I've only been a chicken keeper for 6 months, and it's been complicated.
Long explanation ahead...
In April my hubby and I decided to start our own little backyard flock. We purchased a little coop, and decided to shoot for 3 to 4 hens. This was an amount that we thought manageable for us, or so we thought.
We started incubation of a local's eggs, and only one chick(americauna) hatched.
We then purchased two faverolles chicks, from a local woman named Kara, to keep our lonely chick company. She told us that if either of the chicks ended up being a roo, she would swap for a hen. So that temporarily completed our flock of three.
Fast forward 15 weeks later, and we have two( the americauna, and a faverolles) crowing. This became an issue with our neighbors immediately.
The americauna rooster went back to the local that gave us the fertile eggs.
I then got back in touch with Kara, and I worked out swapping the faverolles rooster, along with purchasing two additional pullets for $20 each.
She ended up giving me a faverolles pullet with a respiratory illness, and $40 unsexed chicks with roundworms.
Needless to say all three birds went back to her and we got our money back.
This left our original hen lonely. Mind you we have gotten very attached to our one hen. Our kids affectionately named her Pebbles, and she follows us around and loves cuddles. But she is a flock bird, and needs other chickens in her life. So a week later, friends of our kindly gave us a NH Red hen to keep our hen company. She didn't show any signs of illness, and her and our hen became quick friends. Sadly two weeks later the NH Red was found unresponsive in our coop, and we had to cull her due to her clearly suffering.
That happened just over a week ago.
Before we lost the NHR hen I had been in touch with a local FBCM breeder about purchasing two birds from her.
This past weekend we purchased two birds from her for $50. With our luck, the next day we noticed that one of those hens is sneezing, with a chest rattle, and she dropped a large(dead) roundworm in her poop along with small amounts of intestinal lining. I am gutted that we are dealing with this again, in a matter of month! I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to keep dealing with receiving sick birds! I'm feeling so defeated because I feel like there is no solution that isn't going to be easy.
What would you do?
Long explanation ahead...
In April my hubby and I decided to start our own little backyard flock. We purchased a little coop, and decided to shoot for 3 to 4 hens. This was an amount that we thought manageable for us, or so we thought.
We started incubation of a local's eggs, and only one chick(americauna) hatched.
We then purchased two faverolles chicks, from a local woman named Kara, to keep our lonely chick company. She told us that if either of the chicks ended up being a roo, she would swap for a hen. So that temporarily completed our flock of three.
Fast forward 15 weeks later, and we have two( the americauna, and a faverolles) crowing. This became an issue with our neighbors immediately.
The americauna rooster went back to the local that gave us the fertile eggs.
I then got back in touch with Kara, and I worked out swapping the faverolles rooster, along with purchasing two additional pullets for $20 each.
She ended up giving me a faverolles pullet with a respiratory illness, and $40 unsexed chicks with roundworms.
Needless to say all three birds went back to her and we got our money back.
This left our original hen lonely. Mind you we have gotten very attached to our one hen. Our kids affectionately named her Pebbles, and she follows us around and loves cuddles. But she is a flock bird, and needs other chickens in her life. So a week later, friends of our kindly gave us a NH Red hen to keep our hen company. She didn't show any signs of illness, and her and our hen became quick friends. Sadly two weeks later the NH Red was found unresponsive in our coop, and we had to cull her due to her clearly suffering.
That happened just over a week ago.
Before we lost the NHR hen I had been in touch with a local FBCM breeder about purchasing two birds from her.
This past weekend we purchased two birds from her for $50. With our luck, the next day we noticed that one of those hens is sneezing, with a chest rattle, and she dropped a large(dead) roundworm in her poop along with small amounts of intestinal lining. I am gutted that we are dealing with this again, in a matter of month! I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to keep dealing with receiving sick birds! I'm feeling so defeated because I feel like there is no solution that isn't going to be easy.
What would you do?
You've received great advice. Chicken keeping isn't always that tough!
