Things you wish you knew starting out?

[AllenK RGV]

Just thinking about it, and knowing I'm going to cull my flock to 3 in the near term has me kinda unwilling to truly bond with a chicken. They are fun to watch and be around and I enjoy them alot! But since chicken math has been forced upon me(subtraction) I'm mentally ready to rip these little guys heads off once they fatten up to a nicer size.

edit- I've learned my lesson never order a straight run again unless you are willing to gamble.

 

[aart]

It looks like a hard kernel that should dissolve with a liquid wart remover from the images I've seen but once you can get under it sure I'd go for topical antibiotics. Interesting that you say the etiology is an injury that becomes infected. Hopefully I'll get to see it and practice. Heck I'd even bet CLR would dissolve the colonies protective coat allowing you to get to the active infection to treat it and exposure to oxygen alone may be all it takes to do the bacteria in..

I don't know how wart remover actually works. Warts are viral aren't they? Bumblefoot is bacterial. Anything that destroys tissue must be used with caution. Like hydrogen peroxide is a great initial sanitizer/cleanser for wounds, but it should't be used after that initial application as it can destroy new healthy tissue.

Still usually it occurs bilaterally(both feet) doesn't it?

No, only if both feet get cut and infected. It's not a systemic infection, it's an infected wound. The bacteria enters the open wound. Tho any infected wound can go systemic, infecting the entire body, then systemic/oral/injectable antibiotics are needed to treat the entire body.

lol google agrees with you on the commonly staph and links back to BYC too funny.

 

[Christine972]

When our buff orpingtons went through their "adolescent" phase we had a real problem that the only rooster reached sexual maturity weeks before any of the hens . He would try to mate with them and they had no idea what was going on and they became terrified of him for several weeks. He became frustrated and angry and lonely because no one would even come near him. This all turned around one day when one of the females was finally ready to give in willingly. The change in that rooster to happy and content was really amazing to see. I had no idea this would happen and I also had no idea that the rooster would grow to be almost twice the size of the hens. I knew that they are larger - just not that much larger.
Next time (if I keep any roosters at all) I would definitely put the pullets and the cockerels in separate runs as soon as I can tell which are which, and keep them apart! I think the females would have matured at a better rate without all the trauma of being chased so much by an over-zealous teenage lover-boy!

 

[AllenK RGV]

Every year occurrence in the ca desert. Insect invasion every month!

I'm amazed at the sheer number of these things I've only experienced a bugpocalypse one other place and that was Irving, TX was a cricket invasion at our Microsoft Branch, well the original leased building before they built their own campus in Irving for us.

 

[Christine972]

I think my post of a few minutes ago ended up on the wrong thread. Oh well!

 

[RodNTN]

I wish I would've known what a broody was!

 

[Parront]

Just thinking about it, and knowing I'm going to cull my flock to 3 in the near term has me kinda unwilling to truly bond with a chicken. They are fun to watch and be around and I enjoy them alot! But since chicken math has been forced upon me(subtraction) I'm mentally ready to rip these little guys heads off once they fatten up to a nicer size.

edit- I've learned my lesson never order a straight run again unless you are willing to gamble.

St run = roosters
pullets = 20% roosters
LOL

 

[AllenK RGV]

I don't know how wart remover actually works. Warts are viral aren't they? Bumblefoot is bacterial. Anything that destroys tissue must be used with caution. Like hydrogen peroxide is a great initial sanitizer/cleanser for wounds, but it should't be used after that initial application as it can destroy new healthy tissue.

No, only if both feet get cut and infected. It's not a systemic infection, it's an infected wound. The bacteria enters the open wound. Tho any infected wound can go systemic, infecting the entire body, then systemic/oral/injectable antibiotics are needed to treat the entire body.

Yes Warts are viral, but the staph colony that created the "Corn" used natures building blocks from its host to create the bacterial plaque that that it uses as protection. So we are talking Calcium, Sodium, possibly some sugar c6h12o6 or a derivative of it derived from the Krebs Cycle. Thats why I'm inclined towards CLR(Calcium lime Remover) dissolve the thing, if there is an abcess lyse(puncture it tear through any membranes you might find in the actual abcess) open it up until you are down to the pink vascular tissue flush with normal saline as you go and chlorhexadine once you see pink not white tissue. Dress or optionally if the hole is large poke in a 2x2 guaze that is soaked with either chlorhexadine or sterile Normal saline to do a wet to dry dressing that will adhere to the sides of the wound and remove it after 12-24 hours, cover on Coban(Vet wrap), and finally grab a beer or whatever your libation is!

edit- If CLR doesn't do the trick then I'd reach for the scapel and find my way down to the healthy tissue. Flush and Dress the same way and admit defeat! Still I am inclined to agree moisture is probably a vector for infection. Trench foot wasn't good for soldiers in Vietnam I'm sure it is no good for a chicken either,

 

[Parront]

I hatched my own = 75% roosters!

 

[AllenK RGV]

And the wart remover uses an acid to dissolve the wart. Usually the same acid you get in an asparin(sp?) we just wrote ASA for those.