The Crooked Roost: I can't stop talking about my chickens!

[TundraFang]

Here's my backyard. The blue barn is for chickens and the pink is for ducks and goats. All the chooks fly over the fences but they work well for discouraging dogs.

I have a few chickens that sleep with the ducks. They were always there at night when I went to lock up so I eventually stopped fighting them on it.

The Duck Crew, in order of rank:
Bart (Barred Plymouth Rock)
Wagon (Cornish X)
Esperanza (Blue Rosecomb Bantam)
Lighting (White Japanese Bantam)
Grace (Sapphire Olive Egger)
Mocha (Gold Duck Wing? OEGB)
Pigeon (Sapphire Olive Egger)
Argyle (Midnight Madgesty Maran)

Esperanza doesn't sleep in the duck coop but she flies over to them every morning and stays until it gets dark.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Looks warm

 

[TundraFang]

Looks warm

Yeah, 50s at the lowest right now

 

[TundraFang]

I just lost my Gold Laced Frizzle Polish, Alley Cat, to what I suspect is Marek's this morning. I also lost an unnamed Ayam Cemani chick to unknown causes overnight. I'm completely devastated. I've quarantined another three chickens that are showing symptoms but I'm afraid it's too late...

 

[TundraFang]

As if my day couldn't get any worse, a dog got into the chickens and grabbed one of my EE pullets. My Pyrenees, Griffin, saw it and started running after it but the neighbor's GSD, Major, also saw the trespassing dog and ran into my yard. Major is extremely aggressive and his owners barely have control over him so here we are, Griffin chasing the trespasser, my brother and I chasing Griffin/running for our lives, Major chasing me, and the neighbors chasing Major. Eventually the neighbors got control of Major but Griffin and the other dog had disappeared down the street. After about 30 minutes of searching and calling (Note: My brother and I are both in our pajamas) we went back home. Griffin was sitting on the front porch happily so I don't know what happened to the dog but there's no signs of blood or wounds so I think it got away. The EE was cowering in a corner so I brought her inside and gave her a bath and a dose of Penicillin. Thankfully, It's mostly just missing feathers and broken skin. She'll be staying inside until they grow back because it's getting colder outside. She's in shock right now but seems to be recovering.

 

[Sally PB]

I just lost my Gold Laced Frizzle Polish, Alley Cat, to what I suspect is Marek's this morning.

Are you sending the body in for necropsy, for a cause of death? It would be worth it to know what it died of, since you have such a large flock.

 

[TundraFang]

Are you sending the body in for necropsy, for a cause of death? It would be worth it to know what it died of, since you have such a large flock.

I didn't even think of that! I was so upset I wasn't thinking straight. I buried her and the chick under a tree away from the flock. Hopefully I don't lose anymore but if I do I'll definitely get a necropsy.

 

[Sally PB]

Hopefully I don't lose anymore but if I do I'll definitely get a necropsy.

I don't have a link, but someone has made a list of all the state labs. If you do need to do this in the future, refrigerate, but do not freeze, the body.

 

[TundraFang]

I don't have a link, but someone has made a list of all the state labs. If you do need to do this in the future, refrigerate, but do not freeze, the body.

I'll probably make a separate thread for help if I do need to send a body. Thanks for the refrigerator tip, I definitely would've frozen it

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I got a little overzealous with chicken math

The way I deal with chicken math is I ask anyone I know with chickens if they want me to hatch them some eggs. Then I get to hatch the eggs, keep the chicks for a few days to a few months and I dont have to keep them forever. When I hatched my own eggs we ended up with 3 incubator chicks and 2 TSC chicks. I though having 9 was quite a few but you have 120 so...