Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[BullChick]

It is totally normal. It’s just the pecking order being established.

 

[dheltzel]

Did you get your bielefelders from Greenfire too? They are great chickens! So calm and confident. Bear even tried to break fights between girls. Best flock leader without a rooster. Too bad you don't have them anymore. I heard the new line bielefelders from Greenfire is not as good as the old one.

I did not get them directly from GF, but I suspect they originated from there. Sand Hill Preservation Center has them now, and apparently better layers than the strain I had. He had to get a rooster from a second source, as all the originals were hens. That "outcross" might be what makes his so much better.
He might be sold out for this year, though, apparently the 2020 "pandemic run on chicks" has continued into 2021

 

[TillyPeeps]

I did not get them directly from GF, but I suspect they originated from there. Sand Hill Preservation Center has them now, and apparently better layers than the strain I had. He had to get a rooster from a second source, as all the originals were hens. That "outcross" might be what makes his so much better.

He might be sold out for this year, though, apparently the 2020 "pandemic run on chicks" has continued into 2021

Sandy Hill has lots of great birds for sure. Unfortunately, he only sells straight runs. It’s interesting that he got his lavender ameraucana from you. I thought you got your ameraucanas from him.

 

[dheltzel]

Sandy Hill has lots of great birds for sure. Unfortunately, he only sells straight runs. It’s interesting that he got his lavender ameraucana from you. I thought you got your ameraucanas from him.

My Black and Lavender Ameraucanas came from John Blehm, a show breeder who was instrumental in creating several of the Ameraucana colors, in both bantams and large fowl. He is an "old timer" in the poultry hobby and one of the best breeders ever (IMO).

I added a line of silkied Ams, then got mottled Ams and a Lavender Cuckoo cock 2 years ago. I am holding back all the barred Ameraucanas, in black and lavender, until I get enough to ensure a large breeding group for next year. I'm going to try to work with the silkieds a bit more also, now that I am vaccinating for Marek's, those could survive better. I have heard that silkie bantams are very susceptible to Marek's, so it is possible that the mutation that causes the feathers to lack hooks and become silkied, could also affect the bird's ability to tolerate Marek's.

 

[TillyPeeps]

So excited to see you will have these sexlink ameraucanas. They are absolutely gorgeous and friendly. Poor Candy, she was a silkied ameraucana and got sick from marek very early. She was always under weight and even smaller than my polish x silkie girl Sunny. Even Sunny has Silkie blood, she is smooth feathered and seem resistant to Marek so far.

 

[fisherlady]

Hello! I have been away for a long time. Everything has been rather quiet with my backyard chickens. I don't have time to catch up on what I missed, but I hope everyone (and their chickens) are doing well!

I'm back for now because we have a chicken issue. One of our hens, our daughter's favorite, was walking strangely a few days ago. She was bloated and I suspected she might be egg bound. However she was not acting quite like it, so I left her alone and she survived a few more days longer. So I decided to make some time last night to give her a bath and check for an egg. No egg was found so I did some more research and decided she must have "water belly." I really didn't want to, but I poked her with a needle, and sure enough, the liquid drained out of her. She is out and foraging with the others now. I'm sure she must feel so much better now. My question for you guys is - what could have been the cause of this, will it come back, how often, and how long may she live with this condition? (I read varying things - could be heart failure, liver failure, infection, etc. She could live only a month longer, or over a year, or it could resolve itself?)

In our experience water belly issues can be temporarily resolved with draining but long term survival is rare. I think at most we got maybe a year (with repeat draining).
If the fluid was clear (ascites) we would find tumors, large heart or really pale liver on necropsy. Indicating heart failure or cancers. If fluid drained with yellowish color or tiny chunks in it we would find evidence of internal laying and/or a lash egg, indicating peritonitis (infection).
If caught early you can give antibiotics and hopefully resolve the underlying issue. For us it has always been a 'quality of life' issue. If the hen seems happy and able to be out and about with the others with draining then that's what we do. If we notice she starts slowing down and not participating even when 'empty' then we put them down.

 

[FluffyButt789]

In our experience water belly issues can be temporarily resolved with draining but long term survival is rare. I think at most we got maybe a year (with repeat draining).
If the fluid was clear (ascites) we would find tumors, large heart or really pale liver on necropsy. Indicating heart failure or cancers. If fluid drained with yellowish color or tiny chunks in it we would find evidence of internal laying and/or a lash egg, indicating peritonitis (infection).
If caught early you can give antibiotics and hopefully resolve the underlying issue. For us it has always been a 'quality of life' issue. If the hen seems happy and able to be out and about with the others with draining then that's what we do. If we notice she starts slowing down and not participating even when 'empty' then we put them down.

Thank you so much, that was very helpful. The liquid was yellowish, and the chicken is very happy foraging with the others, so I would like to try antibiotics. What kind, and where can I get it? We don't have a chicken vet around here, so is this something I can buy at Tractor Supply?

 

[BullChick]

So far, the power has not stayed out for more than about two minutes. I picked up a piece of plywood by the back door. I am surprised it flew so far (15’ I think), but other things are in place. A few things that blew to the back door were sooo close to dog poo. The plywood was thankfully still clean as I carried it down the hill to put it in the coop. I leaned it against the building, and the wind knocked it over... right into a big clump of fresh chicken poo! I got a mess on my hand.
I do have the pop door open, and the wind blew a section of fencing loose. Nine of the chickens ran from under the lilac bush when they saw me, and happily popped back into the coop for BOSS. I think I got the fencing back down.
I know @OneMountainAcres is without power, is everyone else okay?

 

[TillyPeeps]

So far, the power has not stayed out for more than about two minutes. I picked up a piece of plywood by the back door. I am surprised it flew so far (15’ I think), but other things are in place. A few things that blew to the back door were sooo close to dog poo. The plywood was thankfully still clean as I carried it down the hill to put it in the coop. I leaned it against the building, and the wind knocked it over... right into a big clump of fresh chicken poo! I got a mess on my hand.
I do have the pop door open, and the wind blew a section of fencing loose. Nine of the chickens ran from under the lilac bush when they saw me, and happily popped back into the coop for BOSS. I think I got the fencing back down.
I know @OneMountainAcres is without power, is everyone else okay?

I didn't know it's that bad! I wouldn't know if there's any damage until I get home later. The clear tarp around coop was teared apart during last strong wind. I don't think it will survive this time. I planed to take it off last weekend, but felt it's still too cold.

 

[BullChick]

Surprisingly, the clear plastic around the quail pen came a little loose a few days ago during a windstorm, but is still up today. The plywood that flew around was on top of the quail pen. I used it to keep the snow out since the top is hw cloth. Down at the coop, I have a feed bag stapled outside of the window at roost level. I’m only a little surprised it’s still there. There’s an oven two feet behind it blocking the wind. The quail pen is mostly protected by two sides of the house.