Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

Steel_2

Athome1 wrote: »

Thank you so much for responding - the silence was deafening:p
Now for the answers - she's an ex battery (we've had her for approx 2 months)and I'm not sure of the breed,quite a big girl and a lovely browny ginger colour.
She seems to be eating ok and can certainly walk and her tail is up.
But every so often today she fluffs up and just sits. The blood isn't coming from her vent, well it wasn't when I was washing her (and checking the vent for broken shell and blockages) but there was blood at the base of a couple of the feather and on the feathers under the vent (she hasn't got a fluffy bottom like the others, she's got scabby feathers that I assume she would lose and then fluff up). Her condition seems ok and I check regularly for mites etc and haven't seen any (I scrub the coup out with hot water and jeyes fluid every Sunday and change the nesting bedding (shredded paper) every day and scoop up an dropping from the coup floor daily too. I put cider vinegard in the drinking water and sprinkle parasite powder in the bedding daily too. I think she was wormed when we got her but had thought I'd get some that that stuff that sounds like Deciduous Earth (sorry very tired and brain not working) as it seems to be a cure for everything! Can't tell you about her droppings as I haven't separated her yet so don't know which is hers. Can't do pics either will get my daughter to do some tomorrow:o She seemed ok this evening and tonight but will be checking on her from 6am tomorrow. Sorry for my panicy post , I love my little choocks but didn't want to whip her off to the vets (who seems not to know much about chickens) spend £50-£100 and still have a sick animal. Thanks again Steel, I really appreciate your reply.:T

I'm wondering whether one of the other chickens is attacking her and you're seeing her fluffed up and miserable afterwards? Is she ever fluffed up and bloody when she comes out of the coop? She may be being attacked in the morning before the coop is opened.

Have you spent a while just sitting with a cup of tea watching how the chickens interact?

You might find it takes a while to see things happen. When you're around the flock might be focused on you and what you have to eat for them. Only when you've become part of the scenery may they start behaving normally towards her.

Two of my chickens have started sporting bald patches - little Miss Prolapse has no feathers on one side of her breast, but I assumed she may have been pulling her own feathers with stress. However, tonight I noticed Lulu has no feathers on her throat. No way can she peck her own feathers off under chin....I think another chicken is doing it to her. Lulu and little Miss Prolaspe are the bottom of the pecking order.

The other possibility is the moult. We've had them about since 16-18 week pullets and they may be getting to their first moult. Some people reckon the first moult happens roughly 11 months after the start of egg production, and I got them in the middle of last October, so it might be about right give or take a few weeks, as they laid right the way through the winter.

Update: have an issue with Miss Prolapse. She's stopped eating when she's in the shed. Only when I put her food out during her exercise period will she start scoffing it and boking excitedly.

I lightened the shed a little this morning thinking perhaps it was so dark she was snoozing all day, but it doesn't seem to have an effect. He crop is completely empty this evening.

She must eat much more than she is otherwise she'll get weak again and prolapse again when she goes back on the lay.

Any ideas or suggestions anyone?

Athome1

Just a quick update Steel, chook seems fine today bottom clean and no blood. Will take your advice and monitor the general situation. good luck with your query. :T

ljonski

Hi Steel. I glad that Tinkerbelle has not relapsed which I think is the most important bit. This is the most critical time and you need to be firm with yourself and with her. Look at it from her point of view, She thinks she is well and can't understand what she has done to be locked up all day. She just wants to be a chicken and do chicken things.- No wonder she is depressed !
if she has stopped laying , she will only get back to laying (if she does) once she is getting extra protein and her body tells her there is enough juice in the tank so to do. It is heartbreaking I know, and i think you have made the right decision to lighten the shed.
Count the days down as I said and soon release day will appear. NB.You still could vary her diet.-maybe some greens ?
My very Best wishes
to you and her. Lj

Steel_2

ljonski wrote: »

Hi Steel. I glad that Tinkerbelle has not relapsed which I think is the most important bit. This is the most critical time and you need to be firm with yourself and with her. Look at it from her point of view, She thinks she is well and can't understand what she has done to be locked up all day. She just wants to be a chicken and do chicken things.- No wonder she is depressed !
if she has stopped laying , she will only get back to laying (if she does) once she is getting extra protein and her body tells her there is enough juice in the tank so to do. It is heartbreaking I know, and i think you have made the right decision to lighten the shed.
Count the days down as I said and soon release day will appear. NB.You still could vary her diet.-maybe some greens ?
My very Best wishes
to you and her. Lj

She has a pretty varied diet at the moment. She has her grain, corn, and pellets (roughly 2:2:1), beef or fish cat food, the odd handful of cat biscuits, sultanas and raisins, apples, spinach, cabbage, strawberries.

Tonight they'll have a few pasta swirls each as a treat.

But I guess if she's depressed she may be off her food.

She put herself back in the shed early yesterday because it was raining and just perched there looking at the floor.

I was thinking about putting a radio in there with her so she has some 'company' :rotfl:

Anyone tried this?

ionahenor2

Could you put another chicken in with her Steel or will it peck her?

Athome1 could she be passing a softie egg? It can make them poorly, hunched up or they stand very still.

bramble1

We used to have around 100 chickens in our yard...but they all left us on thurs, so OH andi are contemplating getting a couple of the garden. am going to spend the best part of tomorrow reading this thread!

Athome1

ionahenor2 wrote: »

Athome1 could she be passing a softie egg? It can make them poorly, hunched up or they stand very still.

I honestly don't know what was wrong but (fingers crossed) she seems as right as rain now. Thanks for the response.:beer:

Steel_2

ionahenor2 wrote: »

Could you put another chicken in with her Steel or will it peck her?.

I could do. She has a 'clutch mate' we bought with her at the same time and they are always together as a pair.

It might perk her up a bit.

Actually, she has perked up a little - I was up North picking a car up yesterday and we left a window open in the shed. When we came back in the evening we found the blackout had partially fallen down and she had escaped out the window.

I have no idea how long she was in the garden for.

Long enough to find the bed of spinach though...

Oh well, I'm sure she had a great time eating all the blasted crickets that are all over the place at the moment.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

cathy wrote: »

I was all for it, till I found out that they stop laying after about 3-4 years then you have to kill them

arrrrrgh

no way

lol

Methinks befriending a butcher good idea. Butcher kills them, plucks them and then as your birds you can get em hung for 28 days so proper meat. Hmmm
:beer:

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

In the olden days they would butcher them etc, surely we all could get closer to Nature and more distanced from the nice plastic visions given to us by the Supermarket, other shops.