Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

3v3

So sorry to read about your chooks, jennyjelly. It's so distressing when one our birds is under par or injured. I'm sure you are doing the right thing.

I keep vaseline, surgical spirit and the usual mite/lice preps in a box for chicken-first-aid.

Fingers x'd for your hennies.

jennyjelly

Quick update.

They both seem a lot better today. Louise had only a small tear at the back of her comb and it appears to be healing already, so this morning I plastered it with Sudocrem and let her out with the others. Betty's is more serious, the back 2/3 is torn off and dangling and a bit swollen. However there is no blood and the torn edges look to be healing. She has also had the Sudocrem treatment and a spray of Gentian Violet to make sure the others leave it alone. It's not going to be possible to re-attach it but it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. I tried to keep her in the box but she was butting the lid with her head and I think she would have made it worse so I'll just keep a very close eye on them all.

Some of the advice I've read given to people who have previously posted the same problem on other forums is that it should be cut off with a sharp pair of scissors as if the flesh starts to die it can cause gangrene, but it does look quite healthy and does have a blood supply so I'm not rushing into that. I've phoned the dealer I bought them from and she advises leaving it alone unless it is causing an obvious problem.

Lordy, it's worse than having kids!

ETA - she's obviously not too traumatised as she has just laid a beautiful egg!

RacyRed

Oh dear! Rach, Jenny, so sorry to read your posts and hope your girls are mending.

I'm dreading my first event of that sort. Hope you are both holding up too.

ionahenor2

Sorry to hear about your hens comb. I was going to suggest you ring the place you got them from as they often have more experience.
You sound as if you are doing the right thing.

They are a delight to have but an awful worry when things go wrong. A friend of mine suggested I eat mine if I had any problems but soon shut up when I asked if he would be eating his dog.

poohbear59

ionahenor2 wrote: »

. A friend of mine suggested I eat mine if I had any problems but soon shut up when I asked if he would be eating his dog.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thank you, that is an amazing answer which I hope you don't mind me pinching. I might suggest that to DH as he is always suggesting it, especially as they don't give us many eggs. 1 a day from 5 hens.

ionahenor2

poohbear59 wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thank you, that is an amazing answer which I hope you don't mind me pinching. I might suggest that to DH as he is always suggesting it, especially as they don't give us many eggs. 1 a day from 5 hens.

By all means but I think I would be threatening mine with the pot if they didn't produce a few more eggs. Are they old? You need a pyramidial pen. My 3 are a 3.5yr old and 2 that are about 18 months old. I get on average between 16/18 a week

tanyalbeck

:j Hi all,
I'm new to this... my 3 girls have been with us just under a week and seem to be well settled in! I just have a couple of questions...
1) they keep pooing in the nesting box (they're not laying yet) - is this normal? and
2) the coop and run are on large stony gravell - the farm we got them from said to put wood bark chippings in a thick layer over the stones to make it more interesting for them, and the girls do seem happy! How do I clean it? Do I take up all the wood chip/ bark? can it be washed/ hosed down or will it get mucky and stay damp? and how often does this part need cleaning? HELP!
3) we're also planning to use the wood bark on the inside where the perches are, and stick to shredded paper in the nest box. sound OK?

Thanks so much!
Tanya x

Gigervamp

Sounds like they're sleeping in the nesting box. If you can get them to stop sleeping in the nesting box and using the perches instead, that should solve the problem. (The perches should be higher than the nesting box.)

I've read that bark chippings in a run aren't good. Something to do with the preservatives used I believe and you should be using something like dust extracted wood shavings like this in the coop on the floor, although you can put straw (not hay) in the nesting boxes.

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi everyone, not had a chance to read the whole thread yet;) but hoping you won't mind me asking a couple of questions as I've really wanted to keep chickens for ages .....:D


I would have to buy a coop (keep looking on Gum*tree etc but no joy yet) as DIY isn't great!:o

It would be get one with a small run attached so they had some room to stretch their legs.

My garden backs onto a huge field so I'm hoping the "girls" will be able to have a roam around there on days when I'm home (only access through a door in a 6 ft high fence so they couldn't get in / out themselves).

On the days I'm not at home - would they be OK kept in the run with the coop or would this be cruel?


Also, I'm a bit worried about mice - the field is pretty heavily populated with them (my cats try their hardest but .....) - is there any way I can reduce the risk of the mice being attracted to the chickens?

We do already have problems with them coming into the garden/some neighbours have them in the house already and I really don't want to make things worse:( and I certainly wouldn't be popular (even with the offer of free eggs now & then).

Loads more questions but these are my main stumbling blocks and the reasons I've not investigated more. TIA:)

taxsaver

Hello and welcome Rising from the Ashes,

The mice issue is relatively easy, feed your chickens early in the day or if later try not to feed beyond mid-afternoon and ensure any uneaten food has been put safely away by night. Try to have your coop a little off the ground so that there is not a space underneath for mice (or rats) to nest in and ensure your food supplies are stored in a container that the mice can't easily access - metal is good!

It won't be cruel to have them contained within a run when you're not there.... assuming the run isn't too small for the number of chickens you have, but if you are only planning on maybe three chickens then that is very unlikely to be an issue. They will LOVE the huge field when they are able to go into that, but do make sure you don't let them into that for at least the first week after you get them as they need to get used to your coop and run as being home..... you might also want to clip their wings (it doesn't hurt them) or you might find they start to roost in trees in or around the field if you don't get them home early enough.

I'd encourage you to take the plunge though as they're great to have around.