The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[jockeyeba]

I think I wrote the wrong hatch day on my calander. First Johnny baby pipped, zipped, and EXPLODED out of the shell. Alert and eyes wide open. This baby sat there and stared at me for the longest time. Really cool. Then husband turned on the vacuum (yep, he vacuums for me) The chick did a back flip at the noise! Look at the big peepers on this cheeper! Named it Flip.

So happy for you

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
That is my guess too

 

[lalaland]

Quote:

You're looking for a product with ichthammol in it. "Prid" is one brand that you can find at Walmart in a little round orange tin, it sells for about $3. Also available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Squire-Ichthammol-Drawing-Salve/dp/B000HHQ67W and I think CVS also carries it. I have used the Prid (on myself and other family members) and the stuff really WORKS.

You can find it in feed stores too, maybe 6 or 7 bucks for 12 or so ounces, too - look in the horse section. It is usually in a carrier base of lanolin or petroleum jelly - think that would be basically a lifetime supply .

 

[lalaland]

leahsmom, here's a link that was posted before but I forget by who: http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Ichthammol_Ointment

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:

leahsmom, here's a link that was posted before but I forget by who: http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Ichthammol_Ointment

Thanks to both of you for the links!



Mumsy...what a adorable grandbaby!

 

[Bulldogma]

Also, just letting you know that I am butchering my first 5 roosters tomorrow - wish me luck! I'm nervous but I will be so proud of myself when I am done. So I'll probably go from this

to this

Congratulations! You're going to do just fine!

HAH! I'm telling him this! He will laugh!

Grandson and family just left the island. What a blessedly fun day!

The bantam RIR chicks are so tame they climb onto my hand to be toted around. Grandbaby saw them hatch two months ago. He is meeting them again for the first time in the barn.

Hatch update. Four Phoebe chicks out. Two pipped left.
Edith eggs in the cage. The probe temp is reading three degrees cooler in the cage. Two eggs pipped. No progress with them.

The four chicks that are out are robust, active, LOUD, good sized, and beautiful.

Humidity jumped from 63% with the hatch of the first chick to 78% with the hatch of the fourth chick. Still air temp steady at 101 degrees. Probe temp reading ranges from 101 to 98 degrees in separate areas of the bator. I have not opened the bator at all. Everybody in there is on their own from now until activity ceases.

Judy the 1/2 Orp 1/2 Ameracauna laid an egg while Grandson was visiting. His first experience collecting an egg had him so excited! He brought it into the house and introduced the egg to his favorite toy T Rex dinosaur.

My heart melted.

What a great update, Mumsy! Your grandson is adorable!

 

[Melabella]

MB I might have missed it in all of these posts but how did/are you faring with the bad weather? A lot of snow?

Thanks for asking jockeyba! This give you an idea of what i am going to be doing this afternoon?
urg....The winds were so awful, it blew so much snow into the tiny cracks in the coop, it's amazing how much snow can get through a pin hole, or where the nest box cover was. I am going to have to completely empty their coop and put fresh bedding in. Temps supposed to rise to 40 tomorrow, and dip to freezing at night, I am sure that is going to create an awful lot of unwanted moisture in their coop. I also took an incredibly nasty fall on my kitchen floor of all places. Kids took off their snow bootsnear the garage door, and I didn't see a wet spot on the tile. **** Crocs aren't safe either, I keep meaning to throw them in the garbage. LLBean stopped making my very favorite house slippers, and I've been using Crocs in house. I truly thought I broke my hip the first few seconds, the pain was searing. I'm no doctor,,but am fairly sure I pulled my hamstring. I did that running track in high school, and I remember the pain till this day...it's back. GRRrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

MB

 

[Mumsy]

What a great update, Mumsy! Your grandson is adorable!

Thank you BDM and others for the kind words about this hatch. I opened the bator for the first time a couple hours ago. Six rambunctious Johnny babies climbing all over everything! Two had even managed to climb into the cage with the Edith eggs! It was like a romper room in there!

Opening the bator messed up the humidity. It dropped to 50% from 70%. One Edith egg was pipped last night but no chirping, further zipping, or movement this morning. I wrapped it in a damp warm cloth and put a drop of saline solution on the pip and zipped the shell top half way. Chick was shrink wrapped but alive. Placed it back in the bator upright in the cloth in a cup. It is now chirping.

100% hatch on the Phoebe eggs. One egg out of four still alive it seems of the Edith. The Phoebe chicks are beautiful. All the same size and coloring. All active.
The Edith eggs were smaller and have very dense shells.
Edith is laying funky eggs lately. She started out good but her eggs are now deteriorating in quality. All ten eggs in this batch are the first eggs both hens laid in that first week.

About writing the wrong hatch day on my calendar? I made a beginner mistake. I set the eggs and counted that day then counted ahead to the 21st day. When no eggs were pipping and I heard no sound from them on the 21st day, I thought it was a failed hatch. Good thing I like to keep notes. I still need my Still Air LG. Two working incubators is not a bad thing to have.

Grandbaby gave me a name for a chick. I called the last one hatched 'Rex'. After his favorite toy.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Well...I still don't know about the blood on the roosts. Your suggestions about a bleeding comb are a good thought. I know that there is a bit of scuffling in there with the broody mom on the watch - not to mention Atilla the Black who grabs anyone that goes by from time to time.


But since I found the bad feet on one of the girls, I decided to try the least invasive bumblefoot fix to see if that will take care of it. One of the feet is just swollen without the dark center. Made me think of Aoxa's chicken with the frost bite. Not sure what I'm dealing with there, but treated it the same.

So...some photos!

Some Epsome salt for soaking; Vet Wrap was 3" wide so I cut it into 3 thinner strips; and a piece of regular bandage gauze. Also had NuStock but it didn't get in the photo. I chose black vetwrap thinking it would blend in and not draw attention of the others to peck at. However... when I first put her back, Big Red went right over and gave her foot a peck.

First, the spa. Soaking in epsom salt. I have to say that I really don't think she appreciated it! Please note that she looks pretty scruffy because she's right in the middle of molting.



Dried w/a hair drier on low. Had her head covered w/a towel so she would be calmer. Here - taking a peak out! (Check out that old striped towel from my dad's "rag towel" collection.)



Left foot - Looks like bumblefoot?



Right foot: Just very swollen.



Put some nustock on the foot.


Then placed a small piece of gauze over to keep the NuStock on.



Then wrapped it up w/the vetwrap strip I cut to keep it all in place.







Here she is showing off her new shoes.

Lovely work... this will soften the scab but not remove the infection. You most likely will have to remove the scab and pull the infection capsul out and then follow up with disinfecting and wrapping. I have done a few. Sooner you do it the sooner she will heal and stop the spreading.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote: I'll be looking forward to your photos. I keep coconut oil all the time. I really like using it for many things.

I was hoping to find some kind of a drawing salve if needed to bring any infection to a head. Didn't someone recommend one sometime? I just don't remember what it was.

I hope you're right on the kiddos. Would be nice to have 3 females!
The staf infection is incapsulated and you really have to remove the capsul to get the infection which is very thick, out. It does not come to a head like a boil would. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/236649/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to