Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

[speckledhen]

And I was just attempting generalized humour of a specific topic in an omage to a completely different topic.

Someone should do a broody rules, too, but in some cases, they scoff at those rules. I've had hens kill chicks that hatch, crush the egg on purpose as it was hatching (I know because it was one egg and a very experienced older broody) and one hen would regularly try to kill her chicks when it was time to "wean" them rather than just push them away, they would hide from her and we had to rescue them. She did that with all her clutches at weaning time. We called her Dusty the Destroyer. Broodies are *special".

 

[ShrekDawg]

I wonder if there was something wrong with the egg she crushed? They must know these thing somehow? Especially if it was just one specific one. The chick killing mother just sounds crazy though.

 

[speckledhen]

I wonder if there was something wrong with the egg she crushed? They must know these thing somehow? Especially if it was just one specific one. The chick killing mother just sounds crazy though.

Oh, yeah, that Dusty was insane. When she was done with them, she was DONE! I found her once chasing her 4 week old chicks around the strawberry patch, them hiding and squealing. She was out for blood. She did it every time when she was ready for them to go and you'd have to watch for it to save the poor things.

As for Nugget crushing the chick, it was the only egg she had and she actually was 7 yrs old, passed away a few months later so maybe she thought her time was near and she made an executive decision. She raised a LOT of chicks for me prior to that, though, such a great mom.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh, yeah, that Dusty was insane. When she was done with them, she was DONE! I found her once chasing her 4 week old chicks around the strawberry patch, them hiding and squealing. She was out for blood. She did it every time when she was ready for them to go and you'd have to watch for it to save the poor things.

As for Nugget crushing the chick, it was the only egg she had and she actually was 7 yrs old, passed away a few months later so maybe she thought her time was near and she made an executive decision. She raised a LOT of chicks for me prior to that, though, such a great mom.

OMG!!! Wow!! That’s crazy!! Haha

And awww that’s sad. I bet she did know! That’s awesome she was such a good mom though at least!

 

[Skyleen13]

This was supper helpful. Thank you so much!

 

[Cheeky Chicken age 11]

I have a small flock of four bantams and one of them is called Dusty like yours she is a three year old hen and when i got two chicks last week she looks after them the sweat thing the chicks are in a diffrent run for the time being.I put her in with them the other day and she didn't peck them at all but then she turned on the poor things and started pecking at them so
i took her out straight after i saw it dose any one know what happened.

 

[speckledhen]

If she is not broody, or simply if she knows they are not her chicks, she can harass them. Hens do not automatically take care of chicks that are not theirs, even to the point of killing them.

 

[ChelsieW]

Chickens may be livestock or they may be pets, but they deserve and desire attention and care. If you are going to maintain a healthy backyard flock, there are certain rules that should be followed. For those of you who frequently PM me for advice, or for those of you who are new to chicken-keeping, here is the "Speckledhen Method" in a nutshell.

Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

1) Keep a clean, dry environment...change bedding as needed, watch out for leaky waterers/windows/roofs, etc.

2) Fresh air/ventilation is essential..poop and respiration add moisture in the air. Ventilation overhead, not at roost or floor level.

3) Provide fresh water, daily. Would you take a sip out of the waterer? If not, clean it.

4) Give fresh, nutritious food, formulated for the age/function of the birds

5) Provide a safe, predator-proofed, uncrowded coop and run...they depend on you for protection

6) Periodically, check over each bird in the flock for lice, mites, wounds, etc.

7) Practice good biosecurity..disinfect shoes before and after visting the feedstore and shows, quarantine new birds, etc Under no circumstances, sell, trade, or give away a bird that shows sign of infection or has contacted another bird who shows signs of infection, or comes from a flock that has shown signs of infection, now or in the past.

8) At the first sign of contagious respiratory illness, i.e., discharges from nose or eyes or bad smell, cull, cull, cull...birds don't get colds, per se; they contract diseases, many of which make them carriers for their lifetime. That means they are able to infect others even if they seem to recover themselves. See Rule #7.

9) Do not medicate unnecessarily, including wormers and antibiotics

10) DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are numerous books and articles profiling poultry management and poultry disease. Read, study and then formulate a plan of action, should the worst happen, before it happens.


Happy Chicken-Keeping!

How long do you have to quarantine new birds?

 

[speckledhen]

How long do you have to quarantine new birds?

My personal opinion is 5-6 weeks, however remember that a bird who is not stressed may not show symptoms even if it is a carrier. And a carrier of Marek's Disease could take up to 12 weeks or more to show them. At least during quarantine, you can treat a new bird for lice/mites and worms, what you really should do. What you do not do is give antibiotics if it shows symptoms because antibiotics cannot cure a carrier disease and even with symptoms, you will not know if it is a bacterial or a viral issue. Antibiotics do not affect viruses anyway.

 

[BlueHorse17]

I couldn’t agree more to this!!