Surviving Minnesota!

[Cebarmlds]

Do your best. Catch her after dark and examine her for signs of a respiratory infection. Check eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, choanal slit, and glottis for abnormalities like mucus, excess saliva, pus.

Choanal slit View attachment 1978465

Glottis
View attachment 1978466

Also listen carefully for wheezing, rales, etc.

Do her pics look ok to you? I didn't see or hear anything abnormal, the only thing I noticed is her crop should have been fuller but before roosting her eyes were not clear so she didn't eat as much as she should have.

 

[I Love Layers]

Have you checked to see if she has anything stuck under an eyelid or around the edge of the eye? I had a hen last year that had that happen, I wiped the foam away the first couple times it happened, and then the next time I looked closer and was able to grab what was bugging her eye out.

 

[I Love Layers]

It's -15 below here, wind-chill of -32. Can't really complain this winter really has been mild so far. I didn't go down to take care of the birds last night or this morning because I can't fit boots on with my brace, so hopefully this afternoon it's a bit warmer.
I found the one bad thing about the Wyandottes so far, their eggs are so light it can be hard to candle them..

 

[Cebarmlds]

Have you checked to see if she has anything stuck under an eyelid or around the edge of the eye? I had a hen last year that had that happen, I wiped the foam away the first couple times it happened, and then the next time I looked closer and was able to grab what was bugging her eye out.

Since it’s both eyes and comes and goes I don’t think it would be that.
She was fine this morning and eating good.

 

[duluthralphie]

It's -15 below here, wind-chill of -32. Can't really complain this winter really has been mild so far. I didn't go down to take care of the birds last night or this morning because I can't fit boots on with my brace, so hopefully this afternoon it's a bit warmer.
I found the one bad thing about the Wyandottes so far, their eggs are so light it can be hard to candle them..

Winter has just started, summer never did come, so for me we are in month 14 of a long winter...

so... I will complain, it just won’t do any good.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Princess has foamy eyes again, she had it two years ago in January and it was frozen. I didn’t do anything about it -that I can remember and it cleared up on it’s own. Her eyes have been foamy off and on now for about a week or so. None of the others have an eye problem. She isn’t sneezing or acting sick. She must be at least 4 years old now. Hasn’t laid for a few weeks.

Here is what I learned about foamy eyes. My buckeye would get them. I asked Minnie about it as I bought the bird from her. She said actually it is related to weather and swings in barometric pressure. Some birds will foam before or during weather events like storms. It could be that an intricate difference in their ducts combined with high and low pressure systems brings it about. Unless there is some other respiratory symptom I would chalk it up to that. I would use a little vetRx on her too. High on her neck or near her face a bit. Or maybe I put it on her comb. I can’t remember. Minnie said her cornish and buckeyes would get this. I did sort of watch you know around storms and such and sure enough one summer storm I found her on the roost with a bunch of foam in her eyes. I think too she just kind of battled it as a big meatbird and with not so bad storms as well. It's weird. I know.

Made headcheese today . First time . Small batch a little over 2 pounds . Wife does not eat headcheese .

my German grandparents made it too. Down in the farm basement. Grandma moved the big iron wood stove/oven down there. She’d Render lard down there too. She kept it immaculate. I remember as a little kid being so intrigued by removable ‘burners’

-2 this AM. All the small girls and Sentry got down off the roost and out to the run. Sitting on the roost like two big babies. We’re the Marans. Lol. They are usually first to the feed! I did get them down as they needed water from the fount I just brought.

But science nerd makes me think. Here in northern mn our strain of cardinals are more compact than southern mn. Do smaller birds have a body dynamic that helps with cold better? So I’m thinking these big Marans girls are freeze babies... I think also these temps are their first real cold temps since they’ve been hatched. It was still 5 degrees in the coop for them this AM

 

[Molpet]

Here is what I learned about foamy eyes. My buckeye would get them. I asked Minnie about it as I bought the bird from her. She said actually it is related to weather and swings in barometric pressure. Some birds will foam before or during weather events like storms. It could be that an intricate difference in their ducts combined with high and low pressure systems brings it about. Unless there is some other respiratory system I would chalk it up to that. I would use a little vetRx on her too. High on her neck or near her face a bit. Or maybe I put it on her comb. I can’t remember. Minnie said her cornish and buckeyes would get this. I did sort of watch you know around storms and such and sure enough one summer storm I found her on the roost with a bunch of foam in her eyes. I think too she just kind of battled it with not so bad storms as well. It's weird. I know.

my German grandparents made it too. Down in the farm basement. Grandma moved the big iron wood stove/oven down there. She’d Render lard down there too. She kept it immaculate. I remember as a little kid being so intrigued by removable ‘burners’

-2 this AM. All the small girls and Sentry got down off the roost and out to the run. Sitting on the roost like two big babies. We’re the Marans. Lol. They are usually first to the feed! I did get them down as they needed water from the fount I just brought.

But science nerd makes me think. Here in northern mn our strain of cardinals are more compact than southern mn. Do smaller birds have a body dynamic that helps with cold better? So I’m thinking these big Marans girls are freeze babies... I think also these temps are their first real cold temps since they’ve been hatched. It was still 5 degrees in the coop for them this AM

The science says bigger had less heat loss
https://www-livescience-com.cdn.amp...nce.com/24916-animal-size-versus-climate.html

 

[Bogtown Chick]

'While the pattern of bigger bodies in colder climates holds for most mammals, birds and some reptiles, such as turtles, lizards and snakes, seem to break the mold. "They reverse the rule and tend to be smaller in colder climates and bigger in warmer ones," said Ashton.'

I thought I read an article on cardinals once and read they are smaller up here for metabollic reasons. But then there's this big study on climate change and the birds are getting smaller it says with climate warming. LoL. Ed's going to get going here on me.

IDK.... I think I believe the first one. Smaller birds need less energy reserves for a smaller metabolism. That's why the Cardinals are smaller in 218 country.

 

[Cebarmlds]

It was a crappy work day. I’ll read through this better tonight.

 

[duluthralphie]

It was a crappy work day. I’ll read through this better tonight.

So don’t leave us in suspense....what happened at work?