The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Mumsy]

I'm so glad she has someone like you to care for her. You are obviously doing a really good job with her.

I caught Margaret SCRATCHING yesterday. I forgot to mention that. It sent me into a fit of laughter. I am so proud of her. There was one point that I thought I had to put her down. She was only walking backwards and I was TERRIFIED. So glad I didn't. She was just learning how to get around. Now she walks really well, and scratches. That is a very good improvement. Her feet do not hurt her at all, she walks on both. Even the one that has barely anything left to stand on.



Here's her good foot.

Margaret and Dumpling hit the lottery when they got you and me as flock masters. I think of Margaret every time I look at Dumpling. Margaret remembers having normal feet and she is improvising for her new life. Wonderful! Dumpling came out of the egg with deformity. She doesn't try and scratch so much as she pushes her feet around her in a kind of motion. I watched her try to preen and scratch her ear with the worse foot, her right. She can't even come close to her head with it but she goes through all the motions of scratching. Even shaking her head afterwards. I laughed too. And then praised her effort at chicken-y behavior against all odds.

 

[aoxa]

Margaret and Dumpling hit the lottery when they got you and me as flock masters. I think of Margaret every time I look at Dumpling. Margaret remembers having normal feet and she is improvising for her new life. Wonderful! Dumpling came out of the egg with deformity. She doesn't try and scratch so much as she pushes her feet around her in a kind of motion. I watched her try to preen and scratch her ear with the worse foot, her right. She can't even come close to her head with it but she goes through all the motions of scratching. Even shaking her head afterwards. I laughed too. And then praised her effort at chicken-y behavior against all odds.

So cute! That reminds me of the scratching motion with her bad foot. She hardly moved the bedding around at all, but tried - so I threw her more treats. I felt like she deserved it.

It could be much worse. Much much worse. She could have been in the barn.. she could have lost BOTH feet. She is lucky.

I raised a silkie with a foot like Dumplings, but a little less crippled. He now has a pet home with a lovely friend that takes any of my disabled birds (that could otherwise live a happy, healthy life - but should just not be bred). He had one good foot though, so got around better than you say dumpling does. The one foot was curled and looked like a club foot.

Can she dust bathe?

 

[bruceh]

just caught up with this thread. so now i will partake.


HELLO ALL

 

[mlowen]

Welcome!! I've seen you on other threads. I think we'll enjoy having you here. I think you'll enjoy this thread, too.

 

[Eggcessive]

Howdy Bruce--we have missed you from the OT and Road Less Traveled threads. Glad you could join us.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mumsy and Aoxa so glad your chickens are better. Mumsy, another litter option for your silkie would be Sweet PDZ granules (not the powder.) It looks like white clumping kitty litter and is non-toxic to chickens. It is kind of like sand, and a 25lb. bag is about $10 at Tractor Supply (probably more where you live.)

 

[Bulldogma]

just caught up with this thread. so now i will partake.


HELLO ALL

Great to see you here!

 

[Ashdoes]

I am over run with eggs! I've got about four dozen right now, the cold weather has not slowed these girls one bit. Luckily my MIL takes a lot, especially while my husband is gone, but there has to be something I can do with them all. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe a women's shelter, or homeless shelter? But I'm not sure if they'd accept eggs that aren't certified, or whatever store bought eggs are. What does everyone do with all their extra eggs?

 

[aoxa]

I am over run with eggs! I've got about four dozen right now, the cold weather has not slowed these girls one bit. Luckily my MIL takes a lot, especially while my husband is gone, but there has to be something I can do with them all. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe a women's shelter, or homeless shelter? But I'm not sure if they'd accept eggs that aren't certified, or whatever store bought eggs are. What does everyone do with all their extra eggs?

Sell them! Put up an ad on craig's list or Kijiji.

I was sold out almost instantly. Actually within 2 hours I was...

I need some eggs soon. Good ol' Hallus will help me out. That's the 79 year old guy who got me started into chickens.

 

[hotrodflash]

I am over run with eggs! I've got about four dozen right now, the cold weather has not slowed these girls one bit. Luckily my MIL takes a lot, especially while my husband is gone, but there has to be something I can do with them all. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe a women's shelter, or homeless shelter? But I'm not sure if they'd accept eggs that aren't certified, or whatever store bought eggs are. What does everyone do with all their extra eggs?

Scrambled some up and feed them back to your girls. Check with a small local food bank and see if they will/can take them. If not check with a local church and see if they know of a family in need. My mother works at a local church sponsored food bank and someone brought them about 20-25 dozen eggs for them to give out, but most people refused them because they were not from a store. The people that work there brought them home with them. They were HUGE brown eggs and he has 80 hens so the eggs were fresh just no one wanted them. It is a shame that very few people would take his eggs.