The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

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I've also read to use saline if you are trying to clean out egg shell. But in either case, it was very clear that you should be really gentle with the squirting so as not to move any small pieces of broken shell up higher into the tract.

Giving some liquid calcium by mouth may also help in some circumstances.

 

[armorfirelady]

Lalala maybe spring will arrive sooner Than later. I've been itching to put up the electric netting but alas the side yard is still snow covered :/ I'm hopeful tho !!

LM sorry to hear about mrs black but I am sure it was for the best.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Lalala maybe spring will arrive sooner Than later. I've been itching to put up the electric netting but alas the side yard is still snow covered

I'm hopeful tho !!

LM sorry to hear about mrs black but I am sure it was for the best.

Thanks. Mrs. Black was the Mystery Chick that got into my batch of SFH in Dec. of 2012. She laid early/young and prolifically, and it seems that those that do often have reproductive issues.

2 of my kiddos that hatched over Labor Day weekend 2013 are her kids with a SFH dad. I hope the mix helps them to be more healthy than their mamma through the "hybrid vigor". I think they were 21 weeks when they started laying. I'll have to check my calendar to see.

These 2 are her kiddos about 3 weeks ago. (Heckle and Jeckyl...okay, I don't really call them that.)



And...
Around here I'd have to drill through frozen ground to get the darned net posts in...if I could find the ground under all the snow.

 

[Shan30]

Have a question, I have a rooster that got into a fight with one of my others and now has an extremely swollen eye, I have been cleaning it up and applying ointment. Not sure if he still has an eye left anymore. Is there anything special I may need to do for him ? Has anyone been through this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Please and thank you!!!

I had a similar situation with a hen that survived a hawk attack. I used an antibiotic eye ointment applied twice a day for about two and a half weeks. I knew the eye was badly damaged and used the antibiotics to ward off infection until it came out on its own. She started scratching at it after about a week and a half and about a week later I came home and it was gone. As soon as the eye was removed she was far more comfortable. I did also separate her with two very young pullets and a gentle bantam rooster and gave them the garden to themselves.

 

[Kassaundra]

ok... here's an oddity I've never seen before (or heard of?)

found one of the sfh youngsters (about 4 months old) today, looks like she went for a dunk in the water bucket, which has a layer of slush on top from the recent ice/sleet storm...

I picked her up to bring her in and thaw (the cat also went for a dunk today in the horse trough and I can't catch him!), and she feels like a balloon! she's entirely filled with air, everywhere. air sacs I guess?

she's a bit lethargic but I couldn't tell if that was related to the dunking or not, and is breathing open mouth a little, but i don't hear any sort of gurgling or anything to indicate she inhaled any water.

she's in a tote, downstairs, to thaw out, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen/heard of a bird filling up with air? it's like someone inflated her entire skin. everything but her head legs back and wings.

I caponize chicks and that sometimes happens after the procedure. You need to release the air, that is what is causing her a hard time to breathe. You need to take a scalpel or a needle and puncture the skin, the air will release w/ a swish. You may have to do gentle pushing of air towards the hole in the skin, especially from the legs or other side. You may have to repeat every day or two until it heals enough to stop.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
@Kassaundra

What causes this?

 

[Shan30]

I was under the impression that there had to be damage (small puncture or tear) somewhere in the respiratory system...?

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
@Kassaundra

What causes this?
A leak in the ventilatory system. Usually from trauma, but could be from illness, like a bleb in the lung tissue that breaks.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Quote: Okay thanks.

 

[jime]

ok... here's an oddity I've never seen before (or heard of?)

found one of the sfh youngsters (about 4 months old) today, looks like she went for a dunk in the water bucket, which has a layer of slush on top from the recent ice/sleet storm...

I picked her up to bring her in and thaw (the cat also went for a dunk today in the horse trough and I can't catch him!), and she feels like a balloon! she's entirely filled with air, everywhere. air sacs I guess?

she's a bit lethargic but I couldn't tell if that was related to the dunking or not, and is breathing open mouth a little, but i don't hear any sort of gurgling or anything to indicate she inhaled any water.

she's in a tote, downstairs, to thaw out, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen/heard of a bird filling up with air? it's like someone inflated her entire skin. everything but her head legs back and wings.

I am not expert but I did have one like that sadly she did not make it pass the 5 days.
I have to release the air about three times a day (lots of holes in her) but by the hour she was full again and was like a ballon.She was eating and drinking fine but the breathing was hard.
Once you make the holes you will need to push the air out it almost seems as there is lots of channels in my case the air did not just came out, I have to massage and work it out.
Mine die because I did put her out (no air on her) but by the morning she was even bigger and dead.
Good luck with this, hope you have better luck.
Mine got cause by my dog grabbing on her.