The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Lacy Blues]

Yes Ron, she is inside the house. When I clean the wounds, she gets a bit wet as I am using very warm salty water sprayed into the wounds with a good spray bottle. It cleans them well. I dry her with a paper towel to where she is just damp. I don't have time to blow dry her feathers twice a day. The box she is in has a heating pad underneath plus a low wattage light above so she has warmth and she dries fairly quickly. I've tried putting antibiotic ointment on them... didn't work very well. I've finished up with putting a coating of iodine on it. The past several days I've been opening a capsule of Vit E and spreading the contents on there and then giving her the rest of the capsule internally. This has showed the best results. The one lesion was quite a bit deeper than the one that seems to be spreading. Keeping it clean it is finally starting to close up... I'm not letting it close at the top but making it close from the bottom. Another day or two with that one and I think it will be good. The other one is really only at the surface.

I don't know if it is recluse bites or not. Just looking at the skin made me think of some of the pictures I've seen. It could be black widow maybe. Or what I thought originally was that some mice were chewing on her at night on the perch. We have some pretty vicious mice around here. I've seen where they've eaten all the soft ends off of some of my birds.

Actually, we had another bird of the same breed in another pen in the same area as this one that developed a problem something like this last year. We just culled that one. This one is one of my favorites in the pen and so I'm trying to see if I can't get her though it.

I don't know if y'all would like to see pictures or not. It's pretty gross but its better than it was.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thank you hennible. I will copy that info into a document to keep in my files.

 

[RedRidge]

Now that I think about it, I haven't read much about long-term flock planning and management.  I'll have to look for some articles.

Does anyone want to share their methods?

I'd recommend any articles or posts Bob Blosl has written. He passed away last year but has many great posts over on the large fowl page and on the Heritage Rhode Island Red Site. Lots of old discussions about everything from vigor to fertility to how to set up breeding pens and choose and rotate breeders.

 

[RedRidge]

I'll also add... One of the biggest things I learned from Bob (and Gary, my mentor) is cooperation. A good long term breeding plan really needs to run 4 breeding pens each year and hatch hundreds of chicks. Breeding 4 trios means at least 8 quality cocks (a breeder and a backup for each line), and at least 12-16 hens. It can get out of control real quick.
So... finding someone who has the same breeding goals as you can reduce your overhead by half. You each only run two breeding pens and rotate cocks each year. Much more economical for those wanting to keep their lines closed but not having the ability (either financially or space wise) to keep enough quality breeding stock for 4 pens.
I have 2 breeds and run 4 pens on one breed (because no one else has anything like them), but only two pens of HRIR because I get help from my mentor for new cocks periodically. Ideally I'd like to find someone closer to me who has as much interest in either breed as I do, but until then I just keep building breeding pens and cockerel pens and eating a LOT of chicken.
For as much as I breed I haven't developed a reputation in either breed so rather than spin my wheels and spend time and money selling stock I simply cull 95%. Some of the top breeders in the country have the same problem. Gary told me at one point last year he put half a dozen cockerels in the freezer who could have been in the running for national champion. But the market just isn't there for these dual purpose standard bred birds. And since he's bred many National champs over the years, he should know.

So, buddy up and share the stock. It'll help perpetuate certain lines and prevent the financial and space burden from squeezing people out of poultry breeding.

As a side note I bit the bullet after a judge stopped by and handled all my birds last week. I entered my first show. I have no clue what I'm doing and of course entered the biggest show of the year, but hey... If you're gonna do it, may as well jump in with both feet. Regardless of placements I will learn a ton. And more importantly get another set of eyes and hands on my birds to help me determine their strengths and weaknesses. My family is convinced I've lost my mind. But since when has that slowed me down. ;-)

 

[RedRidge]

And... wordy today aren't I? LOL
Finding a partner is not all that easy. It's a relationship that develops over time. Sell someone some nice birds and see how they do breeding them and culling them for a few years. It's a mutual friendship with mutual goals.

 

[lalaland]

lacyblue, you can make nustock by using garden sulphur. I have no idea if the garden centers in your region are open, in Minnesota they are primarily closed. If you find the sulphur, look to be sure it is 100% pure. You could then mix a paste with the sulphur powder and a carrier oil - or you could simply sprinkle the sulphur in the wound.

I've ordered pure sulphur off the internet and keep a jar of it. The nustock is pretty liquidy and I like a less runny application, so started using the sulphur. Some people have bought pine tar and mixed it, but my hunch is the sulphur is the primary active ingredient and that the pine tar helps it stick...although there may be some positive attributes to the pine tar re: healing.

Another thing to try is raw honey. cover with a gauze pad.... it has been used for centuries for terrible infected wounds and now they even use it in hospitals, albeit in a specialized wound compress thing. And the honey from a grocery store is useless.

Again, totally ignorant about spider bites.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well...

I opened the door to the barn pen today to see if anyone would go out. A couple did go just outside, then retreated back in. Snow. I'll leave it open all day to see if anyone goes out.

Have started giving kale and cilantro in the large suet feeders again. They really do love that stuff in the winter but don't really care about it during summer when they have a bounty.

Both waterers staying thawed beautifully so far. It was 22 F. in the barn this morning when I went out. Low temp last night was supposed to have been 11F.

 

[LindaB220]

lacyblue, you can make nustock by using garden sulphur. I have no idea if the garden centers in your region are open, in Minnesota they are primarily closed. If you find the sulphur, look to be sure it is 100% pure. You could then mix a paste with the sulphur powder and a carrier oil - or you could simply sprinkle the sulphur in the wound.

I've ordered pure sulphur off the internet and keep a jar of it. The nustock is pretty liquidy and I like a less runny application, so started using the sulphur. Some people have bought pine tar and mixed it, but my hunch is the sulphur is the primary active ingredient and that the pine tar helps it stick...although there may be some positive attributes to the pine tar re: healing.

Another thing to try is raw honey. cover with a gauze pad.... it has been used for centuries for terrible infected wounds and now they even use it in hospitals, albeit in a specialized wound compress thing. And the honey from a grocery store is useless.

Again, totally ignorant about spider bites.

Great tip!!! These different treatments can add up. The first one I bought was Corid. Never used it yet.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Couple of photos from today.

Kale & Cilantro in the large "bird cake" feeders. This way they can tear off small pieces like they do if they're eating plants outside.





Also wanted to show what I'm doing for grit, calcium, egg shells and/or dry herbs for free-choice. They're hanging from one of the long "S" hooks used for bird feeders. I can line up how ever many I need along the fence with whatever I want to feed in there. Just a gallon milk jug with cut outs.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm curious if anyone has used fresh cab in your barns or garages and if it worked for you. (Sure smells good if it doesn't work

)

If so, how much did you use in what size space?