What did you do with your flock today?

[Nomadicus]

Triple antibiotic will work.

Just clean the wound really well with warm salt water and apply the triple antibiotic.
Is it just his ear lobe that's injured? If so, the bleeding should stop quickly. The ear lobes, wattles and comb are very vascular and bleed a lot but it usually looks worse than it is.

No bleeding today but I had to isolate him from all the other roosters until roosting time. The first thing he did this morning when he got out of his coop after a drink was look for a fight with one of his class mates. Until now there has been no fighting between the white giant boys. They have been even better than the Delaware boys that don't fight at all now. Even the two Dark Cornish boys don't fight with any other cockerel. I have about 20 RIR cockerels the same age as the others that won't to spar with any thing that moves. That's ok as we are 90% ready for freezer camp. The wounded White Giant boy was one of three that went into his coop and got on his roosting bar. Where the rest are no one knows. At day break they are out chasing bugs where I can see them out the kitchen window. 0 Dark Cornish are in their coop. I have a plan to stop their foolish ways before a predator has a dinner on them. I had 13 and am down to 10 dark Cornish and I'm not happy about that.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I tried to keep up on the thread, but COVID has hit our house and I finally got it and I’ve been asleep more hours than awake since Wednesday Thank goodness for DayQuil and NyQuil…it’s the only thing keeping me from pure misery. Had to go out and water the chickens, so I’m all out of energy now. Hope your son feels better than I do @TropicalBabies! So glad you have him safe and near you

Oh gosh @kurby22 . I am so sorry! Trevor's case is mild and I tested negative yesterday. I think a bad contagious case may have sent me over the edge.
Tomorrow is the last day of quarantine. Yippee!! I've been feeding the heck outta him and he has been sleeping extra. I was able to keep my cat trapping commitment because I was not around humans. Still at a bit at a loss for words. Hope you feel better soon ♡♡♡ and it clears outta your home without further incident

 

[TropicalBabies]

Getting ready to leave for the weekend. Hubby wants to head down to Rocky Point...where the weather forecast says it'll be getting a dose of weather from hurricane Hilary. We had made our plans and booked our reservations in advance and he doesn't want to lose the hotel fees etc. I get that...but.... Anyhoo. What's that saying...you can't fix stupid? Don't think there's a fix for crazy either. So off we go. Hopefully I'll still call him dear when we return
Kids are doing home care while we're gone. The youngest was out hugging chickens and geese today. Rolling roosters onto their back and cooing over how cute they are...so I know they're in good hands . Oldest will be caring for little Mojo. I know she's up for the challenge and she'll take the time to reassure and comfort him after treatments.
No idea what to pack this trip. What do you take when you're heading towards really bad weather?

Be careful friend. Don't wear a dress or a hat , unless it is a hard hat ♡ safe travels ♡♡♡

 

[PopoMyers]

The heat wave finally broke last night and we have cooled off. A nice cool cloudy morning was perfect for pruning both raspberry rows, and sharing the remaining berries with the girls (Houdini never eats any...). They also got cantaloupe innards and rinds today. I think some may be going up into the peach tree having snacks, as some peaches have missing sides. Been trying to find takers for them. May try making a batch of peach wine this season. Of course, the chooks are happy eat any that I don't think are worth trying to salvage. Darn stink bugs have caused terrible looking, ugly fruit.
Ginger, formerly known as Miss Broodypants, is back to her normal self.

 

[Shetland lover]

Okra we fry in oil or cook into stews and all the slime just disappears

I might give it a go then!

 

[Shetland lover]

I tried to keep up on the thread, but COVID has hit our house and I finally got it and I’ve been asleep more hours than awake since Wednesday Thank goodness for DayQuil and NyQuil…it’s the only thing keeping me from pure misery. Had to go out and water the chickens, so I’m all out of energy now. Hope your son feels better than I do @TropicalBabies! So glad you have him safe and near you

Hope you get better soon. I've had covid 3 times now, totally different symptoms each time. It's an absolute b*tech. Sending you lots of hugs and healing vibes.

 

[Shetland lover]

The heat wave finally broke last night and we have cooled off. A nice cool cloudy morning was perfect for pruning both raspberry rows, and sharing the remaining berries with the girls (Houdini never eats any...). They also got cantaloupe innards and rinds today. I think some may be going up into the peach tree having snacks, as some peaches have missing sides. Been trying to find takers for them. May try making a batch of peach wine this season. Of course, the chooks are happy eat any that I don't think are worth trying to salvage. Darn stink bugs have caused terrible looking, ugly fruit.
Ginger, formerly known as Miss Broodypants, is back to her normal self.

We've had so much rain our peach trees have the most severe case of peach leaf curl I've ever seen! No fruit and I think it's so bad it's killing the trees. Our figs on the other hand have gone insane and I don't know what I'm going to do with all the fruit. Mind you, Ferdy's nemesis, the local male blackbird is having a rare old time eating about two bites from them then moving on to the next ripe one!

 

[Shetland lover]

Does anyone else's chickens seem to know the names of their flockmates?
For a while now I've been half jokingly asking Ferdy to fetch me a particular hen. For example, if I ask him to find Pru off he goes and brings her to me within a few seconds. He does this with all my chickens except Gladys. He goes looking for her but usually comes back without her.
I'm going to start documenting him doing this as anecdotally he seems to have an 80-90% success rate in bringing back the right chicken. Maybe I'm just losing the plot but if chickens can memorize up to a hundred faces, why not the sounds we make for individual flockmates names?

 

[TropicalBabies]

Does anyone else's chickens seem to know the names of their flockmates?
For a while now I've been half jokingly asking Ferdy to fetch me a particular hen. For example, if I ask him to find Pru off he goes and brings her to me within a few seconds. He does this with all my chickens except Gladys. He goes looking for her but usually comes back without her.
I'm going to start documenting him doing this as anecdotally he seems to have an 80-90% success rate in bringing back the right chicken. Maybe I'm just losing the plot but if chickens can memorize up to a hundred faces, why not the sounds we make for individual flockmates names?

Mine only know their own names... but think I am going to try to experiment. Of course my boys will have to remember 30+ names for this experiment to work... If they rolls their eyes at me I will know that they are not only smart and recognize what I am trying to do, but that they also have humor! I'll keep you posted!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Earlier today I worked on putting a new shade cloth on top of the tarp, to help keep it in place. I need some lumber, 1x2x8' to hold the edges tight against the hoop coop, will get it tomorrow.

About an hour ago I went out to the coop to give the chickens some watermelon pieces and check their food and water. While I was checking the feeder in the back of the coop I suddenly noticed something curled up in the deep litter that I had not seen before:
View attachment 3613105
Confirmed as a Rat snake.

He/she was removed from the coop and rehomed down by the road. This snake would not have hurt my chickens, but might have eaten eggs, or chicks if we had any. They also eat mice, rats, lizards, and Copperhead snakes (venomous) so I don't mind seeing them, just NOT IN THE COOP.

How did it get in??????

Yea, HOw did it get in?!!??!!?