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 We started our backyard flock 8 days ago. Definitely learning as we go. One rookie mistake I made was the first few days using straw in their coop as bedding. I’ve since switched over to cedar chips We know they are frizzled (and adorable!) but can anyone ID the breed?
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Jul 6, 2020 05:06
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:45 |
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Frizzles are a breed in most of the world. Where are you at? North Texas. From our online research any breed can be frizzled. Our neighbors have a frizzled barred rock for example!
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Jul 6, 2020 17:12
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Lawson posted:Also, we've used straw and shavings over the years, whatever was handy. Can't say I noticed a practical difference, although I have heard suggestions for shavings as well. Maybe it matters if you have 150 hens and need to shovel poo poo daily. We've had 8 at a time at most, and things have been smooth as far as the bedding is concerned. The big difference for us has been in the amount of flies. Because the straw decomposes when wet from feces it exacerbated the fly problem we already have. Switching over to cedar chips has already made a nice difference. I also read that they can get their crops full of straw and kill them. I am new to this and not at all an expert, so that thing I read on some website could very well be not true or just extremely rare. There is a breeder nearby that breeds silkies and we’re hoping to add 2 hens by the end of the week!
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Jul 6, 2020 18:55
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:any breed can be frizzled but Frizzle is also a breed in the US. That clears it up. Thank you. 
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Jul 8, 2020 21:29
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I need help with flies. Here is a pic of our set up: We move the coop to a new spot once a week but with all the feces that accrues in the run area the flies absolutely swarm. The coop itself doesn’t seem to attract nearly as much flies and we keep the bedding pretty clean, replacing it a few times a week. The issue is I can’t really clean the bare ground/grass. We are open to having a permanent spot for the coop and making the ground such that it is cleanable but I have no idea how to go about that. In the meantime I have fly traps on the way from Amazon. Any suggestions?
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Jul 17, 2020 00:44
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I’ll give it a go! Thanks!
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Jul 17, 2020 03:20
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My wife has COVID and can’t assist with moving the coop but today I started my routine of going out in the morning (when I do the AM check and get the same silkies into the run because they are too dumb to use a ramp) and I dragged the coop to a new spot. With 100 deg weather limits me a little but only for a few months.
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Jul 17, 2020 16:11
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Source4Leko posted:I love my barred rocks. They are my favorite birds I own. One of them is a lap chicken for me and basically avoids my wife tho. Our neighbors have barred rocks and we love them. One of our Silkies has an eye infection in BOTH eyes which is super rough. We started oral antibiotics Wednesday and eye drops twice per day. It’s easy enough to pill her but the eye drops are a pain, especially with two crusted eyes that she doesn’t open. Poor girl, we’ll get her better.
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Aug 7, 2020 18:09
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snake and bake posted:Well, I am officially a chickam person. I got 4 pullets today. They're supposedly about 6-8 weeks old. Pics or it didn’t happen
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Aug 9, 2020 00:59
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Those are some good looking chickems snake and bake. Still trying to figure out the Silkies. They refuse to sleep anywhere but on the ground in the run. They also are uncomfortable because they do this dance every night to be the one in the middle crushed by the other two for protection. We bought them a nesting box and stuck it in the run so they’d at least have a comfy spot that might make them feel more protected but they ignore it. See video below: https://youtu.be/DZh92q7dbWQ
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Aug 9, 2020 02:33
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snake and bake posted:Mine hadn't quite figured out the coop by nightfall. It's a raised coop with a ladder going up to the door, which can be closed at night. So when they started cuddling up in a pile underneath it and looking sleepy, I scooped them up, stuck them inside the coop and shut the door. The Orp and Australorp are definitely way calmer and easier to handle than the Easter Eggers, which are kind of darty and skittish. We did that for two weeks and then just kinda got burnt out on it. If we just need to make it part of our daily routine to put them to bed and then in the mornings bring them down to the run we can, but it is a bit frustrating. We’ve thought about adding a second coop that is accessible from the ground without a ramp or ladder, but if they won’t even use the nesting box on the ground it almost seems like they just prefer the run.
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Aug 9, 2020 03:12
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 Definitely a pretty rough summer. I try to mist their coop a couple times a day and make sure they have shade + plenty of cool water.
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Aug 9, 2020 20:54
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At what point do you make the call to put down one of your cuties? We have one hen in particular that is probably going to lose vision in her left eye over an ulcer and infection. We’ve been trying to fight it with oral and eye drop antibiotics but we are losing the battle. I’m afraid if she only has 1 eye she’ll be easy target for predators and for the other chickens to pick on her.
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Aug 18, 2020 17:16
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eating only apples posted:Velvet Sparrow has absolutely had half-blind and fully blind chickens in the past, I'd contact her. I don't know how much she reads the forums any more but she's active on twitter https://twitter.com/VelvetSparrow This is great. Thank you. Headed to our 3rd week in a row of vet visits on Friday. We’re new to chickens and our adventure began with Boo having a terrible eye infection and Frida having an equally terrible respiratory infection. I feel like we’re doing something wrong, but I equally feel like it’s bad luck or just chose a terrible breeder.
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Aug 19, 2020 01:30
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5er posted:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinders_(poultry) I’m loving that his hens are named for the Golden Girls.
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Aug 19, 2020 23:10
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An update on our sicklies (sick Silkies). Boo’s eye become solidly crusted over, and after the last vet appointment we were told that the slightest touch could burst her cornea we left it crusted over until we were able to go today and get the vet to remove the crusted layer. Back to eye drop antibiotics for her!  Next up is Frida Kahlo, our painted silkie. They think she was misdiagnosed with a respiratory infection, when all along it was thrush. So basically we’ve been making it worse with antibiotics which sucks. When a vet misdiagnoses they should refund you at least for the meds they sold you that were superfluous. New plan is to keep her off food for 24 hours and mix her water with apple cider vinegar to clear up the yeast. 
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Aug 21, 2020 23:58
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snake and bake posted:Cool, I appreciate the input. One of ours has sour crop and our vet told us to start putting ACV in their water to treat it and prevent it. Idk if there is any truth to it because it’s been a week and the sour crop has not improved.
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Aug 26, 2020 23:54
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One of my favorite things about chickens is you can chase them around the yard to inspect them or just because you want to hold them, and they’ll run from you like you’re a predator. But then 20 minutes later they are happily approaching you on their own, cooing and happily pecking at your shoelaces like nothing ever happened. Loyal little babies capable of forgiveness!
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Aug 29, 2020 15:56
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 this is my very good rooster Oscar. We just got some big rain the last couple of days and he’s enjoyed the 30 degree drop in temp (from 106F to 76F roughly) and he also has loved playing in the mud. However, about the same time as the rain began, he started being VERY sleepy. Yesterday he slept most of the day which has me concerned. Further, he was trying to sleep in the run and has never done that before. He always diligently puts himself to bed in the coop. Last night I went out and he was so tired or weak, that I was able to scoop him up without him resisting and place him into bed. Today he seems sleepy still, but is poking around the yard a little. I’m not sure how worried I should be. I googled around and maybe coccydiosis? In which case I just put some stuff in their water for about a week? Can I go ahead and do that or are there downsides to putting Corid in their water if they’re not infected? LuckyCat fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Sep 2, 2020 |
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Sep 2, 2020 17:28
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Just went through sour crop with one of our silkies. No operation, but what we did is massage her crop a few times a day and limit her food a lot and her water a little. Also yogurt. After about a week she’s good as new! Crop massages were normally followed by regurgitation.
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Sep 4, 2020 17:31
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Boo is going to spend a week at the vet to have them continually clean her eyes and apply medicine.  poor baby. 
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Sep 4, 2020 20:12
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Ummm he is beautiful.
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Sep 10, 2020 19:25
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snake and bake posted:Went out to shut the coop. The chickens were still up. They came flocking over making this weird sound I've never heard before. Kind of a scolding grumble? They were giving me the stinkeye too. Phew I’m glad it was a dumb mistake rather than a snake or some predator lurking in the coop!
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Sep 11, 2020 04:32
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I went out to the coop this morning to give them water and food refill and it was chock full of mosquitoes in there. That can’t be comfortable. Is the best way to get them out of there treating the coop with permethrin? Also one of my silkies, Salem, always kicks her sister’s rear end anytime I interact with her (the sister). Frida is one that is more of a loner and doesn’t make it back to the coop at night like everyone else which requires me to go scoop her up and put her in there. Cue Salem puffing up to 3 times her size and grabbing a chunk of feathers off her back. She bullies her periodically without me around (I can hear it from inside the house) but my interactions always spur it on. I’ve been trying to figure out the meaning behind the behavior if anyone has any insight.
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Sep 15, 2020 16:07
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Is it known for hens to mount another hen, or do I have a surprise silkie rooster on my hands? E: okay I found this: http://www.scoopfromthecoop.com/why-do-hens-crouch-when-approached/ which explains the behavior. Still learning! LuckyCat fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Sep 21, 2020 |
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Sep 21, 2020 23:00
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Does anyone know if Tylan injectable can be put in their water? I don’t trust myself to give injections.
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Oct 9, 2020 16:28
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Here is Boo's temporary home until she recovers some of her vision (if she recovers any vision). She also gets daily supervised play-time outside in the dirt with all the others locked away for her protection.
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Oct 13, 2020 16:29
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We had our first hawk yesterday. Luckily I was in the kitchen with the window open and heard a commotion. Looked out and saw a hawk going ham on Salem our blue silkie. Shouted for my wife and we both sprinted out there and the hawk flew off. Very lucky she only has a small cut on her forehead and about 30 feathers ripped out and that’s it! :Phew:
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Oct 18, 2020 14:01
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Our blind silkie, Boo, laid her first egg yesterday and I didn’t realize how emotional I’d be over it. 
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Oct 25, 2020 15:25
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Enfys posted:awwwww Boo Right now we have her inside in a guinea pig cage (a nice big one) and I sit and watch her all day. Hilariously, she stumbles around until she steps on her food bowl (sometimes making it go everywhere) and then she’ll bob her head down around where she thinks the bowl is but normally missing it the first several tries. She eventually finds it and munches away! Sometimes she starts crying and it’s almost always solved by me picking her up and setting her in front of the food, and then clinking the bowl with my finger to let her know the proximity. Watching her drink is even funnier because she’ll run into the coffee mug I use for her water and then she’ll bob her head beside the cup instead of in it, but she’ll still hold her beak up and do the slurpy thing as if she got water in there.
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Oct 25, 2020 23:46
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Is there any way to get a hen to stop laying? I’m worried about Boo who just laid her 3rd egg. With her eye problems and being on a new course of antibiotics and daily eye de-crusting, I’m worried about the stress she’s under and laying can’t help things. The last thing I need is for her to be struggling to lay and her body giving nutrients over to that process! Lots of articles about how to get them to lay but not the opposite. One thing I can do is make sure her lamp goes out earlier in the day to make the day seem shorter.
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Oct 28, 2020 17:26
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I was trying to clean Boo’s eyes out earlier and it was stressful as usual. So stressful that I sat her down and she squatted and laid an egg in my lap.
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Nov 5, 2020 23:24
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It took months for my silkie rooster to figure out the ramp but he finally goes up and down like a champ! Speaking of roosters, my frizzle rooster Oscar fended off a small hawk this morning! What a badass!
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Nov 11, 2020 15:10
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Here is Boo sleeping on her side. She loves rolling around on the carpet! We just took her in for a quality of life exam. Vet recommends eye removal or euthanasia. Her left eye just will not heal. We’re starting our 4th round of antibiotics tonight over the course of many months. The eye removal surgery is $600 but he says if we can get the eye out she’ll be a lot happier. We really can’t afford that and I know when I get home and tell my wife she’s going to say we need to euth. E: I eat chicken all the time. I can’t figure out why it’s so emotionally hard for me to cope with the thought of putting her down when in reality, because of my diet, I probably “put down” a hundred chickens a year.
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Dec 18, 2020 01:51
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Here in North Texas we have weather in the teens coming up and I’m worried about my chickens staying warm. I know they can generally be cold weather hardy but my rooster in particular is a frazzle and has quite a bit of exposed skin where there are no feathers. When it’s cold I make sure to close their coop up nice and tight for warmth but what else should I do? Am considering dragging the coop into the garage for a few days (which means I’ll need to clean the garage to be safe).
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Feb 6, 2021 18:04
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Salem went to the e-vet Sunday because she was blocked and couldn’t poop. Turns out it was just a bunch of dried diarrhea caused by coccidyosis and a small bacterial infection. Boo started having incredibly watery diarrhea yesterday and I’m thinking it must be the cocci. Can anyone with a math brain help me determine how much to put in her drinking water? E: having a hard time attaching the image of the instructions Let’s try this:  She weighs probably 1lb if even that. LuckyCat fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Feb 21, 2021 |
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Feb 21, 2021 19:18
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Joburg posted:I can’t see the right side of the label but if it says 16 floz per 100 gallons for the 5 day treatment, that should equate to 1/3 Tablespoon per 1 gallon. I did look on backyardchickens.com and people there recommend 2 teaspoons per gallon, so that is higher than what I figured. Rad, thank you Joburg. I’ll do 1.5 tbsp per gallon to make it a happy middle. Poor little boo squeals when she pushes diarrhea out and it’s simultaneously cute af and breaks my heart
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Feb 21, 2021 20:10
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perepelki posted:is boo still around?! omg She is still around! Right after her big dip she had a big turnaround and her eyes are much healthier (but she’s permanently blind). Lately it has been lethargy and now diarrhea. Took her to a fancier vet and they did a battery of tests for infections, parasites, you name it. She’s adjusted to blind living just fine, but with our power being out for 2 days last week and temps that we’re sub zero we had to bring the whole flock inside. I think she picked something up from them coming in. That of course means they are carrying something 😫. Just need everyone to get to baseline health dammit. E: here she is after a bath 
LuckyCat fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Feb 22, 2021 |
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Feb 22, 2021 01:51
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i was just thinking about her and your heartbreaking dilemma this morning. how is her eye going?
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Sorry Halloween Jack Your coop setup looks really nice, I hope you’re able to figure out the security breach.
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Feb 24, 2021 17:22
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:45 |
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While we wait for Boo”s vet appointment tomorrow, I am concerned about her being dehydrated. She’s had so much diarrhea. I currently have her on meloxicam to manage pain, and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole for coccidiosis. Today she isn’t eating or drinking so I’ve been feeding her yogurt via syringe and water via syringe. Would this homemade electrolyte recipe be good or nah? https://www.communitychickens.com/homemade-electrolytes-for-chickens/
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Feb 24, 2021 21:05
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