people with house chickens

[Ponyfeather]

The other day my mom took Pancake out to the newly dug up garden bed we are prepping for next spring right now her chicky tractor is sitting on it so she can scratch around in the dug up dirt. Obviously my mom has yet to figure out the art of shaking out a chicken because Pancake took a dust bath in the dirt. Then brought her back in a set her down in a towel on my bed... I am still brushing tiny lumps a dirt out of my bed. I think she finds this funny...

It is funny and annoying at the same time. I told my mom next time set her on the floor because then I can use a broom on the mess.

 

[Sylvester017]

okay that is what i thought it was. I have a special needs imprinted goose that stays indoors with us and a silkie rooster that stays indoors through out the night until about noon. . i am thinking about getting him a diaper because he poos so much. my goose does too but she cant wear a diaper. she stays in a hammock because she doesnt walk very well.

Awwww - what a sweetie goose and she has a nice owner to accommodate the disability!

Chickens can poop every 15-20 minutes depending on when/what they've consumed. I imagine a roo has bigger poops than smaller hens! After a couple weeks of picking up Silkie poops from the floor my DH and I got tired of finding all the presents she left so in desperation I scoured the internet to find out all I could about chicken diapers. There were some nice pre-made ones but I couldn't afford $15-$20 for just one diaper when I needed at least 3 of them for each new breed we kept in quarantine before adding them to the outdoor flock! That's when I discovered chickenmom on youtube and to this day I still find her pattern the easiest to follow and I modify the details depending on what breed I'm sewing for (example - for soft-feathered Silkies I don't use the velcro option on connecting the shoulder straps because Silkie fluff gets horribly tangled in velcro). For Silkies we safety pin the shoulder straps together rather than using a velcro attachment.

Question - does keeping your roo indoors until noon stop his crowing after he goes outdoors? There are rooster crowing collars to inhibit/muffle crowing and simple enough to make out of a velcro strip but they say it takes practice to know how high or low or loose to position the collars on the roo's neck. We rehomed our crowing Silkie because he never shutup and a velcro collar would not work well on his silky feathers. Miss the little guy!

 

[flufssilkies]

I'm taking my house rooster trick or treating!

 

[andreacroyle]

Awwww - what a sweetie goose and she has a nice owner to accommodate the disability!

Chickens can poop every 15-20 minutes depending on when/what they've consumed. I imagine a roo has bigger poops than smaller hens! After a couple weeks of picking up Silkie poops from the floor my DH and I got tired of finding all the presents she left so in desperation I scoured the internet to find out all I could about chicken diapers. There were some nice pre-made ones but I couldn't afford $15-$20 for just one diaper when I needed at least 3 of them for each new breed we kept in quarantine before adding them to the outdoor flock! That's when I discovered chickenmom on youtube and to this day I still find her pattern the easiest to follow and I modify the details depending on what breed I'm sewing for (example - for soft-feathered Silkies I don't use the velcro option on connecting the shoulder straps because Silkie fluff gets horribly tangled in velcro). For Silkies we safety pin the shoulder straps together rather than using a velcro attachment.

Question - does keeping your roo indoors until noon stop his crowing after he goes outdoors? There are rooster crowing collars to inhibit/muffle crowing and simple enough to make out of a velcro strip but they say it takes practice to know how high or low or loose to position the collars on the roo's neck. We rehomed our crowing Silkie because he never shutup and a velcro collar would not work well on his silky feathers. Miss the little guy

I am going to look into it thanks for the diaper suggestion. I have come to realize that he only crows when he wants something. One day I had to go to work early and i left him inside for the day. when i got home he crowed for about 20 minutes before i relized there might be a reson he was crowing. when i went to his cage i saw that he had drank all his water ( he drinks A LOT of water) as soon as i took his bowl out to refill it he stopped crowing for the entire night. two nights ago, i was up til 130am......on the BYC forum.=) he decided to crow and i realized that i might be keeping him awake since i was in the same room. as soon as i went to bed and shut all the lights out, he stopped crowing. i am going to research what makes them crow, but i have realized that my house rooster uses his crowing as his voice.

I tried to make a no crow collar but i didnt like how it got caught on his feathers and then i decided that i didnt want to make him feel uncomfortable by restricting his neck.


I have only had him a month so i cant answer your question about outside crowing correctly yet. i am sure when he gets comfortable he will crow more, but people will be using their law equipment and other noisy things during those hours so crowing isnt as bad as early am when people are sleeping. i honestly dont know very much about chickens yet since i just got him (and 5 others) last month.


someone on one of the threads posted that she keeps her rooster in a cage that is just tall enough for the roo to stand upright because when they crow they stretch their necks up and become much taller (like a wolf howling at the moon). I started watching Bruce when he crows and he also makes himself about 3 inches taller. today while he was outside in the yard he was trying to get at the ducks to chase them (i keep them separated by garden fencing because the ducks and geese are terrified of him) he started crowing so i put him in a makeshift security fence i made for my OEB hens. ( we are in the middle of building them a chicken tractor, but i dont feel safe with the three little hens outside without protection because we have many hawks. at night they all go into a pred proof coop.) the temp box is 2x4 welded wire fence that i bent into a square with no bottom. it is 12 in high which is more than enough room for them to dirt bathe and eat the grass. they love being in there. i actually life up the side of the wire box and they run in. when Bruce decided to crow today, i put him in the box with the hens just to see what he would do. he can stand upright and walk around comfortably but if he tries to tilt his head up to "howl at the moon" he is restricted. he didnt crow. i dont know if it was being on the same side of the wire with the girls, if he was scared or if the height of the box worked. i will let you know about his crowing habbits when i have him longer.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm taking my house rooster trick or treating!

Trick or treating? Aren't chickens sleeping after dusk? Sounds cute but he may be confused in all the darkness.

I am so paranoid about all the possible illnesses a chicken can contract should I happen to be around other chickens, that I don't take my chickens out of our yard or invite others to see my chickens just to keep the possibility of infectious disease/virus/bacteria away. Maybe a bit paranoid but large commercial farms are even more strict than that having hazmat clothing and booties to put on before entering their livestock yards and sanitizing everything afterwards and visitors are held to the same procedures by appt only. My girls are our delicate pride and joy and we hesitate to take them anywhere except for a vet visit if necessary. I have my hands full just doing routine health maintenance on the chickens from the lice/mites/worms that could come in from the wild birds in the yard. After reading different threads and blogs about how easy it is for chickens to get sick or get infected I have upped my own security measures to help keep my flock healthy.

 

[andreacroyle]

Trick or treating? Aren't chickens sleeping after dusk? Sounds cute but he may be confused in all the darkness.

I am so paranoid about all the possible illnesses a chicken can contract should I happen to be around other chickens, that I don't take my chickens out of our yard or invite others to see my chickens just to keep the possibility of infectious disease/virus/bacteria away. Maybe a bit paranoid but large commercial farms are even more strict than that having hazmat clothing and booties to put on before entering their livestock yards and sanitizing everything afterwards and visitors are held to the same procedures by appt only. My girls are our delicate pride and joy and we hesitate to take them anywhere except for a vet visit if necessary. I have my hands full just doing routine health maintenance on the chickens from the lice/mites/worms that could come in from the wild birds in the yard. After reading different threads and blogs about how easy it is for chickens to get sick or get infected I have upped my own security measures to help keep my flock healthy.

Everyone seems to be either as paranoid as you or completely ignorant/unconcerned. I wish there was a good balance like with dogs. I was completely ignorant about all the different avian illnesses until last month when i brought home a sneezing chicken. I love going to farms and farm swaps and feeding the wild birds. Living in a very populated tropical climate i feel like catching something is inevitable, so i have decided to vaccinate. i dont want to stop living just because i brought home a few chickens. with the help of my avian vet, i am going to vaccinate as much as possible. as far as the sneezing silkie goes, he is still in the garage under good bio security. i havent decided what to do with him and his friend yet. i think i might give him back to the breeder that i bough him from.

 

[Sylvester017]

Everyone seems to be either as paranoid as you or completely ignorant/unconcerned. I wish there was a good balance like with dogs. I was completely ignorant about all the different avian illnesses until last month when i brought home a sneezing chicken. I love going to farms and farm swaps and feeding the wild birds. Living in a very populated tropical climate i feel like catching something is inevitable, so i have decided to vaccinate. i dont want to stop living just because i brought home a few chickens. with the help of my avian vet, i am going to vaccinate as much as possible. as far as the sneezing silkie goes, he is still in the garage under good bio security. i havent decided what to do with him and his friend yet. i think i might give him back to the breeder that i bough him from.

Well, like you say, ignorant/unconcerned are the "trigger" words here. So many owners have not bothered to research all the details of chickeneering and the bio-security necessary to keep a backyard flock healthy. Although some vaccinations have been developed and might be practical depending on flock sizes, or in areas of reported illnesses, etc, it is not a guarantee that a bird will not get ill - there are many catastrophic chicken viruses/conditions for which there are absolutely no vaccines. Too bad chickens aren't as resilient as dogs/cats - many owners start out thinking a chicken is just a chicken and doesn't need any special attention. I've had my backyard flock for 3 years now and have changed my practices as I learn/research more. I no longer accept POL or older pullets into my yard and have been lucky nothing bad occurred when I did that my first year - I know many breeders will not take back returned birds from customers to protect their breeding flocks. I order juveniles directly from NPIP certified breeders rather than take in other people's re-homed birds. And I do not allow visitations from people who want to see my birds. These practices may or may not be secure enough to keep out all maladies but it gives me a place to start protecting my hens. I have my hands full enough doing preventative health maintenance for lice/mites/worms that can be brought into the yard by visiting wild birds. Many nice people rescue unwanted, injured, or disabled birds and I sincerely applaud their kindness toward those creatures in need but it's not my personal mission to do so. We all have our niche.

I feel so sorry for your little sneezing Silkie. I never had a sneezing Silkie but I did have one with a digestive bacteria that the vet cleared up with a Baytril injection and followup medication. A good vet is so priceless to me! I once had two Leghorns and they went into sneezing fits for an hour after every dirt bath they took - just plain backyard dirt with no additives! My heart dropped the first time I had a sneezing Leghorn until I discovered the cause! Because of their sneezing fits from fine dust I switched to liquid instead of powdered vitaminis and used liquid protection sprays for their coops/nestboxes so flying dust wouldn't irritate their obviously sensitive respiratory systems when they layed their eggs in the boxes.

Do I seem paranoid? Probably, but better IMHO than the alternatives - ignorance/unconcern/nonchalance/apathy.

- Here's hoping the best for your little Silkie and that the vet can help him! Silkies with special care can blossom into fabulous little beauties!

 

[Ponyfeather]

Pancake has turned into a food snob. She won't eat anything that is wet cooked, and she turned her nose up at a few cheerios but was quiet happy to eat plain uncooked rolled oats.

 

[calichicken]

Pancake has turned into a food snob. She won't eat anything that is wet cooked, and she turned her nose up at a few cheerios but was quiet happy to eat plain uncooked rolled oats.

LOL...my house chicken is a food snob too! She hates her beak to be messy in anyway and will not eat anything that is wet

I read how chickens are supposed to like yogurt, oatmeal ect...not mine! Messy= not edible to her..LOL! Even if she shows interest, she looks at it and walks the other way, then scratches on the floor to hint for a different treat

I do love her...picky attitude and all!!!!

 

[Sylvester017]

Pancake has turned into a food snob. She won't eat anything that is wet cooked, and she turned her nose up at a few cheerios but was quiet happy to eat plain uncooked rolled oats.

My chickens have gone through many appetite changes. One time they love multi-grain cheerios, next time not so much. It all depends on their internal nutritional needs and they eat accordingly. It may not be that it is wet or dry that counts but what is nutritionally present in the food that their body craves at the moment. One of our little Silkies didn't eat cheerios until we broke them into smaller pieces and then she ate them. Sometimes our girls will eat cooked rolled oats and sometimes dry - just never know what suits them. Right now our hens recovering from moult are going crazy for protein - Sardines in olive oil, seafood like salmon and cooked shrimp, dog/cat food, tuna, boiled eggs, cooked ground turkey, etc.