What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

It’s a glorious day here in the Holler! And the girls were out enjoying the sunshine with me until the red shouldered hawks showed up to nest! Damnit! The girls don’t recognize the RS scream like they do the other hawks and the two kinds of eagles we have in the woods, so they don’t rush in when the RS hawks show up. The don’t mind the Cooper’s hawks or the sharp-shinned hawks either. I’m not overly worried about the small hawks but the RS and red tails concern me. The bald and golden eagles too. (When they scream, the girls run for cover!!) Oh well, Mother Nature rules the roost out here I guess. Maybe it’s time to enlarge the covered run…

View attachment 3413659

Your girls get grass! Lucky ladies!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Hung my flowers. Hubby bought me a plaque for the garden for our anniversary. 31 years now...wow where did the time go? So hung it on the side of one of my little breeding coops in the garden. I should have planned the placement first but happy enough with it.

O...that's Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardening. He's also the patron saint of hemorrhoids btw ...who knew there was one for that?

 

[Shetland lover]

Well they said they "assumed" Mareks based on the presentation of the nodules and such but they did not confirm Mareks. "Most likely Mareks" was the phrase. So while it is probably likely, it surprises me how few birds I have lost to it--namely the silkies!

I'm leaning heavily towards something about the coop itself as well. I do have hardware cloth buried down a ways...could saturated soils cause zinc leakage from the underground hardware cloth? I do think it's possible it has something to do with the drainage in the soils...I just don't know how! The paint used on the coop may also have lead in it--I'm certain it was made in China.

So that is why for now, my solution will be to remove the coop so that area can more easily drain and building a better aboveground coop and exposing that soil to the sun and removing the hardware cloth. I am not sure I know where to go to have the blood tested for heavy metals--the RAL lab doesn't test for that and soil tests are really expensive. Blah! Thanks for all your thoughts, it's very helpful!

The fact your Silkies have ALL been O.K. puzzles me too! But as I said Mareks is highly variable.

Can a local agricultural college do a soil test for heavy metals more cheaply? It will at least tell you if there's a problem in the soil within that coop. The other thing would be to have the soil tested for bacterial and viral load. I don't know if that's available to you.
You can have paint samples tested for lead too, I have seen test kits on Amazon in the past. I think you buy a kit then send a sample to the lab which provides the kit.
Generally, zinc is slow to leach into most soils but PH, moisture levels and soil type can seriously affect this so it is possible your buried hardware cloth could be an issue. It's usually perfectly safe to bury though.

I think your plan for the coop is definitely the way to go. If nothing else, and the health problems continue in more birds, you've eliminated the coop as the cause.

You're doing a great job and I pray you get some answers soon

 

[Shetland lover]

Well, not sure I'm really liking these but have lots of cans cut up to try more.View attachment 3413008View attachment 3413009
And more sunflowers just cause I like themView attachment 3413011View attachment 3413012
Made a huge mess on the floor so now I have housework to do...lol.

I think they're really pretty!

 

[Shetland lover]

https://www.facebook.com/1110345461/posts/pfbid0GaP9mJnT5wBFwKdzzP5Gtpu7fjwtBpVeNQK3Fwx3DTLK8WquR69JrmnqQjqhwhf3l

So cute! My Pru is obsessed with grapes too - only she's too short and heavy to leap balletically like your lovely Gemma!

 

[Aliceismad106]

So cute! My Pru is obsessed with grapes too - only she's too short and heavy to leap balletically like your lovely Gemma!

Aw thank you, is it balletically if there's a thud when she lands? Asking for a friend lol

 

[PopoMyers]

Finally getting a cup of coffee after treating Pepper. It looks worse, so am withholding normal food. She ate a little of the applesauce cornmeal oil mash and is drinking. Soaked her in epsom bath, dried, put ointment, and now honey and sugar on prolapse. It seems like poop is super glued and hard on a portion of it, and all the soaking hasn't gotten it off. Is this normal for this?

@Shetland lover also, as I was draining the water, found a piece of tissue. Hope her insides are not falling out. It was like a water balloon, filled with clear liquid. Urates and liquid keep leaking out, looks bad when she strains. Gave her the meloxicam this morning. Needs time to work. I think I'll give her another dose tonight. Have to pick up some Calcium citrate D as recommended by others.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Finally getting a cup of coffee after treating Pepper. It looks worse, so am withholding normal food. She ate a little of the applesauce cornmeal oil mash and is drinking. Soaked her in epsom bath, dried, put ointment, and now honey and sugar on prolapse. It seems like poop is super glued and hard on a portion of it, and all the soaking hasn't gotten it off. Is this normal for this? View attachment 3413841 @Shetland lover also, as I was draining the water, found a piece of tissue. Hope her insides are not falling out. It was like a water balloon, filled with clear liquid. Urates and liquid keep leaking out, looks bad when she strains. Gave her the meloxicam this morning. Needs time to work. I think I'll give her another dose tonight. Have to pick up some Calcium citrate D as recommended by others.

I wish I had answers. That right there would freak me out. I hope things start turning around for her!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Hung my flowers. Hubby bought me a plaque for the garden for our anniversary. 31 years now...wow where did the time go? So hung it on the side of one of my little breeding coops in the garden. I should have planned the placement first but happy enough with it. View attachment 3413785
O...that's Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardening. He's also the patron saint of hemorrhoids btw ...who knew there was one for that?

Love it!!! Those flowers look awesome!!!

 

[Shetland lover]

Thank you! I also think I'm going to give her meloxicam orally, along with some coconut oil, appesauce and Epsom salt water. You have a wealth of knowledge, for which I'm grateful. A cup and a half of water? How much should I expect her to drink at a time? I don't have any experience with tubing.

I just use a syringe if I have to give any kind of liquid. Just be careful and just ease it in the side of her beak as you don't want her to aspirate it. She doesn't need to take much at once, 5-10ml once or twice daily for a maximum of 3-4 days. Is she eating and drinking normally?