Topic of the Week - Keeping the flock safe from mishaps, injuries, etc.

[sumi]

Many long-term poultry keepers can share stories of their birds getting themselves in trouble, or injured or killed by mishaps that could've been easily prevented. Things like upturned buckets and bowls trapping birds, chicks accidentally drowning in water dishes, birds ingesting staples, small nails, etc left in the run or coop after repairs or improvements were made…

This week I'd like to hear your thoughts on keeping the flock safe. For new chicken owners and old, what safety tips have you got to share?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[aart]

My birds are confined so pretty easy to keep things 'safe'.

But definitely careful with picking up construction fasteners,
including the trimmed ends of zipties when banding and fastening.
Covering edges of hardware cloth, and other fencing like on grazing frames.
Cut wires from fencing sticking out into bird space.
Head sized holes/gaps, had a chick get it's head stuck and die in chicken wire over 2x4 fencing.
Anything in run, roosts, concrete blocks, ramps, are stable.
Watch for holes dig under blocks, had few almost tip over when they dug under the edges.

 

[azygous]

Dredging up this thread because I have something important to add that not many people have thought about - how lawn mowers, log splitters, any machine that leaks petroleum distillates onto the soil can kill chickens as easily as if you exposed them to insecticides.

A couple days ago, I lost a four-week old chick. I discovered it just as it was beginning to show signs of neurotoxin poisoning. It was having trouble standing and maintaining balance. Within an hour, it was having trouble holding its head up, and it had lost the ability to drink. In another hour it was having seizures. At that point, I euthanized it.

It hits me hard when I lose a chicken in this way, especially a little chick. I went on a quest to discover how it had been exposed to a neurotoxin after I had ruled out injury that may have caused brain damage and ruled out toxic plants and poisonous insects. I hadn't used insecticides in years.

It took me several hours of wandering around the yard where I'd last seen the broody with her two chicks free ranging earlier. Finally, I all but tripped over the villain - my log splitter.

Machines such as this log splitter leak petroleum distillates, a substance as deadly to all living things as insecticides. They leak because running them causes severe vibration, so tightening fittings is a lost cause. The fluids leak onto the soil underneath, contaminating the grit that chickens eat for their digestion. My little chick wandered under the splitter and randomly selected a few pieces of grit from the contaminated soil. It only took one or two tiny particles and its fate was sealed.

I cleaned up the contaminated soil, placed a drip pan under the leaky fitting, and then secured some steel field fencing around the entire machine, closing off access to any small chicks, including adult chickens.

I'm hoping my loss and heartache can serve as your warning. You might want to identify these machines parked around the area where your chickens free range and either move them or fence them off.

 

[sunflour]

Very good check list to follow @aart

A magnet to remove any missed construction screws, nails, etc - to sweep the entire area after completion of building.

Check inside the roof for roofing nails/screws that come thru in proximity to the roosts.

Daily or very frequent walk arounds the run/coop for inspection and fix any weak areas you find immediately - a fellow I know knew he had holes under his perimeter fencing and delayed repairs and lost an entire flock.

Don't use treated wood for roosts - I did and when the paint wore off had to replace all and treat mild bumblefoot.

 

[sumi]

Anything electric in the coop and run, make sure it's secure, the wiring etc is safe and secure.

From my experiences:

Make sure any fencing is secure and safe, especially along the top, if birds fly up to it. I had a cockerel hang himself by his foot on a wire fence once, when he flew up and got stuck

Don't leave containers of water deep enough for chickens of any age to drown in, or be unable to get out of. I had a few week old chick drown in a bucket of water we left under a hosepipe leak and didn't empty. I still feel bad about that.

Don't leave "tunnels" or holes for especially chicks to crawl into and get stuck in. And along with that, check for predator dug tunnels, holes, gaps along the perimeter of the coop and run.

Make sure EVERYTHING in the coop and run is secure. Shelter, feeders and waterers, perches, everything. And not just chicken proof, strong wind proof too. I had a shelter blow over once...

 

[N F C]

Our chickens loved to roam in the garden once we were done harvesting so we made sure to not use chemicals when we gardened.

Also, recently there was a distraught post from someone about their chicken getting into rat poison that had been set out. So important to keep poisons out of any place a chicken might find it. Those little dickens can get into everything!

 

[sumi]

I just remembered another one and this one is for anyone here with long hair. Watch out for loose hairs when you have chicks around. Over the years I've had chickens I always kept my hair long and the chicks love crawling into it, when I allow them to. Hairs can get tangled up around little chick toes like you won't believe! Even a loose hair they pick up on the ground. I've had to carefully free little toes on a few occasions from hairs they got their toes tangled up in. The reason I put this on the list here is because I found on some of those occasions that they managed to get the hair(s) wrapped around their toes so tight that it was affecting their blood circulation. If you see a chick walking funny, or limping, pick them up and have a look.

 

[lazy gardener]

Any thing leaning that they can knock down on top of themselves.

Double layers of fencing: placing a smaller mesh over a larger mesh to keep chicks on one side or an other of a fence. I have deer netting over cattle panel around my garden. It works great for keeping birds out. But on the occasion when a bird will sneak in through the gate, panic ensues when they try to escape through the CP, and get snagged up in the deer netting.

When I have chicks, I switch all waterers over to moat style waterers. After the chicks are 10 weeks or so old, I can go back to basins or shallow buckets. Always check bail positions, or remove them altogether. When feeding FF to a flock with young birds, I simply put the feed onto the ground or a piece of cardboard/plywood until the chicks are old enough that feed in a basin will not be a danger.

MHP brooding: Extra caution required to be sure chicks can't get tangled in the method you use to fabricate the MHP cave. I make a pillow case to enclose both the HP and wire frame, sealing it completely on the bottom, and taping it with electrical tape to ensure that the chicks don't get caught in a "fold". Even so, once I had a chick get caught in the tape. All ended well.

Any kind of heat lamp brooding, or use of a heat lamp in the coop. Brooding chicks in a Rubbermaid tote with a heat lamp is a recipe for disaster. So very easy for those totes to turn into an Easy-Bake. Almost lost my first batch of chicks. Temp fine for several days, followed by an unexplained heat spike.

Birds accidentally getting shut on the wrong side of a door. Aside from possibility of predator loss, birds can easily die if separated from water source, or shut into a "too hot" space in the summer.

Year round, I'm always picking up little tid bits from the ground and tucking them into my pocket. I bring compost/mulch home from a composting site at my town transfer station, so there might be little bits of this or that that get missed when I distribute it. The dog adds to the pocket bounty by her constant search and destroy missions. If it's plastic, and she can get it, she will shred it.

 

[sunflour]

When the flock is young and living in confinement...be careful and don't drop a bucket or anything near them. They fly into whatever is close- wires, walls and you.

One of mine got a beak fracture when I dropped the poop bucket - thank goodness it healed

 

[aart]

I'm sure every experienced chicken keeper knows this, but... If you use bands on your chicks, check them. I bought an older chick from a backyard breeder and he forgot to check for the bands. It had grown into her leg. My husband and I tried several tools and finally got it off with fingernail clippers. I soaked her wound in epsom salts and water and she healed.

Yep, that would work....basically they are end cutters that can cut thru the lock instead of having to get between the band and the leg.
I use them all the time, even when they are not too tight, just easier.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/leg-banding-with-zipties