What did you do with your flock today?

[MandyMusshafen]

How lovely! They are such charming chickens, my bantam cochin are all real characters. I have a tiny girl too - no bigger than a racing pigeon and she's fully grown!

That's how this one is! Her eggs are so little and cute! She's smaller than the pullet, but the pullet thinks she's a baby and keeps trying to crawl up under her, it's pretty comical!

 

[kurby22]

Haven't been feeling too good lately so not much to share other then it's hot. I feel like Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam. Everything comes back to 'its hot, it's staying hot and then there's more hot' right now.

Hahaha, I feel this in my bones I'm sorry you haven't been feeling so great! Sounds like you need a vacation to the Oregon Coast too! It's very good for the soul and much much cooler!! Hehe.

 

[Smokerbill]

When we had our Swedish Flower roo, Leo, Gladys ripped half of a wattle off. He was annoying her. I've never seen so much blood! After a good clean up and dusting with antibiotic powder he was right as rain!
It was probably something similar with your girl. Could be an inexperienced roo has grabbed the comb while attempting to mate?
You might find some of your pullet's comb dries up and falls off at the injury site if the edges aren't held together but it should heal fine. She might just end up with a slightly wonky comb.

I guess it could've been one of the two cockerels. They are definitely inexperienced, being only around 16 weeks old. I noticed that one of them is starting to grow his spurs, so I guess the hormones are kicking in. LOL

Well done! Chickens can be a bit brutal on wounds but you fixed her right up

I should've gotten the leg bands I was considering so I can tell who's who in the run. I kind of suspect that the one that was injured is low girl in the pecking order.

 

[kurby22]

OMG! Such appropriate names
Go Peggy! She looks adorable I'm a sucker for disabled animals. They amaze me. Nothing stops them living the best life they can!

I know, right? Sooo creative and thoughtful hahaha. Poor Leaky got the worst name

I too am a sucker for the disabled animals and Peggy is no exception! She is just the sweetest little thing! She's the first to say hi, the first to try escaping the run to venture into the yard, the first to treats...and she used to be so quiet and unassuming. Makes my heart swell watching her be a strong and assertive sweetheart. I also have Oreo, my runt d'Anver from my own bird eggs I hatched. She is the only mottled chick to hatch from all the eggs I grabbed and she had trouble walking, trouble eating, and I spent a lot of time babying her with egg yolk and nutridrench...but she just hasn't grown much. She is almost 10 weeks old and still the size of a 3 week old chick! But she is also assertive, shoves her way to the front for treats, ventures out and about more than the big chickens...just a tiny little mite with a big personality. I just love her.

 

[kurby22]

She certainly sounds like she's improving and she's definitely in the best possible hands. MS doesn't always display any other symptoms than the hot swellings. Occasionally, birds go on to develop respiratory symptoms.
I'm *thinking* that birds with lots of recessive genes (more likely to be inbred and less genetic diversity) are more prone to infection than more genetically diverse chickens. I haven't found anything to back this up in the scientific papers but my course tutor agrees there's empirical evidence of this.
Your soil WILL contain e.coli as, as I'm sure you know, all soil does. The question is, is it proliferating excessively in your soil? The lime should certainly make conditions less favourable to any bacterium, virus etc.
You could try adding a gentle diuretic if you suspect kidney issues. I have used a custom blend available over here but you could just use a tincture of dandelion or moringia powder? Take a look at this on Poultry DVM:
Genetics - certain chicken breeds have been identified to have a simple autosomal recessive gene that causes a defect in the renal tubular secretion of urate.

See more at: https://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/gout

Unfortunately there's no further information as to which spcific genes and breeds are disproportionately affected.
Does she like cherries? My dad suffered badly with gout and he swore by cherry juice! There have been studies where it has been found to be clinically effective.

Let me know how she's doing. I'll keep everything crossed for her.

Yes, that is what I am seeing/thinking based on my knowledge of genetics too...that inbreeding and recessive genes are not a good mix and while it seems like something that would be difficult to prove scientifically due to confounding factors--anecdotally and logically to me, it makes sense that they would come with more issues and be more susceptible to all sorts of things that the less inbred birds don't suffer from the same way. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this...as you can imagine...your course tutor sounds smart

I did look into gout, which is why I started her on the Uriva! It's a mix of tart cherry, tumeric root, celery seed, CA poppy seed, white willow bark, and devils claw root! Supposed to be good for reducing uric acid build up...the issue I have at this point is all the treatments overlap, so I won't have any idea which one actually worked to treat whatever it is. She got more eggs with skullcap as well and ate them very eagerly this morning which made me happy. Her appetite had gotten notably worse in the last few days but she has eaten all her eggs two days in a row and her feet look a LOT better today. Her comb is still noticeably swollen but the sinuses above her eye are no longer swollen and her eyes are open more often. All good signs she feels better. So fingers crossed!

 

[Smokerbill]

I checked on my injured pullet and she seems to be doing fine. I hand fed her a bit of smoked sausage so I could get a close look at the damage. And to give her some extra protein for healing, too.

It's like the very back end of the comb was ripped off at the base, maybe 1/8 inch or less. There's no more bleeding, but the wound is still pretty visible. I'll smear some more antibiotic on it later today. It's still moist from what I applied yesterday evening.

I gave her some leaf lettuce, lemon balm and weeds to pick on, too.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Can you spot this one? Hint, it's not a chicken.

@ChicksnMore I am so sorry. I hear it is going to be brutal in AZ and CA.
I hope all make it through ok
I went down the mountain to order flowers for mom, load 10 bags of compost, switch trucks and pick up sewing machine etc. Full icky face and body sweat. Yuck, yuck, yuck! I could not get out of there fast enough. Up the mountain was 10° cooler and raining. What a difference 30 minutes makes. I felt sorry for leaving Elliott behind but he has a vet appointment with daddy today and daddy has a choice.
The florest was in Omao, a cooler and notoriously wet spot, aka, froghole. I love it there, so that was a treat.

Was able to check on flock with cameras while i was gone . Installed the solar lights in the coop when i got back .
Cats are happy I brought their vehicle back.

Time to get busy sewing again. Collected some good $ from stands and special orders this month!!!

 

[kurby22]

Can you spot this one? Hint, it's not a chicken.View attachment 3575879
@ChicksnMore I am so sorry. I hear it is going to be brutal in AZ and CA.
I hope all make it through ok
I went down the mountain to order flowers for mom, load 10 bags of compost, switch trucks and pick up sewing machine etc. Full icky face and body sweat. Yuck, yuck, yuck! I could not get out of there fast enough. Up the mountain was 10° cooler and raining. What a difference 30 minutes makes. I felt sorry for leaving Elliott behind but he has a vet appointment with daddy today and daddy has a choice.
The florest was in Omao, a cooler and notoriously wet spot, aka, froghole. I love it there, so that was a treat.View attachment 3575889View attachment 3575890View attachment 3575894View attachment 3575897
Was able to check on flock with cameras while i was gone . Installed the solar lights in the coop when i got back .
Cats are happy I brought their vehicle back.View attachment 3575902
Time to get busy sewing again. Collected some good $ from stands and special orders this month!!!

I see it this time! Such pretty flowers!!

 

[kurby22]

Well…I’m gonna try it guys…I’m gonna see if having an outdoor kitty gets rid of the rats

Today I ran to the feed store for chicken scratch and peeked in the chick section…and was surprised to see these big furry weird looking chicks!

I’ve been thinking about it for awhile and kept waiting for the right time and felt like the Universe sent me this sign. This morning the feed store found them dumped in their alley So they brought them inside cuz it’s very hot today and we’re hoping to get them rehomed before this weekend. I went in the back and pet them and looked them over, and their coats are dirty and feel nutritionally depleted and they’re very skinny—so worms likely…but otherwise appear healthy. Bright eyes, no discharge, friendly and calm. The little black kitten got up and came to me for pets and started purring…and I was toast.

So meet Shadow, our new outdoor chicken protector “I hope”

I wasn’t totally set up for an outdoor kitty…so I have her in a smaller space till I can set her up properly. Wanna keep her close to the house and off the ground, but obviously with an indoor cat I want to make sure she sees a vet asap. Aside from a dewormer and a bath, is there anything else I should do @TropicalBabies @ChicksnMore ?? Hopefully she works out perfectly and we can get the rats outta here and have a nice kitty…or the husband will get very annoyed with me!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Well…I’m gonna try it guys…I’m gonna see if having an outdoor kitty gets rid of the rats

Today I ran to the feed store for chicken scratch and peeked in the chick section…and was surprised to see these big furry weird looking chicks!
View attachment 3575972

I’ve been thinking about it for awhile and kept waiting for the right time and felt like the Universe sent me this sign. This morning the feed store found them dumped in their alley So they brought them inside cuz it’s very hot today and we’re hoping to get them rehomed before this weekend. I went in the back and pet them and looked them over, and their coats are dirty and feel nutritionally depleted and they’re very skinny—so worms likely…but otherwise appear healthy. Bright eyes, no discharge, friendly and calm. The little black kitten got up and came to me for pets and started purring…and I was toast.

So meet Shadow, our new outdoor chicken protector “I hope”
View attachment 3575974
I wasn’t totally set up for an outdoor kitty…so I have her in a smaller space till I can set her up properly. Wanna keep her close to the house and off the ground, but obviously with an indoor cat I want to make sure she sees a vet asap. Aside from a dewormer and a bath, is there anything else I should do @TropicalBabies @ChicksnMore ?? Hopefully she works out perfectly and we can get the rats outta here and have a nice kitty…or the husband will get very annoyed with me!

Bless you miss Kurby ♡
The vet should guide you on what you need. A few vaxs, deworm, flea drop. I'd tell vet Shadow is a rescue and maybe they can steer you in a good direction for affordable kitty care. Maybe even try your Humane Society first as they probably do all that and are happy you kept a kitty off the streets♡♡♡♡ Me too!

*** also, how could I forget! Get the calendar marked for a spay or neuter appointment. Shadow does not look that far off from being able to be "fixed". Let them know kitties job too as I am sure they will have great advice for your area.
It's good you keep shadow in so she learns her smells and knows where home is.

I can't believe you ONLY grabbed one much more willpower than I have.