little hard time pooping. My guess is they don't drink enough due to the medication in their water. So these little guys had nothing better to do than to attack that chick and pick her bloody. I put some silverspray on her... but they kept picking. So I put her in a cage to keep her safe. This morning this little chick had nothing better to do than to fly past me, behind thru the roosters coop and outside where the big bad teenage boys are. I was like... oh no, oh no... ran outside and sure enough.. these guys were trying to mate with this little 8 week old chick. They are like 2-3 times as big. She sure was happy when I picked her up... no trying to get away from me this time. Her poor little heart was pounding. I really do see why you keep the roosters away from the young hens to allow them a life without stress.

I do hope things will calm down.... Oh yeah.. I forgot the mites... they probably have mites... I can't find them in the coop anywhere... but I had some crawling on me... so I know they are there.... spread some DE yesterday... hope it helps. Don't want to do more chemicals in my poor chickens.

How awful to have all these problems at the same time. Sneezing chicks can be a sort of cold where they grow over. But it can last up to 6 weeks before they heal (my experience).
Sometimes the sneezing comes from a nasty bacteria where chickens can die from. Asking for more medicines would not be my choice either. Many vets recommend antibiotics for sneezing chickens. But its dangerous to give too many medicines at the same time/one after the other (learned this from another forum).

DE takes a while to work. Best thing to do: check / look at night with a torch on the roost. Clean the coop with a steamer to kill mites if you see any. And apply DE after steaming. Put it also in the dust. And under the hay/shavings in the laying nest. Give the chickens health food (extra proteins, fresh greens)

 

[AnnaWolf]

Polly wops laid her first egg today I think she was born in Januari so that makes her 6 months.

 

[Erba]

Goodness, just finished readiing all the stuff I missed. Pages and pages... OUR GROUP IS GROWING! YEAH! So welcome all the newbies from me too.

News from me, all 12 of the chicks have moved into the coop now. I think I did it last week or the week before. They were getting too noisey and stinky, so out they went. They are already rompng around the garden like big chickens and the transition went well. Since there were so many of them, it was safety in numbers. It's just one hen that won't tollerate them at all, but she's old and I think fed up of me always bringing new additions into what she thinks is "her" home. She did a "sit in the coop all day" protest, but everyone ignored her, so she gave up and evetually joined the others. Morning feeding time is is something else with 18 chickens now, so I have placed more feeders in the run and let them fight it out. The Roos have leaned they're better off waiting until the others have had first dibs. It's very entertaining to watch the chaos.

 

[abpatchy]

Erba, did you get some yellow columbia sussex? Or what breed are they? They do grow up quickly and they sure stink!! I have never made it past 2 weeks inside the house!

On June 27th I have planed to take a trip down by Nuremberg. My breeder friend is having some of her chickens butchered and I get to learn. Last time things were pretty hard. Especially taking all the innards out. I was fighting. So I get to learn to do it the right way. It will be different than watching videos or looking at pictures. Hands on training.

 

[Erba]

No, the 12 are all mixed from the mixed hens I hatched last year.. but the brown chicks got the columbia markings on their necks, so thats really cool. My pure Sussex hen's eggs are not big enough yet to even think about hatching anything. But first the old rooster has to go. I got help lined up for the beginning of next month for any more roosters i don't want, and by then I should know what is what.

 

[abpatchy]

Found out on Sunday that my young hens do not sleep inside. Only a few of them.... grrr... I had kept the doors closed so I could check them... take rings off and put rings on. When I got there Sunday morning.. there were only a few hens in the coop. They were all out back... they slept outside. So at 10 p.m. I decited to get back out of bed and go back to the coop. I just couldn't let it go... and sure enough... 17 of my young ladies were outside. Now, why they won't go inside? I don't know... the roosters and the adult hens were inside.
I will get 5 roosters butchered this weekend... and then I'll be moving the hens into the bigger coop area. Maybe that will fix it

 

[Erba]

Since when have they been doing this outside nights roosting malarkey? Do you know? I'm afraid if they been secretly doing this a while, it will be hard to break the habit.

 

[abpatchy]

Yes, I know... I really don't know when they started. ... I think I might keep the setting to where they don't get to go outside on their own in the morning. That way I have an idea when they start going inside at night.
Since I will have 5 roosters butchered this weekend, I will swap coops... the hens get to have the bigger coop and the roosters move to the smaller one. Maybe then they will go back inside on their own.

 

[BDutch]

Found out on Sunday that my young hens do not sleep inside. Only a few of them.... grrr... I had kept the doors closed so I could check them... take rings off and put rings on. When I got there Sunday morning.. there were only a few hens in the coop. They were all out back... they slept outside. So at 10 p.m. I decited to get back out of bed and go back to the coop. I just couldn't let it go... and sure enough... 17 of my young ladies were outside. Now, why they won't go inside? I don't know... the roosters and the adult hens were inside.
I will get 5 roosters butchered this weekend... and then I'll be moving the hens into the bigger coop area. Maybe that will fix it

These things come to my mind.
1
The older chickens show off there dominance. The wont let the young flock roost. So they seek a place away from the peckers.
2
There are mites in the coop. Always good to check.
3
Its a breed thats just likes to sleep outside. Some flighty breeds prefer a tree over a coop.

I think it’s the behaviour of the older hens that might have started it. Give the young ones a roost area of there own (if you can ) . Do you have a covered and safe run? Or can you make one? This is perfect for as long as it is summer. Or buy/make a second coop.

Make a habit of feeding the chickens some treats an hour or two before sunset .... spread a grain mix in the run. And lock them up in the evening for several weeks.

By the time its getting colder the young chickens probably will roost with the older flock.

 

[BDutch]

Last night one of my oldest Dutch bantams didn’t return . She is 6 years old.

Because such things happened before I was a bit concerned. But knew that she would probably come back to the coop next morning.

And she did. Clucking. Looking a bit broody. I have no rooster. So this is not a way to go,

For now I locked her up in the run. The others free range and have access to the coop.

Now I am wondering what the best strategy is.