Texas

[erikk]

Congrats on the baby human! They're kind of awesome

Thanks! We have two boys, ages 14 and 8. We'd tried for a few years (even some fertility stuff) then kinda given up on it and mentally laid it in God's hands. Then low-and-behold a surprise pregnancy! So we're going to get a girl, and my wife is self-surprised at how delighted she is. We'd said we'd prefer a boy since we know what to do with them already but now she's super-stoked to have a girl. It'll be fun! If she's anything like my lovely wife she'll be head-strong, intelligent and beautiful. Gonna be a handful in those teen years but we're just thrilled waiting for her.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I'll have my hands full with a little baby human girl arriving this June so I'm perfectly happy to leave the eggs and chick raising to the chickens.

Erik

Congratulations!

I appreciate all the comments. I believe I would show the chicks to my two hens and then go from there. Stranger things have happened. People talk if a hen is hurt/bleeding the others will peck at it, possibly killing it. When I had my first dog attack one of my Australorps had a big chunk taken out of her. She couldn't fly up to the roost and could barely walk. I would put her on the roost at night and take her down in the morning. I was a greenhorn at this stage of owning chickens. I put Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide on her 3x daily. The other two Australorps were with her all the time, watching over her. I never once saw any of the flock try to harm her.

Brookshire, I agree totally with you. Chickens are very personable and addictive!

Lisa

Just a little update on peroxide use... they used to recommend using peroxide on wounds all the time but they don't any longer. Wounds take longer to heal with using it due to the fizzing breaking down the scabbing. It basically keeps restarting the healing process.

I would use peroxide for the initial cleaning and then just go with bacitracin as the ointment for healing, keeping it covered as best as possible.

I just read this too:
WARNING: Any antibiotic or pain killer that ends in 'caine' or 'cane' (bactine, novacaine, lidocaine, benzocaine, etc.) can be harmful or even fatal to chickens and should NEVER be used.

 

[Brookshire11]

Congratulations!
Just a little update on peroxide use... they used to recommend using peroxide on wounds all the time but they don't any longer. Wounds take longer to heal with using it due to the fizzing breaking down the scabbing. It basically keeps restarting the healing process.

I would use peroxide for the initial cleaning and then just go with bacitracin as the ointment for healing, keeping it covered as best as possible.

Hey! You seem like you might have some info on this..
Let me start off by saying I haven't done any research as of yet, nor have my chickens needed any first aid yet (knock on wood).
But have you heard anything about a natural first aid kit for chickens? How are they with essential oils?
I imagine there are some that are harmful, as with any thing, but can they benefit from any applications?
I've only researched human use lol. But you seem really into the natural thing so I figured I'd ask!
Also! I read you went to Lowe's and got hardware cloth on clearance..you think they'd still have any? Or did you buy it out

I can't wait for you to get chickens!!

 

[TexasLisa]

Sorry to hear about all the recent losses. We experienced a couple massacres too these last couple months. We'd broken our dogs of the impulse to kill our chickens and they'd been free-roaming together in our backyard for months. Then visitors came with a little yappy dog who immediately started chasing the chickens and pulling tail feathers. Apparently seeing the joy that other dog was having was enough for our dogs to join in (or all the chickens acting like prey instead of yard ornaments triggered something). Either way we had 4 killed. When the visitor dog left I thought my dogs were going to be fine but after a couple days they did another killing spree. Down 9 chickens, with 6 left. Very, very sad about a silkie who was a proven egg setter/chick raiser. Also lost an EE roo I'd have kept because he was gorgeous.

What to do with your own beloved dogs when they're a threat?! Well they spent a week in "doggie-jail". That means their crate (they're crate trained to the crate as their bed/den) and dogs went onto the back porch with the dead chickens in the crate. The ostracization from their pack (we humans), plus the decaying stinking chicken corpses seems to have brought them back to proper behavior. We've been taking them out on leash (wife) into the yard or going off leash (me) to monitor their behavior/interaction with the chickens. I've got to do some tilling for the garden then might be able to get some stakes into the ground and throw back up some livestock panels to cross-fence the yard but I hate to do it for aesthetic reasons and the added difficulty of a gate when we're constantly criss-crossing our yard. Hoping the dogs will be good but I know they can/have been good but slipped up in the past. We luckily still have two viable silkies to raise chicks so I think full integration will wait until I have some chicks and pullets to see if the dogs will continue to show proper lack of interest. One of the silkies has gone broody so she's setting some eggs right now. If they don't hatch after 22-23 days we'll get her some day-old chicks during the night to raise.

Dang dogs. Easy to have thoughts if the dogs aren't your own but harder when the killers are part of your family structure already. I do hope we all can get our flocks back up to strength soon. To keep things (for ourselves) in perspective we just keep reminding ourselves that we started last spring with 4 hand-me-down hens and then a hand-me-down rooster (to help protect flock and instill some trepidation in our dogs). So we're kinda still ahead from last year but dang if my EE hen hadn't just laid her FIRST egg. So I have one sad lonely EE egg under my silkie in hopes of the hen's loss not being a total waste. We'll certainly get more chicks, either if this clutch of eggs doesn't hatch or when the other silkie goes broody. All 3 silkies had gone broody last year so they're all known-good moms. Just glad we still have 2 to raise eggs or chicks for us since I'm not much interested in a brooder or raising chicks by hand. I'll have my hands full with a little baby human girl arriving this June so I'm perfectly happy to leave the eggs and chick raising to the chickens.

Erik

Erik, I am so sorry about the loss of your chickens. That would do me in if my dogs did it (I don't have any dogs yet.

Congratulations on the soon-to-arrive daughter! How exciting!

Lisa

 

[ClovisMan]

I sure hope my dogs can accept the fact that these new chickens are now part of our extended family. Might have to shoot em a couple of times with the paintball gun for them to get the message. Don't be surprised if I post a pic of a rainbow colored lab. He's a little hard-headed.

My kids have this little hamster/gerbil/rat-thingie that rolls around the house in this plastic ball. Whats the first thing you think a lab puppy is gonna do when he sees a ball rolling around the house??? YEP, he wants to play with it. Well, we broke him of it and now he really pays it no attention except the other day....the thing is in the ball rolling around and bumping into the back door a few times. Django (the lab) sees this and runs over and starts scratching at the door like he needs to go outside. Finally I get irratated enough to get up and open the door for him. Once the door is open he just sits down and stares at the hamster ball waiting for it to go outside. He thought the hamster needed out....go figure.

 

[Brookshire11]

Gotta brag on my handsome guy for a minute!







The pictures really don't do him justice. He's getting some really pretty deep mahogany and black/green feathers in.
I have to admit, he wasn't my favorite as a chick. But now he's my little ringleader! I wish he could stay :/
I kinda wonder who's going to keep the girls in line after he's gone....

 

[TexasLisa]

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

 

[ClovisMan]

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

So sad, so sad. Wish you were closer. I'd give you a couple of pullets just so Lena wouldn't be alone.

 

[ClovisMan]

Gotta brag on my handsome guy for a minute!







The pictures really don't do him justice. He's getting some really pretty deep mahogany and black/green feathers in.
I have to admit, he wasn't my favorite as a chick. But now he's my little ringleader! I wish he could stay :/
I kinda wonder who's going to keep the girls in line after he's gone....

Why can't he stay? Where is he going?

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Hey! You seem like you might have some info on this..
Let me start off by saying I haven't done any research as of yet, nor have my chickens needed any first aid yet (knock on wood).
But have you heard anything about a natural first aid kit for chickens? How are they with essential oils?
I imagine there are some that are harmful, as with any thing, but can they benefit from any applications?
I've only researched human use lol. But you seem really into the natural thing so I figured I'd ask!
Also! I read you went to Lowe's and got hardware cloth on clearance..you think they'd still have any? Or did you buy it out

I can't wait for you to get chickens!!

I bought all they had of the 2' wide stuff and there was a 4' wide roll left. That was on Saturday. I'd call the Lowe's on Hwy 121 & Custer and see if they have any.
I can't wait to get chickens either!!

I have this reference for a first aid kit. Most should be natural since that is the way Lisa likes to do things.

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

Oh Lisa, I am so sorry.