| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 05:58:52 AM
Hi everyone!
I recieved chickens as a wedding gift. My DH and I had already built a coop, but hadn't gotten around to getting chickens because I didn't feel very well educated about their care.
Now I've got two hens and a rooster. One of the hens seems to get pecked quite a bit. She's lost a few feathers on her back. But, now when she "clucks" she sounds like she's sick, almost like she's drowning (I know how weird this sounds). I asked my neighbor, and he said that it just has a cold and will get better; if I wanted to, I could give the hen a shot of B-12. But, I feel bad for it, and don't really want to be injecting my chickens with ANYTHING. Do any of you ladies have experience with this? She still eats/drinks/poops, and doesn't seem to be in pain in any way (You can still pet her) but, the clucking-drowning-sick sound she makes breaks my heart. Any help would be appreciated!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| kmc |
Posted - Nov 20 2009 : 3:46:37 PM
Megan- so glad to hear your hen is hanging in there. It is a real bummer to have to buy eggs at the store. Oh well just think how wonderful those eggs will be! Makes me want to go give my hens a kiss. Well good luck with the hens not sitting on the eggs. I have noticed mine are starting to do it a little more this last week. its like they all are taking turns laying in one box and half the time a hen will be in there sitting on the eggs. |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 19 2009 : 07:32:35 AM
KMC-you didn't upset me at all! :) My sick hen is still hanging in there, and so are my other too-but nobody is claiming those eggs yet! We'll see. I'm going to give them a few more eggs, and then I'll take those eggs out and get rid of them. Today is the last day we are to be giving the anti-biotics, so in 10 days we can start eating their eggs again! I was so dissapointed when I had to go buy eggs at the grocery store!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| kmc |
Posted - Nov 18 2009 : 8:43:25 PM
Megan- Oh good so glad I didnt upset you!!! Im almost afraid to ask did your sick chick make it? It is funny how different every chicken is most just hang out and do there thing some bite some sqwalk a lot, some are lovie, some are just way curious. They are as different as people are. I suppose some want kids some don't too. |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 09:26:28 AM
Megan, not all breeds of chickens are setters, and not all hens are broody. When a hen deceids that she is going to sit, she usually waits til she has several eggs in the nest, then once she starts brooding, she does not lay anymore. That way all the eggs pretty much hatch at the same time. Since you live in a cold winter weather area, most hens will not brood this time of the year ( and yes there are exceptions ) I would just pull those eggs and dispose of them, or mark them and pull the new ones that are laid.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 06:49:30 AM
Not offended at all! I honestly don't have the faintest idea if they sit on them right away or not. I AM getting impatient though. She's got 8 eggs just sitting in her box!!! Whenever I go out and feed I tell her to go sit on her eggs; she never listens to me for some reason. ha!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| kmc |
Posted - Nov 13 2009 : 8:59:37 PM
Megan- I am new at the whole chicken thing!!! I just am telling you what I am obseriving from our chickens. I dont think you are wrong! I did not mean to offend you. I have not been blessed with any prior experiences. |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 11 2009 : 3:40:58 PM
Huh, I guess since growing up, my mom (a teacher) always had the eggs in an incubator, so I thought the hens would always sit on them to keep them warm...maybe I'm wrong!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| kmc |
Posted - Nov 09 2009 : 08:59:46 AM
My hens are young we got them in the spring and they lay eggs in almost all there boxes only once in a while do I see them sitting on the eggs. Our nights are 30 to 40 degrees now. They are usually too busy scratchin around outside. You might want to call a vet and ask for advise sometimes they can help you without it costing you an arm and a leg |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 09 2009 : 05:22:39 AM
Well, the hen's been on antibiotics for 5 days now, and no real sign of improvement yet...we'll see. But, someone is still laying eggs-and I'm not eating them. I figure I'll leave them alone and see what happens. My only concern is why they're still laying, it's been getting cold at night, and every time I go out there there isn't a hen sitting on the eggs.
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| kmc |
Posted - Nov 07 2009 : 12:01:54 PM
It is our first year for chickens we have 12 laying hens and we had 2 successful batches of meat birds. A wonderful lady that I met at one of the farm stores gave me some great tips for sick chickens. To prevent some of these problems she referred to as Toxsidityosis (probably spelled wrong) is to clean waterers daily with a bleach/water solution and put 1/2 tsp. of apple cidar vinegar per gal of water. That ratio may not be exact but we usually eyeball it. Our laying hens have never been sick but our meat chickens seemed to be more fragile and much more messy so we did have to put them on antibiotics once. Keeping bedding dry is a key I think. Hope your chicken is doing ok now |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Nov 01 2009 : 4:25:26 PM
A chicken saddle?! HA! Never even occurred to me. I'll see if I can find it!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| Mad Typist |
Posted - Nov 01 2009 : 06:48:36 AM
Hi, Megan! I hope your chicken is doing better. We have the most spoiled chickens in VT but they still peck each other (no rooster!)and we've noticed if there's a bloody spot and we spray it w/ Dr. Naylor's Blu-Kote (an antiseptic spray that's purple) it keeps the others from going after it even more. Also, my sister had a rooster that was always after a "favorite" chicken and she made it a chicken saddle, which I'm pretty sure she got the pattern for from the Mary Jane's website. It stays on well and protects the poor bird from further damage. Good luck to you; chickens are surely an adventure and a challenge!
Savor Happy Accidents... |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 31 2009 : 6:40:25 PM
I sure hope so! Thank you!
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 4HMom |
Posted - Oct 31 2009 : 11:25:03 AM
Once the antibiotic clears her system, she'll be fine. They have to label not for human consumption because of legal issues. Duramycin-10 isn't a "human" antibiotic. Not to worry. I'm glad to hear your sick chick is still with you...sounds like she might bounce back from this.
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 31 2009 : 10:18:34 AM
Hey ladies, I went to Tractor Supply and asked about a sick laying hen I had. They told me to get Duramycin-10, and add it to the water.
Reading the package it says it's not for chickens who lay eggs for human consumption. Now, I'm not going to be eating the chicken who's sick's eggs she lays (I hope that made sense) but, what about after the anti-biotics are given to it? What does the antibiotic do to them to make their eggs inedible for humans? This concerns me, as I really have wanted to keep the chickens as "all-natural" as possible.
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Oct 23 2009 : 08:09:19 AM
Kelly is right, add them at night, much less of a chance of attack on the new girls.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| sherrye |
Posted - Oct 23 2009 : 07:36:13 AM
hi megan, i wanted to ad that if the chicken is getting pecked, you need to either put a red bulb in the coop or seperate her. chickens peck at dark spots to them it looks like a bug or worm. usually they will peck the chicken apart. that is also why you use a red bulb for chicks to keep them from pecking the back end of another chick.also bored chickens peck more. scratch in their yard helps. the color of the combs and legs determine the color of yolk to some extent. it is also how to determine age of hen. dark rich combs young hen. hope this helps. i would seperate her for sure to protect her. chickens lay on average 2 eggs every 3 days sherrye the learn as you go farm silk purse sherrye |
| 4HMom |
Posted - Oct 23 2009 : 07:32:54 AM
Don't put your new ones in until it's dark and the others have roosted. In the morning, they don't seem to notice the newbies. This has worked every time except once...and that was when the hen really was funky looking. I thought all was good, but about 2 weeks later, the new hed was dead :( Also make sure that the newbies that you put in aren't a lot smaller than the others. Have fun!!!!
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 23 2009 : 05:08:51 AM
Wow. That many? Holy moly! I'll definitely start looking then. 4 MORE?! Wow! Any advice on integrating the new hens once my one hen is better and back in with the original hen and rooster???
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 3:54:19 PM
Meg, you should be able to add 4 more.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 1:35:32 PM
I think that's a good idea about getting more hens. My pen is currently 4 feet wide by 8 feet tall by 10 feet high. How many hens do y'all think I can fit in there? (Once my one hen is better, I'd hate to put more in there without her better) I'm only getting about 1 egg a day. They're either New Hampshire Reds, or Rhode Island Reds, from what I can tell. I'll talk to the DH about getting her a cage...I'd hate for her to be getting the others sick, and picking up some anti-biotic to put in her cage.
I can't tell comb-wise, they both seem bright red and healthy. The sick one also had a weird watery-eye thing going on, but that seems to have subsided.
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
| Ms.Lilly |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 10:55:10 AM
Megan- On a side note, I would definatly consider getting more hens if you are giong to keep the rooster with them. 1 rooster with 2 hens and you are going to end up with bald, tore up hens getting no peace at all.
Lillian |
| southerncrossgirl |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 09:20:19 AM
Kris, My Buffs haven't started laying yet either. I guess it is not quite time.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
| Autumn Leaves |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 08:22:53 AM
I have one that acts like she hurt her leg, kinda drags it. I put her in a cage in the hen house with all the others and she is doing great. I'm with Gena though most of the time my sick ones don't recover, the injured always snap back but, not the sick. I did have two hens get over colds and as far as I know they still haven't laid an egg but, then again nobody is laying right now. Everyone has given great advice & I've tried it all. Good luck and I hope your little lady gets better soon.
Warm Wishes
Jennifer
Never let yesterday use up too much of today - Will Rogers
http://jenscountrylife.blogspot.com |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Oct 22 2009 : 08:13:25 AM
I am only getting 3 eggs a day from all my thousands of chickens. But I know exactly who they came from. One is a game hen and she lays in the cat room. The other is a Welsummer and she lays am almost red egg. The other is an Americana and she lays a green egg. Now when and if my Buffs and Barred Rocks lay, unless I see them do it, I will not know. Then I have 4 that will lay while eggs and 4 more that will lay green. So unless you watch and see who is the egg layer, I can't tell you that. You could put the sick hen in a cage in the hen house so she can still see the others (and it won't be so hard to get her back in with them when she's well) and give her the antibiotics. Then if she's laying throw hers out.
Another way to tell if they are laying at all, other than watching, is their comb. Is it really red or a pale pink? If it's red, they should be laying. If not, they aren't. That's an old wives tale but it is true pretty much.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
