ticked off , please help

[gottalovemychickens]

i went out of state for 2 days and told told my gf that we have no chick food , i gave her $20 to go out and buy some and guess what , she didnt. so since i have been gone they had no food to eat .

Im now home and saw that half of my 4 week old chicks have only 3/4 of their feathers left from feather picking .

What do i do . I went out and bought more food after ripping her a new xxx and im just lost now , what to do

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[Dar]

offer extra protein to help re grow the feathers and hopefully things will work out

 

[insiderart]

Yipes! I'd make sure they had plenty to do to keep themselves occupied so they don't make it a bad habit.

Maybe hang watermelon slices, squash, or pumpkin rounds so they can pick at them. Just stuff to keep them from picking at each other and themselves.

 

[Southernbelle]

Well, check for bloody spots because those babies will need to be seperated until they're healed. Feather picking can become a habit that's hard to break. Are they on a red bulb or white bulb? Red bulbs are supposed to decrease feather picking. Other than just making sure they don't run out of food, there's not much more you can do. So sorry it happened to you!

 

[gottalovemychickens]

no see thats another thing , my gf for some xxx reason took out the red bulb and installed the white one < DANG IT IM NEVER LEAVING THEM WITH HER AGAIN , I LOST MY TRUST WITH HER >

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1. Remember this is a family board no swearing / foul language and no inappropriate "Adult" topics
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[Madison Farms]

I'm so sorry to hear that,

I use wonder dust, its for horses. Its like ash, and it tastes yucky so they quit picking on each other. I used it for our chicks and I use it for the hens when the roos are being a little rough. I helps heal and clot the bleeding. I usually get it at TSC, but any feed store should have it.

 

[Kezzie]

1. Get a new girlfriend. Anyone who willingly lets chicks starve for two days isn't someone you want around.

2. Wash your mouth out with soap. You kiss your mama with that mouth?

3. Separate out any bleeding chicks until healed and watch closely for continuing pecking. Make sure that they have unlimited food and water and I would give them a dose of Poly Vi Sol each to give them a bit of a boost.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Some of my 2 weekers started picking each other, pulling feathers and a couple of bloody tails. I separated them immediately of course and cleaned their wounds. And then i used the aerosol wound-kote (the blue stuff), and it worked wonderfully. After about 20 hours or so, when the blue stuff was good and dry, i put the injured babies with each other, and there was no picking, so i was able to re-introduce them back with the flock very quickly.

The reason mine were picking on each other is that they grew faster than i anticipated and were getting crowded. They're now in their bigger brooder, and all the picking has stopped.

Hope that helps. So sorry about your babies. I would be pretty upset too.

I think everyone else already covered the rest.

 

[Nif]

I would give them some scrambled egg for protein. Be prepared when you go out of town, have your pets all stocked up on what they need and then you have done your part and your petsitter can't give you any bad excuses.
Sorry to lecture, but I have done quite a lot of pet sitting and unless I am getting paid to drive around and get food that is not part of the job.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

First of all, did your gf agree to get food for your chicks? Does she actually know how to care for them? You sound rather young--are y'all kids?

Taking care of animals requires knowledge as well as responsibility. There may have been a reason she changed the light bulb--did you ask? If someone is not used to the behavior of chickens, the idea of using a red light may seem odd--she may have had a valid, if uninformed, reason for changing the bulb. Or perhaps it burnt out and she replaced it as she could.

Sounds like you have things well in hand now, so sit down with your gf and have a talk.