Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[JadeComputerGal]

There are some duck people on here. Wingstone has ducks, but she's been too busy to get online much.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to have more member advocating for ducks, I believe most of us have chickens and a lot have turkeys. I have both of those, plus guineas and peafowl. I hope to get some bantam ducks sometime, maybe next spring.

I'd actually like to have some chickens, but my hubby gets antsy when I say "the C word" unless it's in reference to dinner. (I've mentioned this in a couple of posts in the duck forum.)

I guess many people on this site live on farms and have options I don't have. Our property is a little short of two acres so, while we don't have houses stacked right up against ours, they're close enough that certain things could be annoying to the neighbors. I was absolutely determined I was going to get some peacocks until I found out how loud they are, so I nixed that idea for the time we live here. I'd also love to have some dwarf goats, but we aren't allowed here to have fences high enough to keep them in.

Are any of you planning to go to the local poultry shows that are coming up in a couple of weeks?

Thanks to everyone who's said hello!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Auror:

I have a couple of those mil spec flash lights..candling must be an art I do not have...just to let you know, I have had eggs hatch on Day 24 so don't be too quick to discount an egg....

I have a really nifty, inexpensive device that makes candling a complete no-brainer. It works extremely well, and you hardly have to handle the eggs to use it. You can take a look at it here-->http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ION2XYG/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Most likely his mother was a RIR, but the father had the "extended black" gene, like a black australorp. With only 1 copy of the black gene, some dark red from the RIR leaked through, this is very common with black sex links where the father is RIR or New Hampshire. This guy is not a BSL because he is not barred.

Thanks Dhetzel!

My egg production has dropped. I usually get 5-6 eggs. Now I am lucky if I get 2! I need to replace the hen that I lost, and add a few more. Hopefully I get some hens out of these hatches! I am tempted to give them artificial daylight, just until I collect some eggs for incubation on Saturday!

Glad it's not just me!

Had my first fox attack this morning. One of my girls is missing and I'm sure she won't be back. My husband let the dog out early this morning when he heard the chickens, but I asked him not to leave her outside, for fear or her barking and waking up neighbors. Later I heard the chickens and opened my back door to find a fox chomping on my favorite hen!

I think she is olay, she got quite a few feathers plucked out and has a scratch above her tail. She still seems to be in shock but I'm sure she will be okay. Any tips on making sure she is okay? Oh, and the dog is on the back porch with the chickens keeping an eye out.

It's so sad to see feathers everywhere, and I'm hoping my neighbors don't find a carcass in their yard. I cant figure out how the fox got my big BO under the fence, because I can't find her!

 

[kada6305]

Thanks Dhetzel!
Glad it's not just me!

Had my first fox attack this morning. One of my girls is missing and I'm sure she won't be back. My husband let the dog out early this morning when he heard the chickens, but I asked him not to leave her outside, for fear or her barking and waking up neighbors. Later I heard the chickens and opened my back door to find a fox chomping on my favorite hen!

I think she is olay, she got quite a few feathers plucked out and has a scratch above her tail. She still seems to be in shock but I'm sure she will be okay. Any tips on making sure she is okay? Oh, and the dog is on the back porch with the chickens keeping an eye out.

It's so sad to see feathers everywhere, and I'm hoping my neighbors don't find a carcass in their yard. I cant figure out how the fox got my big BO under the fence, because I can't find her!

We have a lab who wasn't raised with Chickens, we got him last year when he was 4. He got ahold of one of my favorite sexlinks. She flew over the dog fence. He mostly just licked and sniffed her, but managed to get her flipped over and scare the crap out of her. Poor girl passed away 3 days later from what I think was internal injuries. So just be sure to keep an eye out for any behavior leading to internal. I had no idea what I was looking for, first time with chicken attack. I see coyotes and foxes all the time but never had a problem. one of our mallards got in the neighbors yard and was trampled by a territorial herd of cattle.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

We have a lab who wasn't raised with Chickens, we got him last year when he was 4. He got ahold of one of my favorite sexlinks. She flew over the dog fence. He mostly just licked and sniffed her, but managed to get her flipped over and scare the crap out of her. Poor girl passed away 3 days later from what I think was internal injuries. So just be sure to keep an eye out for any behavior leading to internal. I had no idea what I was looking for, first time with chicken attack. I see coyotes and foxes all the time but never had a problem. one of our mallards got in the neighbors yard and was trampled by a territorial herd of cattle.

I will be keeping an eye on her for sure. I worked hard when I first got my chicks to desensitize my dog. I think the chickens peck her more, haha!

 

[kada6305]

I will be keeping an eye on her for sure. I worked hard when I first got my chicks to desensitize my dog. I think the chickens peck her more, haha!

Oh yes, our dalmatians love the chickens! one of our Dalmatians actually herd them in at night and chases away anything that comes near them or the coop. Our lab is set on his ways. We are still working on him though. I hope your girl is okay!

 

[fisherlady]

Thanks Dhetzel!
Glad it's not just me!

Had my first fox attack this morning. One of my girls is missing and I'm sure she won't be back. My husband let the dog out early this morning when he heard the chickens, but I asked him not to leave her outside, for fear or her barking and waking up neighbors. Later I heard the chickens and opened my back door to find a fox chomping on my favorite hen!

I think she is olay, she got quite a few feathers plucked out and has a scratch above her tail. She still seems to be in shock but I'm sure she will be okay. Any tips on making sure she is okay? Oh, and the dog is on the back porch with the chickens keeping an eye out.

It's so sad to see feathers everywhere, and I'm hoping my neighbors don't find a carcass in their yard. I cant figure out how the fox got my big BO under the fence, because I can't find her!

Oh, Anne.... so sorry to hear!! That is a horrible thing to face at any time. I hope your injured girl makes out ok...like was already said, internal injuries are the high risk thing and unfortunately there is no good way to deal with them. For all intents and purposes the care for internal injuries would be considered 'supportive care'... since you can't repair the injury, you need to just provide support to alleviate any symptoms and hope you can give her enough of a boost that her body can heal itself. I would give her a thorough going over to make sure she has no open wounds or punctures. Treat any you see with an antiseptic and then maybe an antibiotic cream (make sure it doesn't have any pain killers in it, things ending in 'caine' are toxic to chickens) You could give her a dose of Nutridrench or other similar supplement if you want to give her system some support/boost though I believe a bowl of scrambled eggs with a dollop of vanilla yogurt would also give her a boost. Keep her quiet and out of any poor weather for a day or two until you see how she acts, if she is lethargic at all I would bring her inside for some 'intensive care' which basically means a nice comfy nest and peace and quiet with a partially covered cage to allow her to rest as much as possible. Good luck and hope she gets better!

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Oh, Anne.... so sorry to hear!!  That is a horrible thing to face at any time.  I hope your injured girl makes out ok...like was already said, internal injuries are the high risk thing and unfortunately there is no good way to deal with them. For all intents and purposes the care for internal injuries would be considered 'supportive care'... since you can't repair the injury, you need to just provide support to alleviate any symptoms and hope you can give her enough of a boost that her body can heal itself.   I would give her a thorough going over to make sure she has no open wounds or punctures.  Treat any you see with an antiseptic and then maybe an antibiotic cream (make sure it doesn't have any pain killers in it, things ending in 'caine' are toxic to chickens)  You could give her a dose of Nutridrench or other similar supplement if you want to give her system some support/boost though I believe a bowl of scrambled eggs with a dollop of vanilla yogurt would also give her a boost.  Keep her quiet and out of any poor weather for a day or two until you see how she acts, if she is lethargic at all I would bring her inside for some 'intensive care' which basically means a nice comfy nest and peace and quiet with a partially covered cage to allow her to rest as much as possible.  Good luck and hope she gets better!

Thanks Fisherlady! That all was very helpful. I will be sure to do that. I think we might bring the dog crate indoors and give her a little R&R so she can heal.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

On my seconds and closer inspection, I see now that my favorite girl has a puncture wound. She has been just standing and not pecking much, and not interested in food, but she did drink a little. I have her inside on some towels in the dog crate to keep her warm. Only time will tell, but it doesn't look good at this point. .

I have nutridrench, but do I just add to her water at this point or just shoot a dropper full down her throat?

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Thanks Dhetzel!
Glad it's not just me!

Had my first fox attack this morning. One of my girls is missing and I'm sure she won't be back. My husband let the dog out early this morning when he heard the chickens, but I asked him not to leave her outside, for fear or her barking and waking up neighbors. Later I heard the chickens and opened my back door to find a fox chomping on my favorite hen!

I think she is olay, she got quite a few feathers plucked out and has a scratch above her tail. She still seems to be in shock but I'm sure she will be okay. Any tips on making sure she is okay? Oh, and the dog is on the back porch with the chickens keeping an eye out.

It's so sad to see feathers everywhere, and I'm hoping my neighbors don't find a carcass in their yard. I cant figure out how the fox got my big BO under the fence, because I can't find her!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Anne. It gives me the willies every time I read something like this. We lost our sweet little Khaki drake last spring to a raptor, and I cried off and on for three days afterward. He was one of my favorites and the mate of our little Khaki hen. Ever since then, we've done everything imaginable to encourage crows to hang around our property, which has worked out well so far.

We've been worried about the digging as well with cold weather coming up and knowing food will be in shorter supply. We're more worried about raccoons than fox, and our pen is on dirt right now. We're having a large concrete pad poured in 2-3 weeks, which will really set our minds at ease. That's really the only way to be 100% sure nothing can dig under.