Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[Blarneyeggs]

so we are just in from the Penn State main campus. Happy to say that after much preparation, the kids did really well at the Poultry Judging competition and I couldn't be any prouder.

 

[fisherlady]

Took everyone's advice and now have a garage full of lumber to start the build. They will now have the room they should have and it will be a cool Father's Day event. Got some good plans and some good weather...

Sounds great DJ Bear!! You do realize that you are required to take multiple pictures from all different angles as you do the construction so you can share with all!?!?!

It is pretty bad when we are getting tools and supplies together to do a chicken project and my husband asks me.... "did you grab the camera?"

.... at some point it became an accepted part of our construction tools! LOL

 

[fisherlady]

so we are just in from the Penn State main campus. Happy to say that after much preparation, the kids did really well at the Poultry Judging competition and I couldn't be any prouder.

That is so awesome!!! Congrats to the kiddos! And to you for all you did to get them there!!!

 

[Teila]

Teila... welcome to our little piece of the web!!!

and don't feel you need to go back to 'lurking' status!! We are a pretty neighborly bunch and neighborly vibes aren't limited by distance!

Thank you fisherlady, that is very sweet ... I have been lurking for a while and enjoy that sense of friendship and also sense of humour that this thread oodles

It would be my privilege to be accepted as an honourary member of the Pennsylvania Thread, even if I do spell funny! lol ..... That's spell not smell

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you fisherlady, that is very sweet ... I have been lurking for a while and enjoy that sense of friendship and also sense of humour that this thread oodles

It would be my privilege to be accepted as an honourary member of the Pennsylvania Thread, even if I do spell funny! lol ..... That's spell not smell

Just promise to send us warm weather pictures when we are suffering through our miserable (and seemingly never ending) winter!! FancyChookLady over on the picture thread has beautiful warm weather photos to remind us that the cold and ice won't last forever!

We do have some fun here! It is wonderful to have folks from all walks of life and all ages who enjoy a common interest and find that through that interest they actually have much, much more in common! This has become a great place to commune, commiserate or celebrate... whatever the occasion calls for!

 

[Teila]

Just promise to send us warm weather pictures when we are suffering through our miserable (and seemingly never ending) winter!! FancyChookLady over on the picture thread has beautiful warm weather photos to remind us that the cold and ice won't last forever!

We do have some fun here! It is wonderful to have folks from all walks of life and all ages who enjoy a common interest and find that through that interest they actually have much, much more in common! This has become a great place to commune, commiserate or celebrate... whatever the occasion calls for!

It's a deal, I promise to send pictures

In return, you guys and gals can help me celebrate when my egg drought finally breaks. For a number of reasons, I have not seen an egg for 4 months. I'm thinking, if I am lucky, I might see one or two between now and Christmas ..

 

[dheltzel]

Ok seriously, why am I having ALL the chicken drama?! It has only been 3 weeks today since we brought the girls home and so far we have experienced molt (stress related or otherwise), lice and now... wait for it... SOUR CROP

!!!

Your post could have been written (in spirit anyway) by dozens of us on this thread -- we could all tell stories . . .
Even if bigger disasters strike, just keep at it, things happen - sometimes our fault, sometimes not, but in the end the big picture is success.

Is there someone close by you that has experience that could give you some hands on advice? I'm planning some "workshops" at the farm for people who have never had chickens but think they want some (it will be more than a "show and tell" session, I'm planning to make them do work of some kind). Personally, I love educating and am an advocate for people keeping chickens, but they need to know what they are getting into (true with any animal, of course). You've already passed that hard part, getting dirty and feeling some disappointment. It's not always going to be clear sailing, but you will find this an amazing hobby.

My personal approach with someone new to chickens is to start with chicks, or an incubator with eggs. It takes longer to get them producing eggs, and chicks and/or eggs are even more fragile, but the socialization makes up for it. And if there are kids involved, all the better.

 

[stake]

KK:

Sorry to hear of you problems.....I lost a girl over the winter to an infected crop....the vet said too much grit might have been the issue....if your girls free range you shouldn't need to supplement grit...I was given two medications, Clavamox, and some other prescription that was a chalky liquid substance....

I hope you know that things will get better.

 

[KlingKlan]

It's okay. You'll have your little bumps in the chicken keeping road now and then. Not to make this about myself, but after dinner at grandma's, I came home to find my hen with her head ripped off next to the coop and strewn in the snow. On Christmas. Not one of my funnest chicken keeping moments.

Hopefully once you get this sour crop taken care of that will be it and you can just handle it in stride if it ever happens again. Chickens are an awesome animal to teach you to roll with the punches and to always keep you (not guessing, but {what's the word?}) and on your toes. You never know with them.

You can do it

OMGosh!!! I woulda cried and cried!! I'm so sorry you had to experience that chippysmom327, but the fact that you kept at it is fantastic! Thank you for sharing and for the words of encouragement

.

OK, so I am a little bit to the south-west of Pennsylvania. OK, well, maybe a lot to the south-west of Pennsylvania but I am delurking after following this thread for quite a while now.

Why am I delurking and risking eviction and exile? To say YOU CAN DO THIS KlingKlan

Cue motivational music ...........

Yeah, these little feathered munchkins have a way of throwing us a curly one every so often but boy do they repay us twofold by the number of times they make us smile and laugh.

I read that you had some dramas with no eggs and if I remember correctly, not going to bed where they should but, I reckon if you count the number of times they have made you smile and compare that with the number of dramas; the smile count is definitely higher.

A final thought before I slink back into lurk-mode; turn off all distractions, close your eyes and try and imagine your life without chickens! Picture putting them in a box and giving them to someone else.

You can do this .. your girls love you .. you can do this .. your girls need you .. you can do this ... there is a chicken loving, crazy woman in Australia cheering you on!! What more encouragement do you need? lolz

Now, in all seriousness, hang in here, they are worth it

WOW, I am honored that you would "delurk" and risk it all to send me encouragement from the other side of the world

!!! Your reply brought tears to my eyes, it gave me the warm&fuzzies and then you made me literally laugh out loud

! Welcome to our, not so little, corner of BYC... please don't retreat to the shadows, being "neighborly" knows no borders or no stinkin' international waters

You absolutely CAN do it! I think you are hitting more bumps than the average beginner, but that just means that you will have more experience and know how to handle these situations should they come up in the future. Keep at it, girl! That coop is proof how much you are willing to invest, don't give up now, things are going to get better.

Thanks bunches Blarney, my mom always used to say "KlingKlan (

), there are some people in this world that just need to learn things the hard way and you're one of them!". I guess that's true because nothing has ever really come easy for me, but it builds character.. right?! And I am certainly a character

. In all seriousness though, I am much more of a "hand's on" learner, so I know this is (insert "higher power" of your choice here)'s way of ensuring I get my learn on LOL!!

KlingKlan... I am so sorry that it has been such an uphill battle for you... but I can honestly promise it will get better and it will be TOTALLY worth it!!

I don't think I could say it any better than Chippy or Teila already have though... take their words to heart and know that no matter what... each day is a new learning experience, and every experience, good or bad, prepares you better to handle the next incident you may face and will make you a better and better keeper for such fun and rewarding animals!

It has been uphill, for sure and I have questioned the choice several times (DH has questioned it more lol) in the past few weeks, but I do feel that each new situation furthers my knowldge and in the end it seems to strengthen my resolve to keep at it! I am going into this situation with the sour crop a much more educated keeper of chickens than I was 3 weeks ago, so that can only be a good thing, ya know?! I appreciate the support and encouraging words,

back at ya chicken sista!!!

Your post could have been written (in spirit anyway) by dozens of us on this thread -- we could all tell stories . . .
Even if bigger disasters strike, just keep at it, things happen - sometimes our fault, sometimes not, but in the end the big picture is success.

Is there someone close by you that has experience that could give you some hands on advice? I'm planning some "workshops" at the farm for people who have never had chickens but think they want some (it will be more than a "show and tell" session, I'm planning to make them do work of some kind). Personally, I love educating and am an advocate for people keeping chickens, but they need to know what they are getting into (true with any animal, of course). You've already passed that hard part, getting dirty and feeling some disappointment. It's not always going to be clear sailing, but you will find this an amazing hobby.

My personal approach with someone new to chickens is to start with chicks, or an incubator with eggs. It takes longer to get them producing eggs, and chicks and/or eggs are even more fragile, but the socialization makes up for it. And if there are kids involved, all the better.

I'm glad I'm not alone in the "Day's Of Our Chooks" department, in fact, without this site I probably wouldn't be doing this at all. My initial spark of interest would have died in the search engine, but instead it was fanned into a flame and guess what... now I HAVE CHICKENS

!!! The sour crop is definitely my fault! After researching and learning the most common cause of sour crop, long fiberous food stuffs that are difficult to digest, I realize that my chickens shold NOT get garden and yard waste in their run. Their beaks are clipped (2 of them look like their beaks were burned or something horrible) and so they can't "peck" their food into small enough pieces to digest... lesson learned... the hard way of course

. And yes, my neighbor keeps telling me about a friend of hers who raises chickens and that she would be more than happy to contact her if I thought I needed any help. I'll be asking her to make that call today hehehe. In regards to the chicks vs. adults, I debated long and hard over that choice. We needed to get eggs asap in order for it to be the fruitful endevour that our landlords gave us permission to "try", so adults it was. We are going to try eggs or chicks this winter as it will give us something to do during "cabin fever season" and we'll have plenty of eggs and/or meat come early spring

!

Again, thanks to all of you for the encouragement! I'm feeling MUCH better this morning, the sun is shining (finally), the birds are singing and my girls made me laugh when I let them out this morning!! They must have changed the pecking order over night and forget to tell the girl at the top... I opened the pop door and Gertrude (who was at the top) got bum rushed and pushed off the ramp as the others swarmed the food dish and then didn't let her in for her share much to her squawking chagrin

!!!

 

[KlingKlan]

KK:

Sorry to hear of you problems.....I lost a girl over the winter to an infected crop....the vet said too much grit might have been the issue....if your girls free range you shouldn't need to supplement grit...I was given two medications, Clavamox, and some other prescription that was a chalky liquid substance....

I hope you know that things will get better.

Hey stake, they don't free range yet (DH is being lazy about building the tractor), but boy do they want to!! They all come running to the people door when we come to the run and yesterday hile I was at work, DH said 2 of the girls got out and he had to catch them

! I took the opportunity to gently remind him that they NEED to get out in the yard

! I have figured out, as stated above before I read your reply, that it has to be the garden and yard weeds that we keep throwing into the run (to create a compost type situation). Due to their clipped beaks they just can't peck the weeds into small enough bits to digest. I thought I was doing a good thing by giving them the greens and bugs since we haven't been able to let them out of the run, but it turned out to be the opposite

. They get oyster shells mixed in with their morning feed for the calcium and grit, but starting today they are all going on a fermented feed and mushy treat diet. So after I massage their crops and, hopefully, induce some vomiting (

) they should get better. I caught this fairly early and knew exactly what I was looking at thanks to this phenomenal site and all the fantastic members!!! I love BYC

!