Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Amberjem]

I saw some good tutorials on utube over treating bumblefoot.. I came across them sometime last year or something

 

[ShockValue]

Yes, thank you for the "...caine" reminder. I double checked and made sure ours had no pain-killer type stuff in it. It's just a generic anti-biotic ointment that my 'research' (AKA Google) suggested was OK for chickens

I think if I haven't found someone local that is able to give me a hand, I will give it a go this weekend. The thought of making things worse, or causing Etta pain without positive results makes me hesitate.. On the other hand, she's obviously uncomfortable so I can't just ignore it either.

Chickens

 

[pisanonine]

I live in Western Montana. I am trying to find a Black Australorp breeder within a days drive. Washington Oregon Idaho all work. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me. Thanks

 

[Birdnovice24]

I got my first egg on Sunday! It was cracked, but still so exciting!

 

[Amberjem]

I got my first egg on Sunday! It was cracked, but still so exciting!

grats!!!

 

[Chickielady]

I was wondering about the hens holding the sperm in for later use.. I thought it was a month long personally... so technically the roo might be shooting blanks NOW but the hens might be fertile still because he didnt shoot blanks two weeks ago? ugh all I want is a couple fertile eggs to hatch for new years.. my other half keeps telling me to blow in the chickens beak to get an egg faster lol

LOL I have not heard the blow-in-the-beak -thing for decades !

I have 6-8 cock birds here of breeding age from 6 mo to 3 years old.
Oldest is Buster, on my avatar.
Buster is a pea combed Chantecler 'sport' and so far, all his hens are fertile (9)
So, maybe he has lost sterility OR maybe compromised.
In other words, Buster could have half the sperm that he would normally have in , say, March.
Severe cold exposure would limit yet more sperm, and worse, frostbite, could render him with not only a bacterial infection from necrotic tissue (sepsis) but also sterility for a month or more.
The testes would be OK, undamaged, but do shut down in such temps as they are really not needed, and nature has a way of saving energy anyway it can , in breeding animals and birds that live outdoors.

 

[Chickielady]

I am going to make a BIG assumption here...... It's not the fertility of the rooster or the temperature of his comb..... It has to do with the cost of heat to keep the chicks alive and then there's the temperature during transportation... The chicks would die in transport.... Now that's not cost effective.... Good try at a distracting argument.... Maybe you should rethink your argument... (I said that politely, by the way)... I'm not here to cause a ruckus... just trying to learn....
Facts Ma'am, just the facts....

Sorry Dave, have not heard a e-mail reply from Dr Crispo yet, but keep up hope as it is a holiday and she may have taken some well deserved time off.
That said, you can still speak with long time poultry men, (and women such as myself) as to the topic you desire.
Duane Urch is probably the only one I would not recommend you contact as Duane is "a man of few words"...and I am getting to be of few words myself.
Monte Bowen may be the easiest to access.
Try the various breeder threads ?

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
I've done the surgery. The biggest problem, for me, is keeping the open wound clean and wrapped until it's healed.
When I did the surgery I never found the hard core that is always mentioned, and it involved several places on the bottom of both feet. It was a hen I "inherited" so it had gone further than it should have.

oops, it posted before I was done, so ETA:
@Hinotori has done this more than once with good success. If you look for tutorials with good photos it helps a lot. It's not as hard as it might seem. Keeping the bird still by wrapping in a towel seems to be the biggest thing. The bird doesn't seem to feel the incision.

By the way, are you aware that some neosporin has an ingredient to numb the pain and it's BAD for chickens? It's a "...caine" if memory serves.

Yes. Make sure you get it WITHOUT pain relief and you're fine. I just did a bumblefoot surgery recently. It was a big one and didn't really want to come out until I got enough cut around and started massaging and squeezing on the sides. Then the thing came out. It was HUGE. I wish this girl wouldn't get them, but she's really prone to them.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
If the blowing doesn't work, you have to carefully squeeze the hen like she's a bagpipe.

 

[Chickielady]

My rooster has been injured for at least 3 weeks (attacked by a coyote). I check my hens' eggs yesterday and they were all fertile. Granted, I have another rooster, but I am certain he is not servicing all the hens since there are just too many.

I also believe the hatchery birds are housed in more of a controlled environment than most our outdoor flocks. They have constant light sources and a more stable temperature year round. I am seriously trying to get my birds to stop laying. I keep the lights on in the barn until 6 p.m. so I can feed, then they are off. The chickens are getting 11 hours max and they are still laying! Some of the older hens have slowed down, but the pullets lay almost every day as do my red stars. Crazy girls.

You may have new breeds, that have been 'engineered' to do just exactly what they are doing: laying eggs, and red stars are a good example.
Look at any heritage breeds under the circumstances and you would see the vast difference between heritage breeds and new breeds.
Some of the heritage breeds I have had (and they all STOP laying in Sept, and start in March, lay for 1 week & ALL GO BROODY !) Buckeyes, Rhode Island Whites, Black javas....in some flocks: Icelandics and Jersey Giants.
Probably more but slips my mind at the time.
You are correct about birds raised in an environment, but I'll tell ya what, My Black javas and some other heritage breeds I've raised over the years KNEW what month it was without ever peeking outdoors and despite heat & light. They KNEW.
And they'd just stop lay.