Sdwd

[Serrin]

Gloria Jean, please! I beg of you! Share whatever information the NPIP guy has to give you as to what this might be. Are any of your birds gurgling in their throats? Do they make any kind of sound that reminds you of a phlegm choked old man trying to hawk a loogie? Please keep us [me] updated on this one. It sounds very similar to what Chief went through and is still having some issues with. When he gets himself too wound up, he starts in with that phlegm sound in his throat again.

I myself will be calling the first and only avian vet I've been able to find in the Spokane area on Monday to see if I can get Chief and maybe Evie in. Her foot is still causing her problems. I'd take care of it myself, but I have no one here competent in handling a chicken such that I'd be able to effectively operate on her bumble. Lord knows I've tried!

She was doing much better during the freezing weather, but now that it has warmed back up and bacteria are becoming more active, her bumble is flaring up again.

ETA: I sure hope it's just a minor issue for your flock Gloria Jean.

Like too much dust in the new shavings or something simple like that.

Disease, especially in the winter, is such a scary thought!

Be sure to let us know how they're doing!

 

[crazyhen]

The first hen to get it had labored breathing but none now. None of the others act like much is wrong. Just slinging the clear lig everywhere. He had me put them on duramycin. It is a gram neg. and gram positive bacterial killer. He said tylan was not as affective on some as it is. I have had them on it for 48 hrs now. I do not see any difference and more seem to be affected. This is the first time I have ever had a sick hen and I have had them for 4 years now. They are running about and laying great. I scrambled over a dozen eggs and fed them back to them from yesterday(they smelled like the duramycin) . I will do the same in the morning as well. They layed me over a dozen today. Tomorrow I will not only clean out the poop boards as usual but will completely redo the floor as well. I hope it is dust or maybe mold spores from the hay i had put in there. I will keep you up to date. Thanks so much for caring . They are my babies. gloria Jean

 

[PepsNick]

LOL Nella! Smart hen jumping over that fence! Seems like a big day for you, same here!

I've spent the entire day with my friend- here's how it went.

Shopping:
-Feed store- 3 chick feeders, 3 chick waterers, oyster shell and one bag of feed
-Home Depot- bedding, bedding, bedding, bedding, new sand and more bedding.
-Ace Hardware- two heat lamps

Next, we came home and set up her brooder- shavings, water, feeder, and heat lamp. She used a small cardboard box, only for 3 chicks. Then we clean out my coop, raked, scrubbed the feeder and waterers and changed the feed. Then we took this old dog crate, fixed it up and are selling it on Atlanta Craigslist. Then we got a very large cardboard box from my neighbors and I turned it into a brooder. Then we made an old coop of mine a sick/injured coop, finished up my Spring planning and ordered her chicks from MPC. Finally, we did a little health check on the girls and all is well.

I also think that I'll be selling an Amish egg basket- I'm trying to earn more money for Spring, right now I have $660 in my chicken budget.

Here's the brooder I set up (heat lamp not set up yet):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53616213@N08/5358608082/

edited for typos

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

good job Nick

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I have a changing of the guard here, too! Sorta ..... hahaha .... I have a pen of 8 roosters. The pen was new to all of them, so not one of them could claim invasion of their space. It has been over a week now, so they are now deciding who gets to be Alpha roo of the bunch. OMG, it is so hilarious to see the biggest ones run and hide...... I always feel sorry for low man on the totem pole, and have been known to pull him out and baby him. (Example: Leggs, the big sissy Jersey Giant)

 

[NellaBean]

Phew, alright.....all 4 brooders in the garage are cleaned. All chicks have been moved around and reintegrated into new groups. All the boys are together in the bigger (taller) 4x6 brooder. All girls are together in the smaller (shorter) 4x6 brooder. All of the broody babies that were a bit young to integrate with the slightly SCARY big boys are in with the girls for now.

My older but struggling dellie/rock girl is in with the girls as well. That leaves broody mama barred cochin alone in her brooder. She will go back to the big flock tomorrow. And the blue mottled/whatever cochin boy alone in his brooder. He will go out to the big flock tomorrow.

I have also decided to move all of the "oldest" chicks outside to the big flock. That is 4 boys and 3 girls. The boys should be fine with everybody for at least a couple weeks before they get rowdy.....which will get me beyond my "vacation". trying to make everything as easy as possible for when I'm gone.

And as of tomorrow, two of my garage brooders will be empty! Holy moly. I will have I think 4 boys in the big bottom brooder and 4 girls in the top brooder, plus the 6 younguns. I can't tell sexes on them...I have 1 definite girl, and 1 definite boy. Of the other 4....maybe half girls, half boys. Not sure.

I have 5 trash bags full of gross brooder gunk that need to be dragged up the hill now. Sigh.

Tomorrow I have my last batch of sold birds leaving. 1 large fowl cochin rooster, 3 large fowl cochin hens, 2 large fowl cochin/brahma pullets (big girls), 2 bantam cochin roosters and 1 bantam cochin hen. Should be a full load! That will leave plenty of room to integrate the "kids" into the flock and will throw everything into craziness anyways...so perfect timing!


Eta: this leaves me with 37 adult bird. Still have 2 for sale and 1 that needs to be culled. So much for my goal of 50! The babies will put me back up there, but I don't count them until they move outside. 7 chicks moving outside, so total of 44 really.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Nella you made me tired! I dusted my chickens tonight.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Amy, flaxseeds are high is Omega 3s which aides the skin, feathers, body weight and so forth. With the exception of 5 girls just recently, my girls have never had a bad molt or a long molt. I am looking for a source for whole flaxseed here locally becuase they get expensive buying by the pound. What the girls eat (all the time) is a mix of:
e
50# Layer Crumble
8-10# whole flaxseed
5# Rolled Oats
10# whole Red Winter Wheat Berries
10# Scratch (corn or a grain mix version)
5# Oat or Wheat Bran

I just mix it all together and fill the feeder.

Since moving I am playing with the mix because of finding local suppliers. But, the girls like it better and they look better when I mix their food with the good stuff in it. Right now they eat most layer pellets, rolled oats, scratch grains, flaxseed mixed ... they also get a little of Jo's sweet grains as a treat....I just toss a handful or two out for them a couple times per week because of the molasses in it.


Amy this mill will ship to you and they carry tons of good stuff...food grade quality for human consumption... 25# flaxseeds delivered to washington $51.00.

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/buy_flax_order_brown_flax_purchase_bulk_flax.aspx

Can whole flax seed be mixed in with scratch grains?
What are whole winter wheat berries?
Where would I find Wheat bran.?

 

[NellaBean]

Shoot, I made MYSELF tired! Actually, as much as I always put it off and dread doing it, it takes less than 2 hours and 2 bags of shavings. Now, don't get me wrong. The brooders are clean but not sparkling. the walls are all still poopy. Once this batch is out and they are all EMPTY, I can "really" clean then and actually scrub the walls down and disinfect them. But this gets all the poopy gross shavings out and nice fresh shavings in there.

Of my total 6 brooders....4 in garage and 2 in carport...I will have 4 empty as of tomorrow. I don't really count the carport brooders as they are more or less used for holding sale birds for pickup, so purposely left empty. But since my last sale birds are leaving, they are literally just empty empty empteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

TSC has their shavings on sale right now for $5 instead of $6 or whatever they are. I bought 6 bales yesterday, so I have 4 bales left to do the big coop with in a couple weeks. Not sure if it will take all 4 but it is way way WAY overdue for a complete clean out.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I did clean the poop boards yesterday. Decided that I better dust the birds tonight as I don't know when I will be able to do it again. I do believe that I am being attacked by my gallbladder

Just feeling a little worse every day. I sure wish I had the energy you seem to have