The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aaggjg]

So do you think there is progress with Nugget's eye? sometimes it is so hard to tell.

Not that I can see..... but yeah it is so hard to tell. That is why I am trying to take pictures everyday to chart the progress... or lack there of.

 

[ki4got]

Hey all does anyone have a chicken with a fear of concrete. I have a Phoenix bantam trio and when I got them they were scared of concrete stable yard floors and slab pathways, the rooster and hen have got over this after a few weeks and are walking around fine but my favourite hen is still scared of it. Who. Say scared I mean she refuses to go onto it and if I put her down on it she freezes and if I try to push her forwards she tips up like I'm pushing her of a fence and fans out her tail until the point where she tips forwards and flys into the air, she even hovers if she can't see anywhere to land at first glance. Anyone know how to get her over this

I have a horse that is. LOL then again, she escaped the stall when she was a foal, into the 'people side' of the barn, not designed for horses in and out. she slipped and slid about for who knows how long that night, and since then it's been an uphill battle. for the last 18 years now! tho that fear did save her life and that of her buddies... they got out, probably 8 years ago now, and the neighbor (whacked in head) was trying to chase them into the road, tho she knew perfectly well where they lived. nobody bothered calling or coming up... Maggie's fear of concrete (and paving, etc) kept her far from the side of the road, and the others all followed her lead (including my blind mare who was stumbling around in the woman's flower bed, mashing everything pretty...

but I digress.)

what helped Maggie (she will lead onto it but not go willingly) was scattering grain on it and letting her hoover at will. to get the grain she had to step on it. maybe something similar with your girl. give her breakfast on the concrete each morning and let her eat/cope at her own pace.

 

[ki4got]

I wish I had kids to try this out on. LOL.

I would hope to have kids like the last few. I'll start eating their candy young so they are used to it

LOL I know which kids *I* don't want to be anywhere near... tantrums? throwing things? beating on mom? if i'd done ANY of that as a kid, I wouldn't be here now, that's for sure.

besides, most years my dad did eat the majority of my candy. I got over it. LOL (and hoarded the pieces I wanted before I took it home. LOL)

 

[MargaretYakoda]

LOL I know which kids *I* don't want to be anywhere near... tantrums? throwing things? beating on mom? if i'd done ANY of that as a kid, I wouldn't be here now, that's for sure.

besides, most years my dad did eat the majority of my candy. I got over it. LOL (and hoarded the pieces I wanted before I took it home. LOL)

The tantrums I understand. I mean... their parents totally lied to them! But the kid who threw things and hit his mom? And she just laughed? Ya... NOT funny....

As for actually taking the kid's candy? Confession time here: My mom always "taxed" us, and I carried on that tradition with my son. All the butterfingers were for mom. But there was no after-the-fact stealing. The whole deal was up front. And there was usually a butterfinger or two in his stocking a couple months later, so it all worked out. LOL.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: LOL yup. fact of life... truth is, dad didn't eat MOST of it. guess my memory exaggerated a bit. LOL but I would take out my one favorite thing (Reece's) and hide it somewhere (didn't need to, but I did anyways LOL). dad got all the licorice since he was the only one that ate it, mom got the 3 musketeers. the rest went into the goodie jar for anyone/everyone to sample. no matter what my age, tantrums were never allowed. If I wanted to throw a fit I could do that in my room with the door shut. LOL usually wasn't worth it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

You know... as a kid, if someone straight-up lied to me and I was upset and hurt...and then they said they didn't do it.... It would teach me that I couldn't believe what they said in any circumstances. I would have been embarrased that I believed them and I'd learn to be suspicious every time people told me something because I wouldn't want to be duped again.

The worst part of that for me would be having been lied to. If they really had taken the candy it would have been okay as long as they told the truth about it.

 

[mlowen]

Yeah I've tried that .... She is the one chicken who does not calm down when her head is covered!!! She put up a FIGHT!!! She might be small but.....

"Though she be but little, she is fierce." -Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

 

[AletaG]

Rule number one in our house growing up. No lies. Not even those weird stories dad's for some reason like to tell. My mother would lite into dad something fierce if she thought he making stuff up.
You could refrain from saying something, keep a secret, but on NO account lie. NOT worth it!
Rule number 2 was our rooms were our own space. Even parents had to knock politely before entering. We were expected to give the same courtesy to each other, and them.
Taught us what trust looked like. I can't imagine thinking it was funny to mess with a *childs* head like that. An adult? Sure! But a kid? You are so right Leah's Mom... messes with their ability to trust anything. How can you expect them to act respectfully to anyone if you (parent, A number One in childs life) disrespect them? Never made any sense to me. Not that I have an opinion or anything...

Chickens. Added sulfur to all the dust bath niches yesterday. Have been caring for the chickens in Quar, so was leaving the main flock to DH. Had this "feeling" yesterday and checked them. Both Lav orps have bad mites and one of the Marans. <sigh> "DH, you do check them at night, right?" He: "I haven't seen anything" ?? Okay!? When I say bad, I mean BAD. Maybe we need to get his eyes checked; or install 'traffic cams' and a megaphone out there (DH! You did NOT check for mites!). Going to rotate DE, Sulf, and wood ash for the next week. Am also going to do 1g/lb dry weight sulfur to the FF. Will try to remember to update in about 10days?
-Aleta G.

 

[mlowen]

I think there should be a special place in hell for people who lie to their kids and parent so poorly! Sue, you are right about never trusting after that. Why would you want to purposely "create" messed up adults? I know my poor daughter has some "stuff" and I DIDN'T lie to her.

 

[aaggjg]

Hey guys I need help for a friend of mine.... I am pasting her emails and photos below...... Have you ever seen this??? If so what is it???

I noticed some dried blood late yesterday afternoon around her neck. I picked her up and she had this huge bulge that was bloody. Her comb is red and she is acting generally normal. But it's swollen and still bleeding a lot today. I isolated her and put a bandage on it because it wouldn't stop bleeding. I don't know if she got attacked, I didn't hear any commotion. I'm kind of baffled. I'm just mystified as to what it is. It almost looks like a giant boil. She's been pecking at it herself, so I tried to cover it so it will stop bleeding and scab over.​

I cleaned it for the third time today with iodine wash made with filtered water and put the third dose of vetericyn today. I think the bleeding has slowed down, it looks like a small golf ball with an open wound on it. It's about the size of a big cherry tomato. It's weird because it looks like an abscess or something. She had nothing on her neck yesterday morning when I was petting her. So that is really odd. I don't know If she got injured, it swelled up to a inch or two high blob and then the others were pecking the blood ? Peck wounds usually don't swell up, in my limited experience. It's almost like an instant growth. I put her little buddy in with her for the evening. She's a baby still and there's a bandage on the wound overnight to see if it helps any. There no blood visible and she's comforted by Charlie, so I'm hoping that helps her.​

The weird tumor thing is still pretty big. I was hoping the swelling would go down, but no. ​

It isn't bleeding anymore but it still looks like a giant eyeball bulging out of her neck. I'm pretty freaked out by it still. It looks pretty awful, i'm just hoping somebody has seen it before so I can figure out what to do.​

Anybody have any ideas what this could be??? Thanks!!!