The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

You are very welcome! Yes - a discussion had come up elsewhere and I wrote it... then I decided to post it on the thing.

You forgot to warn me about your avatar Leigh

 

[Shan30]

I am sorry for the rough spring. I can post something cheerful This handsome boy is George my 10 week old BCM. I am not allowed to have roosters but he doesn't crow yet so he is welcome to stay till then. My first time with a Roo & I could just spend hours watching him he is so pretty. Still doesn't know he is a boy but it has been fun watching him grow. I hate to give him back to Sue (Sally8) but only because he is so pretty

Thank you He sure is a handsome boy! I know it's not chicken related but one of my problems has solved itself in an unimaginable way. The boys went up the tree with harnesses and nets to try again to rescue the cat and it fell. Sixty feet to the ground and landed hard. Miraculously, he got up ran and hid under the house. We managed to get him out and he's absolutely fine. Snuggling and purring. Not a single mark on him. All bones feel fine and he doesn't flinch or anything when you poke around. A check up is in order but I can't believe it. I thought he was dead. So yay! I also picked up antibiotics for the girls and will be separating our three sample birds tonight and treating the entire flock. I hate to do it but can't let them suffer. Thanks again for the smile!

 

[aoxa]

Thank you

He sure is a handsome boy!

I know it's not chicken related but one of my problems has solved itself in an unimaginable way.
The boys went up the tree with harnesses and nets to try again to rescue the cat and it fell. Sixty feet to the ground and landed hard. Miraculously, he got up ran and hid under the house. We managed to get him out and he's absolutely fine. Snuggling and purring. Not a single mark on him. All bones feel fine and he doesn't flinch or anything when you poke around. A check up is in order but I can't believe it. I thought he was dead. So yay!

I also picked up antibiotics for the girls and will be separating our three sample birds tonight and treating the entire flock. I hate to do it but can't let them suffer.

Thanks again for the smile!

Talking about cats in a tree..

Time for a lesson story...

My cat Charlie was chased up a tree by a loose dog. He was a chunky cat. He couldn't hang on. He fell maybe 30 feet, and landed on his side. I was right there and immediately picked him up and started coddling him. "Oh poor baby". Well he was terrified and attacked my face. 22 stitches later.. and if I hadn't of closed my eyes at the moment I did, I would be blind in one eye. He clawed right through my eyelid.


I forgave him the second he did it though. I cried while waiting for the paramedics. I thought they were going to put him down. Kind of like when a dog attacks.. I knew it wasn't his fault.

So the lesson you can get from this is be prepared when you are handling a scared animal. Serious stuff can go down.

I didn't feel the pain until I was actually at the hospital. 45 minutes later. Susan called the ambulance because I couldn't open my eye and I was bleeding profusely.

 

[Shan30]

Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you were ok.

He would definetly have done some damage if we could have reached him. He's an 18lb Manx. Best farm cat ever. The raccoon was bleeding all over the deck and he doesn't have a scratch.

 

[aoxa]

Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you were ok.

He would definetly have done some damage if we could have reached him. He's an 18lb Manx. Best farm cat ever. The raccoon was bleeding all over the deck and he doesn't have a scratch.

Charlie was 25 pounds. Maine Coon. Purebred Maine Coon.

He was the most gentle cat I have ever owned. I have some videos of my Chloe's puppies jumping all over him and it is adorable.

He passed away a few years ago. Miss him still. Best cat I've ever had.

Also, your cat is awesome for fighting a raccoon. Props to him!

 

[Shan30]

Charlie was 25 pounds. Maine Coon. Purebred Maine Coon.

He was the most gentle cat I have ever owned. I have some videos of my Chloe's puppies jumping all over him and it is adorable. 

He passed away a few years ago. Miss him still. Best cat I've ever had. 

Also, your cat is awesome for fighting a raccoon. Props to him!

I like to think he was protecting the birds haha!

 

[NanaLynn]

Update on my chickens hurt a week ago by a stray dog.

My BO that could not pick up food finally can eat by herself!

She started off missing the food and I was putting wet food in her mouth each day, then a day or two later she worked up to getting small specks of food to finally today eating big mouthfuls of wet food. For the first time she has a full crop before bed. She also has for the first time ever started roosting on the high roost. Some of the leader chickens (when all my chickens were alive) would not let her up to the top roost. This is such a big improvement from being in a trance like state with no control of her mouth and tongue. We were actually considering putting her out of her misery last week, I am so glad we gave her more time to heal. She has thinned out a lot but I think she'll put on the weight again now.

Her eye is still half closed but she seems to be able to see out of both eyes. I am hoping the eye will slowly open given time. She still cannot aim correctly to grab a meal worm out of my hand so I guess full function is not there yet. Here's a few pics of her on the top roost and another of her eating.




My other hurt chicken, the BR who was bit on her back is standing more and eating and drinking. I plan to get some Blue Kote to spray on her back so the others do not pick on her, Right now she is still in the dog cage inside the coop. I have taken her outside almost everyday when was not raining and she walks more and more each day. I am hoping to put her in with the rest of the girls once I have the Blue Kote and once the weather gets better. I really do not want her wandering around with an injury while it is so muddy everywhere. So I went from 19 chickens last week to 9 in one day and slowly lost 3 more of the injured and I am now down to 6. Such a big difference in my flock size now. I am starting over and getting more chicks for the 1st of next month, so I'll slowly build the flock back up.


It is so nasty, wet and muddy here and the creek behind our house is way too high. I think were supposed to have rain for another week.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Good to hear they're doing better!

 

[lalaland]

Lynn, thats great news!

and yes, that is wayyy tooo much rain. Very familiar - even though it has been dry for a whole week, still can't kayak some of the rivers as the current is too fast and water too high. You'ld hit a boulder before you could see it.

 

[lalaland]

got to watch a mama deer stroll into my meadow off the porch ....she stood there and looked around for a very long time, and then did something with her head and lo and behold, up from the grass comes the twin fawns. She nursed them, and then they all bounded off. I knew there was a reason I wasn't mowing that meadow!