Alrighty... Get ready for a Frenchie size post.
It's all about Friday June 21st. The day that Deli and her Joe and her doggies came to help me save my flock (what's left!)
Those two poor folks had to drive through crappy black skies and torrential rain. Luckily it cleared up for the afternoon! I lost one of my favorite chicks that morning, so I was really pretty down. I had been pretty tough about all the losses so far, but after so much loss you just don't know what to do and want to throw in the towel.
Vicki went and looked over my birds. Yes my flock got cocci. Lots of chicks were lost to it. But it also turns out some of my birds have an URI and some have yeast infections. And some of them are horribly skinny, which you don't know till you pick them up, so we were betting that the adults were bullying babies from getting food. Hard for a baby to get over cocci if its starving to death. Or if it has one of those other ailments. It was just horrible. I thought the cocci was gone, but sure enough Vicki spots a baby that had it. I was spending my time treating for one thing, not knowing all this other stuff was going on as well. The long and the short of Friday was a New beginning for my flock.
The coop was already cleared out down to concrete. All the caked on poop left was scraped and removed. Then we sprayed LABS all over and layed straw down. We picked up most birds and gave them direct drops of corid. We started ACV in the waterer. She also got them started on fermented feed.
A new rule: no more food or water in the coop. Right now I do have some food and water in the run, and food on the lawn. I can lock out the big birds if it looks like they are pestering babies while they're eating. They will get fed once a day. In winter time, when theyncant forage as well, they'll veggies as well. They will not get to sit in the coop or my back shed all day. They are not allowed to be lazy chicken butts anymore. Part of the problem too was food and water being contaminated by bedding. Birds not getting out to have fresh air and sunshine. All chicks hiding in the coop where all the germs were. Those baby immune systems didn't stand a chance.
The birds made a terrible mess all winter in my back shed because they wouldn't go outside for nothing. I was really not enjoying my chickens in the winter. I enjoyed the ducks much more because at least they went out and walked around and came and saw me. Vicki explained to me I was helping the chickens be lazy by feeding them food and water in the coop. If they're made to go outside to get food and water, they will learn to play outside again. They need to be chickens and look and hunt and peck and scratch. I didn't know how to fix that, but the super smart Deli knew how!
This also solves all my messy duck problems. My messy ducks will be fed food and water outside as well. They will not be making a horrific mess in the coop. The can sleep with the chickens ( and the goose) and they will go outside to play. The most awesome thing EVER. I'm almost as excited about my flock again as I was when I first got them. The coop will stay cleaner. There will be less chance of diseases and rodents. There will be more joy for me watching the birds, and quality of life for the birds.
Vicki also helped me utilize a storage space and turn it into a brooder/isolation area so we got the ducklings and George the gosling, his chick Martha and the Buffies out of my basement. Joe used an old puppy gate as a doorway, and used wire as hinges, so it actually opens and closes.I was so happy to get those babies out of my basement! With the illnesses still cycling, we wanted to be careful where we put them so as the keep them healthy. They have also been switched to fermented feed. They really seem to like their new digs and appear to be getting more curious about me when I bring the food.
That is the overview of the day. We finished it off with a cookout and Rice Krispie treats. Very nice indeed! It was absolutely the most wonderful thing to hear what I WAS doing wrong and how to fix it. While this fermented feed is way messier, and my chores take way longer right now, it will get faster, and the birds will be healthy and happy. They are already looking perkier (not all, but a lot) and are totally flocking around my feet when they see me thinking I'm handing out new food. Now I just have to get burning the wood so I have the wood ash dust bath for them, and they will be the happy chooks I want them to be.
