Sick Chicken...sour crop? worms?? HELP!!

[rebrascora]

Mealworms are a healthier snack. They are pretty light weight so you would have to feed an awful lot for them to become a problem and the economics of that would be limiting I think, but all things in moderation. You really want their layer/all flock
feed to be at least 80-90% of their daily nutritional intake. It is a complete feed so designed to make up 100% of their nutritional needs but we all like to treat our chickens a little and of course they will find food whilst free ranging which is in itself a huge treat, so don't feel you have to give lots of other stuff. I constantly check myself when giving treats, because it is so easy to give a little more each day without realising it..... they are far better at training us than we are at training them

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

I agree!! Mine have me trained well. Every afternoon when I go out to feed the horses they chase me down wanting their afternoon snack. Silly girls!!

 

[rebrascora]

Not so silly, I think!

What breed of horses do you have? Do you compete or just for pleasure? Got any photos?

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Not so silly, I think!

What breed of horses do you have? Do you compete or just for pleasure? Got any photos?

I have a 20yr old Morgan and a coming 4 year old mustang. I’m too old to compete and got into horses late in life . So they’re just for pleasure. Trail riding mostly. But I would LOVE to find someone to lease my 4 year old and use her for western gaming. She’s very athletic and has soooo much potential!!

Bragging moment: these are my first two horses ever and I trained rhebuounger one myself from when she was 9 months old .
This is Dancer, my Morgan.
This is Kit, my mustang. She’s my baby for sure

Do you have horses as well? I noticed your avatar has a couple . What are they?

 

[rebrascora]

Are those photos not both the same horse? They look cute! I love that you have woolly monsters too. Morgans are so beautiful. Mine have a thick layer of mud stuck to their coats, which they are determined looks better than being clean.

I know that feeling of pride! I started mine myself. Unfortunately the lads (Rebel and Rascal)are not a great testament to my ability .... they are a bit wild.... and even at 19 and 20 years respectively, show no signs of settling down mentally or physically and are very sharp and head strong. Their baby sister, MeMe is much better behaved but quite strong and forward going. I also have their mother, Cora (a 14.2hh cob) who is 25 and rather stiff these days and sadly lost their father a 16.1hh TB/Clydesdale to colic last year.... I was inconsolable, as he was a total gent. So basically they are mixed breed cobs but full brothers and sister. My avatar is Rascal and MeMe. Rebel drives as well as rides. I had hoped to drive both lads as a pair but Rascal has a wayward backend that you really would not want to sit behind!!
Here they are waiting for their Mam to come and feed them. L-R Rascal, Cora, MeMe and Rebel behind the wall

My partner also has 3 horses that he hunts through the winter and carriage drives in the summer, so I get roped into helping him a lot of the time in summer. His project this year is to drive all 3 in a "unicorn" formation which is a pair with the third horse coupled in front. His are also mixed breed cobs.
This is Zak when Ian first bought him at 2 years (he was born on a tether in an industrial estate, so had a poor start in life) and then winning the first driving show we ever entered.

It is hard to believe he is the same horse. I have quite a soft spot for him.

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Omg they are the demented horse!!! When I was replying to you I was sitting outside in the sunshine and thought I picked different pictures
THIS is Kit. They do look a lot alike, kit just had the white front feet and she’s more brown in the summer time.

I love woolley monsters! I REALLY want a draft. Someday....

Your horses are beautiful!! So big!
The fact that your two boys are so spunky still is a testament to how well taken care of they are. The horse I learned to ride on was 35 and the only reason he died when he did was because he couldn’t eat anymore.

I’m so sorry to hear about your TB/Clydesdale. I can’t even imagine. Colic terrifies me. Kit had a bad bout about a year ago, I was sure we were going to lose her. But thankfully she pulled through! Sorry to sound naive, but what is s cob?

That is so cool about Zak! It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when we treat them with love and respect!! That unicor formation sounds gorgeous. I would like to see what that looks like!

I think the driving looks fun. I start my horses with ground work and teach them to drive. It really makes them think! When your partner hunts in the winter, does he wear the read coat? Or is that a total stereotype?

I love that wall! It’s very old-country looking. Plus there’s no way they’re getting out of there!

 

[rebrascora]

That's a relief! I thought I must be missing something! I kept looking from one photo to the other and thinking it wasn't possible that two horses could look so totally alike. Kit is cute. I know you said she is a Mustang but she looks to have the curved ears of a Morgan or perhaps Friesian. I know that Mustangs have a lot of different breeds in their make up and can vary quite a bit as a result, but you have a beauty there.
Cobs are hard to define. It is a term used to describe a horse of mixed breeding, usually with some native or draught blood. That said, Welsh Cobs are of very pure and distinct breeding. I would say in general though, a cob is the horse equivalent of a mongrel dog.
Yes, colic is scary. I had a near miss with Rebel 2 years ago. He was hospitalised for a week but thankfully they managed to rectify it without surgery. I caught Rainy early and got the vet out and gave him antispasmodics and he settled and we both really thought we had cracked it and then a couple of hours later I checked on him and he was down and thrashing and his gut was twisted. I really was heartbroken.

Not a stereotype at all however, it is only the officials who wear the red coats. That said my partner is a field master, so yes he wears one on occasions, but he also sometimes wears black and sometimes tweed. There are a lot of protocols about who can wear what and when.... even down to the number of buttons down the front of your coat and the style and composition of the buttons! It's all a bit too much of a faff for my liking. The horsey world is divided into two camps in my opinion. Those who are elegant and immaculate and those who can't keep clean for more than 5 mins. Me and my horses definitely fall into the second group!

That section of wall was the last bit of building work my Dad and I did together before he died, so it is quite special to me. It needs to be solid to keep them in because there is a busy main road in front of that gate and it is right in the centre of the village, so I cannot afford for them to get out. They have half the village residents and even people from further afield trained to bring them apples and carrots on a near daily basis. They are so much a feature of the village that the shop sells greetings cards with them on the front! Rebel even featured on the WI calendar in his younger days!

Anyway, I must head off to bed now. It has been lovely getting to know you a little better and nice to chat about things other than sick chickens for a change!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day

 

[rebrascora]

Just checked Wikipaedia for a definition....

A cob is traditionally a small horse, usually of a stout build, with strong bones, large joints, and steady disposition; it is a breed of horse. Historically, in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, the eastern United States, a 'cob' may be a common horse used for everyday riding but in the past was used for driving carts.

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Haha I know, I’m sorry to have confused you!! She is cute . She was a rescue from eastern Washington state. There is a huge herd of wild horses over there and these people go round them up by the hundreds. They sell the mares and stallions to feed lots or send them to auction, and the babies are sent to this horrid place called the orphanage. They’re used for roping practice and other horrid things and die from injury or starvation. Or so I’ve been told. I believe it because some people are just monsters. But I find it soooo hard to believe that they get away with this kind of treatment of the horses. Either way, Kit was a two month old filly when she was rounded up and separated from her mother. She was sent to auction thankfully and a woman from a nearby town adopted her and another filly. I got her for $100! I absolutely adore her!! I agree she looks Morgan. I’ve thought submit getting her tested to see what she is. I LOVE freisians!!! She definitely has that look, but not the size. I thought maybe pasa fino? She’s also gaited which csme ad a surprise to me!

Both of my horses are on the small side, Dancer is 14.3 and Kit is just barely 14.1. I would love to find another horse, one who’s a bit bigger, but I have a soft spot for rescues and “trash” horses, which are usually not the biggest or prettiest.

So mustangs could be considered cobs then? They’re mixed breeds and generally are prettt small. Your horses don’t look small at all! I can’t get over how gorgeous they are. Draft crosses are beautiful!!

Oh my goodness that is so sad. I just want to give you a hug!! There’s a group of pack horses that are boarded at a friend of mine’s house. Last summer they were out in the woods and one colicked. They turned around immediately and headed back, they even had a Vet who was going to meet them on the other side of this big lake they had to cross to get back. But on the barge heading back he went down and died. So so sad!! I wish there was a way to prevent it.

“It's all a bit too much of a faff for my liking.“ I just lol’d at this comment. I agree. I’m very much the second group too. If I do anything with the horses and manage to stay clean it’s a miracle! Especially this time of year. I can’t touch either of the horses without a hair explosion! The hunter thing sounds interesting though. I’ll have to look into it. Just to learn more about it. We have “hunter jumper” riding here too. Not sure if it’s the same thing though.

That is so cool about your wall. What a great reminder of your time with your dad. Haha it sounds like your horses know how to work it! I’m picturing a busy villiage with your horses right in the middle. It sounds so charming!! I would love to see more pictures of where you live if you have some? Visiting Europe is on my bucket list. Some of those places are so beautiful. I think it’s way cool that through the Internet we can meet people from so far away so easily!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with you . Definitely better conversation than sick chickens

I hope you slept well!