The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[CoopChick719]

I have killed my first chicken accidentally. I can't get it out of my head, and I feel absolutely horrible.

I had a hen with sour crop, and I have been trying to treat her.. I know, I should have made a good time line where I euthanized her, but she was still getting food through her system (pooping) but the crop was not going down as it should have been with yoghurt.

Anyway... I picked her up to massage her crop like I do every time I see her, and she started vomiting. I aspirated her lungs with the crop contents and she died right in front of me. It was 30 seconds. The crop contents were coming out every orifice.

Note.. if you have any issue with sour crop that is chronic: put them down.. If they are just starting the issue and you want to treat, BE CAREFUL how you handle them. NEVER try to get the contents out of the crop.

My poor poor girl. She was so very friendly. I cried for a good 10 minutes.

I'm so sorry for your loss, aoxa.

Scott- I'm glad to see that my dog is not the only one who likes a pillow when she naps

Went out to the coop to check on the girls & noticed Lucy had blood on her foot again. The feathers on her feet broke off again at the pin part of the feather. I pulled them out again & sprayed with blue kote. Her frost bite on her 2 toes don't look any worse. Def not as swollen as the other day. It doesn't seem to bother here if I touch them.

I noticed the nail on that toe is really really long. Has anyone ever clipped a hens nails? Do they have cuticles lie, dogs & cats do? I'd like to trim off the end at least since its so long. Thoughts?

I have clipped nails and yes, have caught the quick. I have started keeping a small dish of flour in the coop to stop bleeding. I use the same clippers I use for the dogs. The easiest time I've ever had clipping nails was after a short soak in some warm water. Of course that was this summer in sunny 80 degree weather. Would not recommend it in the type of weather we both have been having lately.

 

[aoxa]

I'm so sorry for your loss, aoxa.

I have clipped nails and yes, have caught the quick. I have started keeping a small dish of flour in the coop to stop bleeding. I use the same clippers I use for the dogs. The easiest time I've ever had clipping nails was after a short soak in some warm water. Of course that was this summer in sunny 80 degree weather. Would not recommend it in the type of weather we both have been having lately.

Chickens don't react to the quick being cut like a dog would.

It bleeds very freely.. I clip nails because I show birds.

 

[aoxa]

Del,

my first CX home bred chick

5 days old. Pretty big for 5 days!!!

 

[lalaland]

Del,

my first CX home bred chick

5 days old. Pretty big for 5 days!!!

Justine, that chick looks huge! I don't suppose you have a scale that would catch the weight?
Pretty exciting to have one of your own.

 

[aoxa]

Justine, that chick looks huge! I don't suppose you have a scale that would catch the weight?
Pretty exciting to have one of your own.

I have a food scale. I am catching chicks tonight to make an order, so I will catch it and weigh it. Today it is 8 days old.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

What would be the best and easiest thing to plant for chicken fodder? Going to to be in covered planting boxes in their run so they can't eat to the ground and scratch it up.
Having trouble deciding what would be best...

 

[delisha]

This is a 1 year old girl that was my "mystery chick" when I thought I was getting 4 SFH and ended up with one that most closely resembles a BA so that is what I refer to her as being. An early and prolific layer until molt last November. 2 of my 25 week olds are her children (BA/SFH cross).

She did the molt and has never really recovered. First just the normal "molt mope". She re-feathered very well and they are glossy and healthy looking. Comb and wattles stayed pale longer than the others that were molting. Then I noticed that she would huddle by herself a lot. She's not very high on pecking order but she's not tormented and stands up for herself....just not quite acting like herself.

I'm pretty sure there hasn't been an egg since molt. I'm watching closely. At one point she wasn't eating like normal but I've seen that during molt before. Now she scrambles for the food like everyone else and seems to have a good appetite. Comb and wattles a little redder but not totally up to par. And still not herself. I keep hoping that I'll see a difference when it warms up a bit - as in she's just not handling the weather well - but that probably won't be the case.

It might be she is just not ready too..it has been a hard winter..Make a cut off date and stick to it.

Hi everyone! New to this thread and new to chickens since 9/13. I was just reading over on the Colorado thread that a local DVM from Longmont was speaking at a Colorado Poultry Meeting and opined that organic layer feed is inadequate in calcium.

I'm a raw feeder to my 4 greyhounds since 1997 so I'm especially interested in the Cah ration which is so important in raw fed dogs.

Do you guys have any opinion on Nature Smart? According to the label, it contains a min. of 3.7% Ca, max of 4.0%.

The Layena label that I located on here said their Ca content is 3.25% to 4.25%.

Does that sound like a significant enough difference?

I've emailed the Nature Smart people and asked their opinion, too.

I've got 5 young hens and get laying numbers all over the map. Today I actually had an end-cracked egg (like a faint spider web); and day before yesterday I had one of those egg-shaped but now flat soft things that I've seen a few times over the past 6 months. I researched it and found "low calcium" can cause those. These hens were in a 27-bird coop but i always suspected it was one of these 5 as the owner of the 27 bird coop said she'd never seen one before. And here we got one this week; they've been here about a month.

So that's why I was wondering about Calcium content.

When you get miss shappen soft shells, feed back a few eggs , shells and all for a few days. If it does not stop, you need to reevaluate.
Sometimes it is quite normal in young birds.

Scott- I'm glad to see that my dog is not the only one who likes a pillow when she naps

Went out to the coop to check on the girls & noticed Lucy had blood on her foot again. The feathers on her feet broke off again at the pin part of the feather. I pulled them out again & sprayed with blue kote. Her frost bite on her 2 toes don't look any worse. Def not as swollen as the other day. It doesn't seem to bother here if I touch them.



I noticed the nail on that toe is really really long. Has anyone ever clipped a hens nails? Do they have cuticles lie, dogs & cats do? I'd like to trim off the end at least since its so long. Thoughts?

I clip nails..silkies need them clipped...My show stock is clipped.

Del,

my first CX home bred chick

5 days old. Pretty big for 5 days!!!

That is perfect!! what a cute chick..looks like a girl

What would be the best and easiest thing to plant for chicken fodder? Going to to be in covered planting boxes in their run so they can't eat to the ground and scratch it up.
Having trouble deciding what would be best...

Oregano and spinach

 

[Leahs Mom]

I know my birds LOVE kale....but they won't touch spinach

I'm also going to overseed an area with chickweed.

 

[delisha]

I know my birds LOVE kale....but they won't touch spinach

I'm also going to overseed an area with chickweed.

have you planted your own?

 

[TeaChick]

I don't know an official answer to that, just comparing it to more familiar subject.

Okay. Thank you. =)

I have a theory but I don't know for sure.

Please share it. =)