Ways Chickens Hurt Themselves

[Liafast]

I have 14 chickens in a 14x24 chicken yard. I have 7 tetra tints, 6 amercanas and 1 bantam. So far I just have 1 rooster. They have a 4x8 chicken tractor to roost/nest in. The fencing is 6' tall chicken wire with bird netting on top to keep everyone safe. I even put boards around the bottom to keep predators from going under the fence. I have a small dish pan for them to drink out of and I filled a plastic tote with water so they can wade in. The plastic tote is the size that will fit under a bed so its only 4-5 inches tall. I went out this morning to gather eggs (I'm getting 3 per day) and feed everyone. The tote was turned over. I flipped it over to fill it up and there were 2 tetra tints under it. I live in KY and its hot and sunny today. Both of the girls were alive, they were panting and had droopy wings. I turn the water hose on shower and wet them. I watched them until they stopped panting and their wings returned to normal. (BTW the girls that were trapped were clucking at me..asking what took me so long to find them) I will put a rock in the tote to stop that from happening again. I thought that I had a very safe place for my flock. I was curious how other people chicken have injuried themslves in a "safe" area.

 

[The Red Rooster]

Aww i'm glad you found them in time. I had a poor guinea hang himself. His leg was stuck on the kennel. The poor thing sat like that all day in the heat! He was ok though

 

[FireTigeris]

Lets see-

"Deep" water (anything over 3 inches?- drowning

Concrete blocks - go into the hole but can't back up - panicked and injured self

any fencing that is large enough for legs/heads/wings to go through... - predators and/or dumb chickens trying to escape

 

[Larkspur88]

Getting their toes stepped on because they keep getting under your feet begging

They have a whole yard (in my case a whole neighborhood at one point) to play in but they manage to get into the one area where the dog is...the dog that likes chasing and killing chickens.

 

[allmychickens]

jumping off the perch and breaking its leg

 

[Liafast]

Quote:
All the silly girls had to do was stand up. God blees them, they aren't overloaded with the power of reasoning. Its a good thing they have us humans to feed, water, keep them safe and love them........hmm....maybe they aren't all that silly, they have not only trained me to feed them but to also allow them to be as silly as they want with very little discomfort on their part.

BTW they also have me trained to find them tasty snacks, turn the sprinkler on when its real hot, take care of their potential offspring (eggs) and make sure they have plenty of grass to chew on. I guess they have done a great job training me...LOL

 

[forte22]

i had a barred rock chicken get stepped on by a 1500 lb horse on his leg! somehow it healed and shes ok now

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

My Light Brahma did the same thing. I had a dish pan (black) in the run, that I had grown grass seed in. They kicked out the dirt, and one day I went out & Clara was missing. I checked everywhere, no feathers, no holes nothing. My hubby went out with me 30 minutes later and say our other Light Brahma, Lena standing on top of the container, pecking at it. He lifted it off the ground & out came Clara. I had a few words with that little girl. So the only containers that are out there now are securely covered 5 gal containers for water & one in their coop for food.

I worry when they are adjusting themselves on the roost, had a few fall off, but no one was hurt. Why do they all have to be in the same area. I move them over to the empty area, and they go right back to the crowd. But everyone is fussin & flappin, & swakin, to get where they want.

I too have netting over the top (we have hawks). And I just re-homed the Lab Puppy we took in 5 months ago, he was digging under the coop and into the run. I had bricks and boards around the two areas of the coop, and he would dislodge them in a matter of hours. So I warned my hubby, if that dog hurts one feather of any of my chicks, he is gone. Well I decided he must go before anything did happen. My neighbor lost her whole flock to their lab, and she had been around them her whole life.

 

[Impress]

I had one of my Buff Orpingtons almost completely sever her comb from her head getting it stuck under the fencing attempting an escape. It healed nicely but traumatized the living daylights out of me!