bumping for answers for sooseque! hi tractor9, hows your girl doing! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
mothergoose_nz,
Jan 2, 8:12pm
if your hen is going inside to eat the cat food give them some of their own.a cheap dogroll will do.they are meat eaters and love it.
mothergoose_nz,
Jan 2, 8:13pm
plenty of cheeping in my incubator.had some quail eggs so tried them but they havent hatched yet
lythande1,
Jan 2, 9:20pm
We got 3. After a day of stunned sitting they realised they could actually wander about. They were lovely chooks, friendly, happy, certainly not psycho. Maybe it's how they continue to be treated, not their start in life.
tractor9,
Jan 3, 1:04pm
Hi jules, we ended up taking our girl to the vet to do the final deed on New Years eve. She didn't improve her condition so we thought it was the best thing in the end. Miss Eight was really upset to lose a good friend and a full burial service was done on New Years day. The vet (a different one from the one mentioned before) suspected that it may have been cancer in the ovaries, not a very nice way to go. Thanks for asking, have a Happy New Year.
tinart,
Jan 3, 7:42pm
Help! we have made a new nesting box and during the changeover a cat ( i think!) has got in an attacked one of my chooks.it wasnt too bad as i heard them all squawking, went to investigate and the animal was gone by the time i got to the coop.small bunch of feathers on the ground but no blood. but since then the affected chook has been in shock.she has a bump on her head and back. she isnt eating and only drinks a little. she laid an egg the next day but not in the nesting box - on the grass . then she smashed it. day 2 now and she is still in shock. just stands staring with all her feathers puffed out. the 3 other chooks have been giving her a hard time ( she has been the henpecked one anyway) so i have seperated her today. any advice!i am wondering if she has got a brain injury or if its hopefully just the shock
jules.,
Jan 4, 8:11am
hi again tractor9, its very sad taking them to to the 'deed', (i cried a little when i took roxy), but as you say, its the best thing in the end. it cant be nice feeling that way and not being able to do anything for yourself about it :( my kids are 7 and 9, and its always very hard on them when anything like that happens. and like you, we always have the full sevice for our girls :)
tinart-sounds like just shock still, but if there are the bumps, keep an eye on them, they may abcess! im not an expert so hopefully one will pop by and answer your question. if in doubt though, call your local vet, they are always good to answer questions (well i know mine is). good luck with her.
koru_designs,
Jan 4, 12:44pm
Just popping in to see how everyone is going.
Tractor9.so sorry to hear about your sick girl but sounds like you did all you could for her. These things happen, unfortunately & some breeds are more prone to cancers & tumors than others. Big hugs.
Tinart.keep your girl warm (but not hot) & separated from the others for now to minimise stress. Give her soluable vitamins in her water & maybe put her on the Ricketts diet to get some goodies into her (I think I posted the diet earlier in this thread! Let me know if you need me to repost it). Also watch her droppings for blood (internal injuries). Birds can go downhill very quickly & can very easily die of shock, so keep a very close eye on her over the next few days but try not to overly stress her by handling her too much, etc. You may have to bite the bullet & do "the deed" if it's in her best interests (hopefully not but do be prepared, just in case). All you can do is keep an eye on her & watch for infection or injury - the vet or a farm supply can give you antibiotics if they're needed. Good luck.
Sooseque.did he have other symptoms! Without knowing more about his physical condition, it's a bit difficult to guess at a diagnosis for your boy. Big hugs for your loss.
jules.,
Jan 5, 10:06am
oh koru_designs, you are always such a wealth of knowledge. i knew an expert would drop by :)
bev00,
Jan 5, 10:51pm
keeping alive for chickies
adara1,
Jan 6, 11:16am
chook food When I was a kid we had a few chickens and mum use to boil up all the vege scraps to make them soft enough for them to eat and they loved it and any leftover food scraps went out to them as well.
sandra25,
Jan 7, 8:23pm
Frost! Firstly, thanks for all the info - really helpful and informative. We have just moved on to an 8 acre block and are preparing to buy some animals. I want to start with 4 chooks and maybe buy a few more later. We are having a great debate on where to build the coop. Have picked a sheltered spot that will be sunny in the summer but will possibly be frosty in the winter. Can they handle frost! TIA.
pandaeye,
Jan 7, 9:14pm
They can handle cold no problem as long as they have shelter against cold win and rain, build their coop about 50m from the house, windows facing north, solid wall to the south.
bellyatobhs,
Jan 7, 9:25pm
Chook with sore eye we have a chook with a sore eye, there is a swelling in the corner of her eye beck end, and it is partially closing over the eye, there isnt any pus i have been bathing it with diluted tea which seems to help a little, has anyone come across this before the bird is around 4to5 yrs old and is over wise in really good condition dont really want to put it down any help would be great
pandaeye,
Jan 7, 10:23pm
this time of the year there's plenty of dust, sometimes chooks also scratch their inner eyelid with their claws.
pompadour,
Jan 8, 10:56am
Nothing Like Liberating. .a bunch of battery hens. They're wonderful layers and its great watching them learn to scratch and chase bugs and, pure bliss- have a dirt bath. I was told they don't breed but one of mine went clucky and I put some day old chicks under her She was surprised and absolutely delighted- became a devoted mother.
k_stuart,
Jan 11, 8:08am
I have a question please. Why would my chooks have stopped laying! We have been away on holiday for 2.5 weeks and had someone looking after them and since we have been back there has been only 1 egg every couple of days, before we left they were laying one each a day (we have three chooks). Is it the hot weather! or were they unhappy about not being let out of their coop for 2.5 weeks! We usually let them out in the evenings after work and they put themselves to bed but the people looking after them didn't have time to do that.
tinart,
Jan 11, 8:33am
hey tarawera99. you wouldnt happen to have a contact number for the lady in Lichfield! would be great to call before making the journey just in case she has no chooks for sale.cheers!
tinart,
Jan 11, 8:49am
vaccinations have seen chooks advertised as vaccinated.when is this sposed to be done and how often! do you have to go to the vet!how much does it cost!
stompy,
Jan 11, 7:19pm
I am with Val on this definatley don't feed them chicken.yes they will eat it but common sense should prevail here, they are not alot of work but very rewarding I also have brown shavers and a light sussex awesome quiet birds especially the shavers I clean out the poos each monring so nothing ever gets smelly, no biggy and keep there nesting boxes clean, and ALWAYS clean water, grit for them its very cheap lasts for ever. and Iits chooks not chicken. the kiwi way.
maryteatowel1,
Jan 11, 10:10pm
stompy can you tell me why you shouldn't feed them chicken! I'm being serious.free range chooks will eat a dead chook (raw), I have seen it happen on the neighbours farm, pigs eat bacon and ham, why shouldn't chooks eat cooked chicken! Its high in protein and low in fat.I would have thought it much better for them than dog roll (as some people suggest to get their protein levels up), also why should you not feed them raw potato skins!
pandaeye,
Jan 12, 12:24am
71, only those comes from mass hatching (hatcheries) are vaccinated against marek. not cost effective for any other poultry keeper.
pandaeye,
Jan 12, 12:28am
73, transfer of diseases when fed raw, cooked is a different story, actually some of the chook pellet contain bone meal came from. you guess it. chooks. Potato skin in raw state (green) contain solanid small dose won't hurt them, boiled/ cooked potato can be given with no risk.
maryteatowel1,
Jan 12, 1:32am
thanks pandaeye I was sure that I had read that there was chicken bone meal in the pallets.there is no way I would feed them raw chicken because of diseases but I had always thought that it was ok to feed them cooked chicken (I think its just human to think its a bit creepy and not ok).and thanks about the potato thing, I had completely forgotten about the solanid in raw potato.
mamabiff,
Jan 12, 2:26am
If naming your chooks please be aware that if you ask children to name them the names may be a little.well, different to what you anticipate!We now have a crazy half frizzle bantam called 'Garfield' and another white girl named 'Queen Williamena'(sons name being William)!'Gingernut' and 'Henny Penny' and 'Lady Anna' had some help with their names!Anyone else have chooks as pets and have named them!
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