bossfrog
Songster
- Aug 10, 2021
- 66
- 157
- 116
Backstory:
I'm out of town (driving distance, not a flight) and went to a friend of a friend's house today. Big yard, donkeys, goats, lots of chickens.
There were three silkies there, two hens and a roo. They were in a pretty small coop- no real indoor hosting space, only a nesting box, and about 8 foot by 4 foot by 1 foot tall run. As soon as I got there I noticed that the coop was falling apart and absolutely filthy. Door hinge broken, food was okay but what little water there was was filled with poop and dirt. Immediately went to work catching the three chickens and looking them over. I'll reply to this on mobile with the couple of pictures I got of their feet.
Feather cysts, huge bumbles, long nails (and spurs in the boy's case), and grape-sized clumps of dirt, poop and feathers cemented to their toes and legs. It was disgusting. I did what I could for them but the person who was there wasn't the owner and didn't have any clippers or disinfectant.
None of them were easy to catch, especially with the goats trying to get into the run, but I was able to examine them all. One of the hens was more docile and one of them was pretty jumpy, but overall they were very sweet. Could be that they're sick, I don't know. The whole thing made me sad and angry; I apologize for coming off that way but it's fresh in my mind. You could say I'm partial to silkies :,)
The reason I'm here:
The owners are getting rid of the silkies. (Gee, can't be because they can't take care of them, huh?) I would love to take them. My family is considering. Unfortunately the rooster is a hard no due to mating concerns and the HOA in our area. If I do get the opportunity to rescue the two hens, would it stress the rooster out too much to take them away from him? Also- I may only be able to take one of the hens; would that separation also be too much for her and the other two? I don't want him or the girls to become more stressed than they already are. If I left them, they would remain living as they are until another person adopted them. Can anyone also point me to some information on quarantining properly? No telling if they're vaccinated (that will be fixed if I get to take them) or what they could be carrying.
Our flock is vaccinated for Marek's. We have two Eglus, four "normal" sized chickens (Rhodie, brahma, etc.) and three bantams. The "big girls" and "little girls" are in separate coops. I also have Squirt, my disabled silkie who lives inside.
I don't know what to do. Any suggestions are welcome.
I'm out of town (driving distance, not a flight) and went to a friend of a friend's house today. Big yard, donkeys, goats, lots of chickens.
There were three silkies there, two hens and a roo. They were in a pretty small coop- no real indoor hosting space, only a nesting box, and about 8 foot by 4 foot by 1 foot tall run. As soon as I got there I noticed that the coop was falling apart and absolutely filthy. Door hinge broken, food was okay but what little water there was was filled with poop and dirt. Immediately went to work catching the three chickens and looking them over. I'll reply to this on mobile with the couple of pictures I got of their feet.
Feather cysts, huge bumbles, long nails (and spurs in the boy's case), and grape-sized clumps of dirt, poop and feathers cemented to their toes and legs. It was disgusting. I did what I could for them but the person who was there wasn't the owner and didn't have any clippers or disinfectant.
None of them were easy to catch, especially with the goats trying to get into the run, but I was able to examine them all. One of the hens was more docile and one of them was pretty jumpy, but overall they were very sweet. Could be that they're sick, I don't know. The whole thing made me sad and angry; I apologize for coming off that way but it's fresh in my mind. You could say I'm partial to silkies :,)
The reason I'm here:
The owners are getting rid of the silkies. (Gee, can't be because they can't take care of them, huh?) I would love to take them. My family is considering. Unfortunately the rooster is a hard no due to mating concerns and the HOA in our area. If I do get the opportunity to rescue the two hens, would it stress the rooster out too much to take them away from him? Also- I may only be able to take one of the hens; would that separation also be too much for her and the other two? I don't want him or the girls to become more stressed than they already are. If I left them, they would remain living as they are until another person adopted them. Can anyone also point me to some information on quarantining properly? No telling if they're vaccinated (that will be fixed if I get to take them) or what they could be carrying.
Our flock is vaccinated for Marek's. We have two Eglus, four "normal" sized chickens (Rhodie, brahma, etc.) and three bantams. The "big girls" and "little girls" are in separate coops. I also have Squirt, my disabled silkie who lives inside.
I don't know what to do. Any suggestions are welcome.
