The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Rachel'sFlock]

I guess we are pretty lucky, here. Our coop is so old it has spaces between the boards, so ventilation is never a problem for us!!!

 

[amenfarm]

Pics of the new leaves added to the bedding today....and the chickens who love them.

I try to get leaves that are good and dry, after the dew has dried and the winds have done their job. Then the open air coop will continue to let off humidity/moisture as these leaves dry out and deteriorate.




I love this picture!! she looks so content!

 

[galanie]

I think it was this thread where someone mentioned GMO alfalfa. I know it's been noted several times in different threads that chickens don't seem to like their corn any more and some wonder if it's because it's GMO corn. Here's a long film about GMO foods but skip the very end. Guy talking about putting GMO and "regular" food sided by side for his chickens. (about 1:23) Interesting.

[VIDEO]

 

[Miss Lydia]

I also ordered and read that book after some discussion with JackE over on this thread he started...and after seeing his amazing henhouse. Here's his thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

He was very helpful in answering my questions directly as well.

ETA: If anyone starts reading the thread, notice all the well-meaning people who start advising him to close it up...like they totally missed the point

Later on they thin out and there is some good discussion.

Thank you for bringing that link up, I followed his thread and thought his coop was awesome, and yep remember all those folks telling him to put up plastic too, so funny they missed the point completely. His thread was what got me thinking differently about housing my flock, I ordered the book then we added quiet a few more windows to our coops my dh kept saying if you add anymore it will be so open, My point exactly.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pics of the new leaves added to the bedding today....and the chickens who love them.

I try to get leaves that are good and dry, after the dew has dried and the winds have done their job. Then the open air coop will continue to let off humidity/moisture as these leaves dry out and deteriorate.

Beautiful leaves and chicken she sure is enjoying them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pics of Middle Sister, AKA Stumpy, and her now normal feet. She was soaked with epsom salts for these impacted glands in her feet and resulting inflammation, 2 nights in a row, and the impaction was relieved some days before that. I think the epsom salt soaks finally turned the tide for this chicken and she is now on the way to filling out and getting a better overall appearance and health.



From left to right on the three WR sisters: Raggedy Ann(no longer raggedy), Middle Sister(no longer Stumpy) and Bertha AKA Moby Dick(the only one that looked like a chicken when this all started).


Middle Sister's feet...no longer puffy, swollen and tender...you can still see a residual redness but her scales are shiny, no more evidence of scale mites and the swelling is down.




From this pic, it's almost hard to tell which hen is the Middle Sister now(she's the one in the middle, naturally)....look below to see what she looked like at Week 1, a mere three weeks previous.

So amazing, I would never know they are the same birds if hadn't seen before and after pics.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Got some "winterizing" done today,(tarps up) seemed silly as warm as it was today and will be for a few days. But today I had help, so better to get it done today than get caught later. Dumped more leaves and pinestraw in and caught Big Maggie napping on top of one of the piles. Most of the rest has been spread out by busy girls who were somewhat under lock down today. The hawks were back and my garden needed a break, put frost blankets over the poor denuded cabbage etc. It might help it recover and keep the girls off it and the lettuce for a while anyway. Everyone enjoyed their day at the spa, dust bathing galore. I was able to capture Alice today and get a good look at her. She is the one with the somewhat bald butt...there are for sure feathers coming in, the baldness went a bit further than I thought or could see, but all looks like it's mending, no lice or mites or anything like that, just the ravages of Bridget's feather picking, which has ended. I had a good look at Alice's feet and legs, she does not have scale lice, but her scales seemed dry, not at all pretty , nothing has ever lifted up...the only thing I had on hand was some Tattoo ointment with lots of natural things in it.....so...I put some of that on her legs while I had her captive. She's had happy legs all day. She's the one I need to keep working on as she was at the bottom of the pecking order and I don't think she was getting as much feed as the others, I think she needs to fill out a bit more. Mickie, who had gotten thin from going broody so often and to no availe...has really put her weight back on and looks so much better. So the girls from both flocks spent the day together and there was NO drama, everyone had a good time even if their free time was cut short with the arrival of the hawks again today. I am sure they would have been fine out with so much cover around...but I had too much to do without keeping hawk watch and when two landed in one of the big trees outside my kitchen window, I decided that was it for today.

 

[Beekissed]

You DO have hawk problems!

The sooner you get that dog out there, the better....with hawks that bold, no wonder you're worried! We were and are surrounded by hawk, eagle and owl life but the dog being present in the middle of the range and the crows watching up in the trees seem to keep things good here. At my previous place we had even larger populations and no one else had chickens but me...but the dogs were a big deterrent. No crows at that place...Lucy kept running them off.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Got some "winterizing" done today,(tarps up) seemed silly as warm as it was today and will be for a few days. But today I had help, so better to get it done today than get caught later. Dumped more leaves and pinestraw in and caught Big Maggie napping on top of one of the piles. Most of the rest has been spread out by busy girls who were somewhat under lock down today. The hawks were back and my garden needed a break, put frost blankets over the poor denuded cabbage etc. It might help it recover and keep the girls off it and the lettuce for a while anyway. Everyone enjoyed their day at the spa, dust bathing galore. I was able to capture Alice today and get a good look at her. She is the one with the somewhat bald butt...there are for sure feathers coming in, the baldness went a bit further than I thought or could see, but all looks like it's mending, no lice or mites or anything like that, just the ravages of Bridget's feather picking, which has ended. I had a good look at Alice's feet and legs, she does not have scale lice, but her scales seemed dry, not at all pretty , nothing has ever lifted up...the only thing I had on hand was some Tattoo ointment with lots of natural things in it.....so...I put some of that on her legs while I had her captive. She's had happy legs all day. She's the one I need to keep working on as she was at the bottom of the pecking order and I don't think she was getting as much feed as the others, I think she needs to fill out a bit more. Mickie, who had gotten thin from going broody so often and to no availe...has really put her weight back on and looks so much better. So the girls from both flocks spent the day together and there was NO drama, everyone had a good time even if their free time was cut short with the arrival of the hawks again today. I am sure they would have been fine out with so much cover around...but I had too much to do without keeping hawk watch and when two landed in one of the big trees outside my kitchen window, I decided that was it for today.

I am sorry you have so much trouble with the flying predators, and have to monitor your girls' forrays, but glad I am not the only one.
I am actually glad when the heavy rains come because no one wants to be out and about.
We have hawks, golden and bald eagles and now, coyotes to be concerned about. I spend every day they are out, since the attack, hovering near open windows listening for the warning cries from Maximus the roo.
Stay vigilant, but try not to stress.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

I am sorry you have so much trouble with the flying predators, and have to monitor your girls' forrays, but glad I am not the only one.
I am actually glad when the heavy rains come because no one wants to be out and about.
We have hawks, golden and bald eagles and now, coyotes to be concerned about. I spend every day they are out, since the attack, hovering near open windows listening for the warning cries from Maximus the roo.
Stay vigilant, but try not to stress.

The hawks were gone all spring and summer so I got complacent .... next project is to turn a 7 year old corgi into a hawk dawg (what are the chances???) He does alert if anything comes on to the property from inside the house....course the cat does too. I can always tell when something is out there that doesn't belong as the cat is standing on his hind legs in a window making wierd sounds!lol...maybe my chickens should have a Livestock Guardian Cat?