Texas

[TXziarno]

Oh, and they've grown so much in such little time!! They have feathers and their bodies look like little hens but their bodies look like pollitas...funny looking

 

[harley1975]

Good day my fellow friends who are loves and adored by out feathered friens... anyone have any suggesting  about keeping pollitas (spanish) cool in 80+ degrees weather....at night it's in the 50's and they stay in the coop under the heat lams, quite comfortable... they actually look quite comfortable in the day, is that because they are so young? Also, i make sure they have chick meal all day long and have been supplementing with chicken scratch, they really go for it....it is aproppiate to feed them all day long?? They also love mushed banana...a little treat only once in a while ... Thank you all!

Welcome to the Texas forum watch out these people will not talk you out of getting more chickens.

 

[orumpoultry]

I was a bad mommy today. I over did it out in the yard, didn't realize I got to hot until I fainted. I was clearing fence line for the runs. Got about 300ft done... Did I mention I hate Yaupon? DF has me sitting on the couch with a cold rag, water, and a fan on me. Told me not to go back outside today. He even did the dishes... I must of looked bad. :-/

I was only out there for three or four hours in that hot sun, normally I can do it all day. Guess I was more tired than I realized after shopping this morning? :shrug

The babies spent some time outside too. They followed me down the fence as I got it stretched and up in a little portable chick-letter-outer-thingy I made out of the puppy play pen. Haha.

Guess I have to sit back and do nothing this evening. I'm not even allowed to go put the horses up. He says its not gonna hurt to let them graze in the rain, yeah right!! They'll tear the pasture up!

I need a beer. Maybe this Dr pepper will hold me over instead?

Did I mention Lyle is a ginormous rooster?! He's as tall as my wheel barrow....

 

[orumpoultry]

Welcome to the Texas forum watch out these people will not talk you out of getting more chickens.

LIES. You're perfectly capable not BUYING those adorable fluffy butts...

As for keeping them cool? Ice water in a shallow pan has always worked well for my guys.

 

[A1momof3]

Finally got my Orpington chicks!!! Mostly blacks with one blue and one other possible blue!! Cant believe how big they are and they hatched on the 23!! Im gonna have to get a bigger brooder ><"

They are adorable!!

I was a bad mommy today. I over did it out in the yard, didn't realize I got to hot until I fainted. I was clearing fence line for the runs. Got about 300ft done... Did I mention I hate Yaupon? DF has me sitting on the couch with a cold rag, water, and a fan on me. Told me not to go back outside today. He even did the dishes... I must of looked bad. :-/

I was only out there for three or four hours in that hot sun, normally I can do it all day. Guess I was more tired than I realized after shopping this morning? :shrug

The babies spent some time outside too. They followed me down the fence as I got it stretched and up in a little portable chick-letter-outer-thingy I made out of the puppy play pen. Haha.

Guess I have to sit back and do nothing this evening. I'm not even allowed to go put the horses up. He says its not gonna hurt to let them graze in the rain, yeah right!! They'll tear the pasture up!

I need a beer. Maybe this Dr pepper will hold me over instead?





Did I mention Lyle is a ginormous rooster?! He's as tall as my wheel barrow....

Hey, you better take it easy Missy!! And No beer for you unless it has root in front of it! lol

 

[AussieGirl]

Ooooooh...where'd you get them from?

Diamond T Poultry out in Seguin! Nice gentleman too,really knows his chickens. http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/4321598962.html Had to be careful though,we would had talked about chickens for hours on end and then Id never get my chickies home ><"

 

[A1momof3]

No, I don't think chickens haven't gotten weaker. I didn't cull when she first got sick and I didn't let her die. If I hadn't taken them to the vet they would most certainly have died in February when their crop was a mass of putrid, rotting hay. For three days every morning I went into the garage expecting one or both birds to be dead. They were skin and bones.

Because I took them to an avian vet, I was able to effectively treat the blockage.

They might never have had a blockage if any of the following hadn't have happened:

1) I gave them antibiotics which probably upset the balance of their flora in their crop. Why did they get antibiotics? I'm telling you these health issues with these two Ameraucana hens is a whole cascade of things. They got antibiotics because a new bird I bought coughed when I opened the shipping box (not uncommon from lack of ventilation during shipping). Two days later we had that wicked cold front with bitter temps and 35mph winds from the north so I closed up the coop too tightly and a few of my chickens coughed the next day. Was it disease from the new bird that was in quarantine, or from poor ventilation? I didn't take chances and put everyone on antibiotics for five days.

2) I separated them from the free range flock (and cockerels) to get them into show condition for the two shows I went to in March. They were not happy to be in the bare garden so ate hay in their coop and blocked their crop, causing a compost heap in their crop.

3) They were put on Nystatin, an anti fungal since the antibiotics needed to be given in very sweet water setting up the perfect environment for a yeast overgrowth.

4) Once the crop was mostly unblocked and sweet smelling, the Nystatin didn't deal with the gassy crop so we tried another tact--acidify the crop with apple cider vinegar in the water. I think that made the crop more gassy. I believe whatever organisms had made her crop gassy were acid loving ones, so I just made it all worse. Of course, when you are doing a treatment (under vet's instructions) you have to give it time to work.

5) That didn't do anything and in fact made everything worse--poor hen would sit on my lap while she tried to burp it out--and she aspirated on some crop contents that came up with the gas.

6) Now we tried a different tact, again, and took away the acid environment and the crop returned to normal. She also is getting antibiotic treatment to try to prevent aspiration pneumonia, a huge risk for her after she aspirated some of her crop contents.

So, how much of all my health problems with this poor sweet little hen were 100% caused by me?

I think this hen is as tough as nails to still be alive to be honest.

You are very good with your birds. I don't know any of that stuff. I feel like a brand new mom all over again. As a matter of a fact I have one that I have tagged that has had trouble pooping. I have had to help her 4 times now. 3 day in a row and then nothing for a couple of day but then again to night. Her bottom just bulges out and the poo is right there with a little bit of white on it, but I think that is normal, the white part?? Anyway it seems like it is to firm for her to poop out. Not soft like all the rest of them. So that's what I started giving them the grass and cabbage and strawberries, things that have more water to them but she had to have help again tonight. I guess if I had left her alone she would have done it on her own but I was worried and it looked painful. What do I do for her??

 

[hungnguyen]

The last team of the Big 12 is about to take the floor but I am afraid this is a Little 1.

Are you watching, Hens? or you wait till tomorrow to see Baylor Big Mamas?

 

[texasmomma]

The last team of the Big 12 is about to take the floor but I am afraid this is a Little 1.

Are you watching, Hens? or you wait till tomorrow to see Baylor Big Mamas?

Hubby is out of town, watching. I would be watching, but we don't have tv. That last team from the Big 12 is dh's and my alma mater!

 

[lovingmyhens]

Oh! Lovingmyhens, I emailed a lady who runs a little hobby ranch about the BCMs. And she only has chicks :/ She said she had a waiting list for pullets but wasn't sure how long it was.

Gosh that seems to be case everywhere! I just can't do chicks. I don't have the time or the patience. Ugh but I do want a BCM. HMM