The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

Finally decided to cull Mrs. Black this weekend. This is the first-ever bird I've had to cull for a health issue.

Seems to have had peritonitis with eggs backing up. Weighed about as much as an empty box. I didn't do a necropsy

The symptoms were obvious... and began passing what looked like hard-boiled egg yolk with her poohs.

I'm sorry you had to do that.
Don't be too hard on yourself, you did your first health cull. Next time you might be up for the necropsy. I am learning that even if you know the cause of death, you will learn from each necropsy, if only to start to be able to recognize better what is "normal" for various organs and other internal structures. Its a steep learning curve for me, anyway.

It is sad, even when you know you are doing the right thing.

 

[Eggcessive]

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.

Mumsy, one of the former regulars on here had a young cockerel last year that hat this. It is called subcutaneous emphysema, wind puff, or a leaking air sac. Usually it is only in one area, but Mumsy's chick blew up like a balloon all over, so she put him down. It usually occurs from trauma around the head or neck, but there are 9 air sacs all over the body, and an infection can also cause this. An 18 gauge needle can be inserted under the skin, and air can either be squeezed out by pushing on the skin, or it can be withdrawn with a syringe. It frequently reaccumulates, but sometimes the leak will seal off by itself. Also if it is a small leak it can reabsorb on it's own without the needle. I would wonder if falling in the bucket into the water caused this, but I wouldn't know why. Sorry about your hen. Here are a couple of links if you care to read them: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/223/subcutaneous-emphysema
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/171121/deflating-subcutaneous-emphysema

 

[lalaland]

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.

and now I am extra excited because she pm'd me that she would hold the sulmtaler rooster for me til I can deal with the new coop/quarantine place etc in mid May. Said she would let me know if something came up that she couldn't hold anymore. keeping my fingers crossed.

Funny, too, because I've more or less decided Booster has to go. He attacked me for the first time in the new run - I was moving in a food dish and he usually just moves away from it, but he went for my hand and got me good. I hate hate hate having to cull him. I will probably wait til the new rooster comes or is about to come. ANd leah's mom, I'll have to practice what I am preaching and do a learning necropsy on him. I think dreading it is worse than the actual process, based on culling all the extra roosters this past fall.

 

[armorfirelady]

I found this link for a natural coop refresher spray. I have used lavender in water to spray in the coop but I like this idea as well. Its dual purpose.
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/lavender-mint-coop-refresh-spray/?blogger=lsteele

Leahs Mom it reminds me of the orange vinegar spray recipe you shared. Thats all I use now to clean my house. I love the smell

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: lala... since he isn't sick, could you just go ahead and process him and use him for soup? That way you'd get to see everything but you'd also have the meat. Or for your dog if you have one...

 

[Leahs Mom]

I found this link for a natural coop refresher spray. I have used lavender in water to spray in the coop but I like this idea as well. Its dual purpose.
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/lavender-mint-coop-refresh-spray/?blogger=lsteele

Leahs Mom it reminds me of the orange vinegar spray recipe you shared. Thats all I use now to clean my house. I love the smell

Yes! You can use that vinegar base for so many things. The only think I ever won was a cc of the author's book so I have that recipe in her book. I've always wondered what it would smell like with the vodka rather than the vinegar... (I've never liked alcohol so I have never smelled vodka before... probably more expensive than the vinegar too )

 

[Leahs Mom]

Oh...and when it's winter and you don't have fresh herbs you can just add a few drops of the essential oils to the base which makes things really quick...

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: Vodka does not smell bad but the vinegar is definitely cheaper

Oh...and when it's winter and you don't have fresh herbs you can just add a few drops of the essential oils to the base which makes things really quick...

I only have a few essential oils and lavender is one of them so that's why I used it in the coop. I put some lavender in my hand cream and use it as a bug repellent

 

[Lous Eggmoble]

I keep the coop clean even in our hard winters. I try to keep about 6 inches of pine shavings on the floor. Sometimes I use oat straw as well. The hens love to scratch and dig, plus they dust in the shavings something they can't do outside with the ground frozen and the snow.

 

[CoopChick719]

cute NN Me too I have more hatching.. Hows this for too cute?

Too cute! I would have a hard time leaving her in the barn!! Yes my aunt & mother thought they were hysterical with this gnome!! I made the mistake of telling my family that I didn't like creepy looking gnomes. I'm getting all kinds of gnome stuff from them now. And hiding them everywhere.

I am wondering if the radio thing out on the range somewhere (protected from the weather, of course) would have any effect on hawks?

Not sure..,maybe...are hawks deterred more by noise or visual?

Finally decided to cull Mrs. Black this weekend. This is the first-ever bird I've had to cull for a health issue. Seems to have had peritonitis with eggs backing up. Weighed about as much as an empty box. I didn't do a necropsy The symptoms were obvious... and began passing what looked like hard-boiled egg yolk with her poohs.

Oh no!! I've got one that's been doing that. I thought maybe she had just started laying and was trying regulate her situation.