The Front Porch Swing

[Beekissed]

........cockeral that got chicken guts stuck in his crop....

Is giving me some strange visions!

It was his first day out on forage and that bird had never free ranged before. I just happened to be processing his cell mates that day and so he and another cockerel I had turned loose with the flock to gain weight(the now infamous BUD) were scavenging the gut piles. That one that had to be killed had consumed the trachea and some intestines that were too long and tough to advance into the gizzard...I think the meat then grew botulism. He started showing neurological symptoms and had a fever, flies were blowing his body and he stunk like he was rotten...I milked his crop and brown, stinky fluid and those stringy guts came out. I then put him out of his misery.

The other cockerel, BUD, had scavenged the gut pile also but apparently hadn't eaten anything of that nature because he was hale and hardy.

Hi Bee... Thanks for your input. At this point since it has been going on for awhile I may just cull them today and be some with it. I hate the thought of it because they're still laying but I really don't see much, if any improvement. I'm sitting in the same room as both birds now and the RIR is rattling when she breaths and the BS, although no rattle, has that clear nasal discharge atm. I may take them this afternoon and do the cull.

I'm sorry.

I'll be praying that it stops with these two birds.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Got to tell you guys a Jake story. The other day when I killed Fanny he stayed far away and was giving me "the look". He paced and was agitated, finally went and laid down at a distance. Her carcass was thrown over in the usual spot in the woods...he immediately went and examined her. Today he has moved her carcass to near the coop and has laid next to it all day...he is still laying there as I type this. Occasionally he'll stand up and sniff or nudge her, then lay back down.

It's funny because all the cheap meat rooster's carcasses he has systematically brought them into his "den" this winter and slowly gnawed on their parts until only the feathers and bits remain. He had brought Toby's carcass in to his den and didn't touch it. Would just lay next to it each day. I finally had to take it away and burn it. We cleaned out our burn barrel the other day and disposed of the ashes and things that didn't burn well over in the appropriate space in the woods. The next day I went out and there was Toby's crispy carcass in the yard...Jake had brought him back, right where Fanny is lying right now. Up by the coop, where Jake apparently feels they belong.

He won't eat one of his own chickens but he will continue to guard them, long after death. Now, tell me that mutts can't be livestock guardian dogs because they don't "bond with the flock".

I put Toby back in the burn barrel to see if I can this time reduce him to something that Jake no longer feels needs to be back in the flock.

This actually breaks my heart. I'll try to tell myself he is doing his job of guarding, but not mourning, your birds. That will make me feel better.

Dogs are awesome. <3 Toby!

 

[enola]

I also hope your hens recover.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'm behind, and so many things I want to respond to, but I'm supposed to be doing research and office reorganization today.

The "party" I went to yesterday was very small and low-key and had great food, so I survived. There was a 91 yo woman there who had grown up on a farm in ND where they raised meat birds and egg layers (brown eggs) ... her daughter was the hostess of the party. They told me all about what they could remember of poultry stuff from their childhoods, and asked me tons of questions about what I'm doing with my birds. They were so curious! They really appreciate getting Farm Fresh eggs, and think the green/blue eggs are cool!

When I got home two cats and one dog climbed on me for a comfort cuddle. It's nice to be missed.

We ate:
Bastilla*
Buttered baby Carrots
Huge Greek-style salad
Dark-chocolate Lava cupcakes served hot w/vanilla ice cream

* Bastilla is a Moroccan Chicken & Egg Philo Dough Pie, cooked with saffron, almonds, orange flower water, and sprinkled with cinnamon & powdered sugar. It reminded me of the flavor of Pad Thai ... totally delicious! I'd never had it before, or even heard of it.

Here is a link to a recipe if you're interested in trying it ... though I was told it requires a lot of time and effort ... but it uses a whole chicken and lots of eggs and can be prepped and then frozen to cook later ... http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ChickenBastilla.htm

 

[Beekissed]

This actually breaks my heart. I'll try to tell myself he is doing his job of guarding, but not mourning, your birds. That will make me feel better.

Dogs are awesome. <3 Toby!

He's just really sensitive. He is the first dog I've ever had like this. He doesn't have the capacity to reason out death and the whys and wherefors. I think it has a lot to do with a high pack mentality and just a heightened sensitivity towards pack changes. He's not a pack leader or second in command, so it probably makes him more agitated when a pack member is gone because it makes him feel insecure about his own status. The chickens are part of his pack, as were the sheep when we had them.

It does sort of make me sad that he feels that way but I can't change Jake...he is a strange sort of dog. I think that's why I like him because he's like me in a way...we both feel things deeply, though from a different perspective.

I'm behind, and so many things I want to respond to, but I'm supposed to be doing research and office reorganization today.

The "party" I went to yesterday was very small and low-key and had great food, so I survived. There was a 91 yo woman there who had grown up on a farm in ND where they raised meat birds and egg layers (brown eggs) ... her daughter was the hostess of the party. They told me all about what they could remember of poultry stuff from their childhoods, and asked me tons of questions about what I'm doing with my birds. They were so curious! They really appreciate getting Farm Fresh eggs, and think the green/blue eggs are cool!

When I got home two cats and one dog climbed on me for a comfort cuddle. It's nice to be missed.

We ate:
Bastilla*
Buttered baby Carrots
Huge Greek-style salad
Dark-chocolate Lava cupcakes served hot w/vanilla ice cream

* Bastilla is a Moroccan Chicken & Egg Philo Dough Pie, cooked with saffron, almonds, orange flower water, and sprinkled with cinnamon & powdered sugar. It reminded me of the flavor of Pad Thai ... totally delicious! I'd never had it before, or even heard of it.

Here is a link to a recipe if you're interested in trying it ... though I was told it requires a lot of time and effort ... but it uses a whole chicken and lots of eggs and can be prepped and then frozen to cook later ... http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ChickenBastilla.htm

I wish I had went to YOUR party.....

Mine had some tasty but cheapo junk food of pizza, wings, chips, dip, cake, ice cream, soda and punch. No imagination or anything particularly yummy. It had a lot of tension, I found out my soon to be new grand baby might have a cleft palate(judging from the ultrasound pics) and no one wanted to talk about chickens. It did have some comedic moments but overall I was glad to go home.

All that food sounds positively YUM!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

  It was his first day out on forage and that bird had never free ranged before.  I just happened to be processing his cell mates that day and so he and another cockerel I had turned loose with the flock to gain weight(the now infamous BUD) were scavenging the gut piles.  That one that had to be killed had consumed the trachea and some intestines that were too long and tough to advance into the gizzard...I think the meat then grew botulism.  He started showing neurological symptoms and had a fever, flies were blowing his body and he stunk like he was rotten...I milked his crop and brown, stinky fluid and those stringy guts came out.  I then put him out of his misery.

The other cockerel, BUD, had scavenged the gut pile also but apparently hadn't eaten anything of that nature because he was hale and hardy. 


I'm sorry.    I'll be praying that it stops with these two birds. 

Done the deed . Hopefully there will be no others that develop this.

 

[Beekissed]

Done the deed

. Hopefully there will be no others that develop this.

I'm sorry.

 

[TexasLisa]

Done the deed

. Hopefully there will be no others that develop this.

I am sorry you had to do this. I will be praying the rest of your flock is okay.

He's just really sensitive. He is the first dog I've ever had like this. He doesn't have the capacity to reason out death and the whys and wherefors. I think it has a lot to do with a high pack mentality and just a heightened sensitivity towards pack changes. He's not a pack leader or second in command, so it probably makes him more agitated when a pack member is gone because it makes him feel insecure about his own status. The chickens are part of his pack, as were the sheep when we had them.

It does sort of make me sad that he feels that way but I can't change Jake...he is a strange sort of dog. I think that's why I like him because he's like me in a way...we both feel things deeply, though from a different perspective.

I wish I had went to YOUR party.....

Mine had some tasty but cheapo junk food of pizza, wings, chips, dip, cake, ice cream, soda and punch. No imagination or anything particularly yummy. It had a lot of tension, I found out my soon to be new grand baby might have a cleft palate(judging from the ultrasound pics) and no one wanted to talk about chickens. It did have some comedic moments but overall I was glad to go home.

All that food sounds positively YUM!

Bee, I am praying for your grand child.

Lisa

 

[ilovemysilkie]

May I join?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Well, she is stumbling around because the side of her head is swollen. I think maybe that beast's tooth might have gone into her ear. She is still a bit dazed but a lot more alert. Still not really ready to be out with the others... she looks vacant, and like she's forgotten that she's a chicken. Not eating. So, I brought her back in and sat down with her with some food in a measuring cup and a spoonful of yogurt. She ate the yogurt first... slowly... so slowly. She has eaten some of the fermented feed. I gave her some that I started last night for the whole flock. Lots of yogurt with warm water mixed into some pelleted feed to make a plain mash and no seeds of any sort in that meal... stress relief. I stitched up the hole in the top of her head. Thankfully, it was only in the skin and the muscle beneath didn't get torn.

I left her in the chair, wrapped up in the towel with the food cup in front of her. I couldn't bear to sit there any longer. At least now, she has eaten something today.