Jawjagrrl Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 8:49 AM, Sal said: Well, a little bit of a sad update here... The one girl who had started to be a little less active over the weekend took a turn for the worse yesterday, and was basically not walking and not eating or drinking. I attempted to syringe feed her a little bit of egg yolk and electrolytes as I had read could help, but she didn't want much. I decided to let her snuggle on my neck for the rest of her sweet life and I cooed at her softly. She passed about 30 minutes later. So yeah - I cried my eyeballs out over a chicken I knew for 4 days, but I am a lover of animals at my very core, and my animals will always be loved right to the very end, no matter how hard it is. 😢 As far as I could tell, she wasn't sick. She was eating and pooping until she just suddenly wasnt. No wheezing, no bloody poops, her crop felt normal... I think she was just failing to thrive. Just like with fish keeping, ya cant give up. Because the sweet girl who passed was my only Ameraucana, and I really want the blue eggs in my flock, I decided just to see if the farm store where we got her had any left so that a new chick could be added to the existing flock without getting picked on. They were happy to give me another, and when I went down to pick her up there were only 2 chicks left in the Ameraucana tub... So... You know how that story ends. 😉 One sweet life moves on, and 2 return in her place. So far the new girls have been welcomed and snuggled right in with the flock. So yeah - we got off to a rough start, but its all part of the learning process I guess. Fingers crossed that the rest of the brooding goes better than these first few days... Thanks for letting me share. So sorry about your loss - I felt very lucky that all 10 of mine did perfectly well except for one case of perpetual pasty butt (that hen still avoids me today!). Sometimes you just don't know - about 8 months ago I opened up the coop one morning and found one of my copper marans on the floor, dead. No signs of issue whatsoever. She was the mean girl of the bunch and it almost seemed like it was some sort of Murder on the Orient Express situation and the others were keeping silent. The flock has been much more gregarious since and I still have more than enough eggs. I have had to avoid chicken math pretty hard since it's just the two of us. the hardest was an offer of a free french black copper maran rooster (3 of my group are/were FBCMs). Maybe eventually. My favorite is a starlight green (welsummer/cream legbar cross). She will sit with me and visit, has a distinctive song and a little crest from her legbar parent. Enjoy her green eggs with ham on the weekends 😉 Hope you'll share more about your little flock as they grow! On 5/10/2022 at 9:24 AM, laritheloud said: I'm so sorry for your loss, @Sal. I hope your two new precious chicks fill the void and thrive. ❤️ @JawjagrrlI love that picture of your very young flock! My babies are almost to that exact age, they look so similar to this picture! Adorable! Enjoy the time - they grow up so fast! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 9:56 AM, Jawjagrrl said: She was the mean girl of the bunch and it almost seemed like it was some sort of Murder on the Orient Express situation and the others were keeping silent. I am sorry for your loss too, although this did make me laugh! 😂 I think keeping chickens is going to toughen me up a little bit. I get very attached to my animals. We have one welsummer in the mix, and so far the 2 orpingtons seem to be the sweetest. One will hop right in my hand looking for feed as soon as I put my hands into the brooder. As sad as yesterday was, I am glad to get back to enjoying the rest of the flock. They are all doing well today, and I even caught one dust bathing in the bedding on video this morning! TOO CUTE!! 😍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawjagrrl Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 10:36 AM, Sal said: I am sorry for your loss too, although this did make me laugh! 😂 I think keeping chickens is going to toughen me up a little bit. I get very attached to my animals. We have one welsummer in the mix, and so far the 2 orpingtons seem to be the sweetest. One will hop right in my hand looking for feed as soon as I put my hands into the brooder. As sad as yesterday was, I am glad to get back to enjoying the rest of the flock. They are all doing well today, and I even caught one dust bathing in the bedding on video this morning! TOO CUTE!! 😍 Farm life has definitely "toughened me up" regarding my attachments to animals in general, but I get to see some really wonderful positives that offset those negatives, like the swallows that raise babies in our carport every spring. Our farm dogs bring me things periodically, which was hard at first - like entire deer spines! Our delivery drivers were nervous to deliver to us at first because they would see two huge dogs surrounded by bones they enjoyed right in the front yard, especially the occasional cow leg bone 😬You get to learn pretty quickly who the local drivers were vs those with a route that starts in Atlanta proper... My welsummer has always been my flightiest, even now. My friendliest are my sapphire gem (a hybrid that lays amazing large brown eggs every day) and my crazy little legbar cross. My wyandotte is the most chill and sweetest with me, but is the bottom girl in the order - I think they are just jealous of how pretty she is. The marans are the bossiest and the cochin is just a loveable looking weirdo. They all love my excess duckweed and bladder snails! I'd love a blue layer, so look forward to hearing what yours are like! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 4:04 PM, Jawjagrrl said: Farm life has definitely "toughened me up" regarding my attachments to animals in general, but I get to see some really wonderful positives that offset those negatives, like the swallows that raise babies in our carport every spring. Our farm dogs bring me things periodically, which was hard at first - like entire deer spines! Our delivery drivers were nervous to deliver to us at first because they would see two huge dogs surrounded by bones they enjoyed right in the front yard, especially the occasional cow leg bone 😬You get to learn pretty quickly who the local drivers were vs those with a route that starts in Atlanta proper... My welsummer has always been my flightiest, even now. My friendliest are my sapphire gem (a hybrid that lays amazing large brown eggs every day) and my crazy little legbar cross. My wyandotte is the most chill and sweetest with me, but is the bottom girl in the order - I think they are just jealous of how pretty she is. The marans are the bossiest and the cochin is just a loveable looking weirdo. They all love my excess duckweed and bladder snails! I'd love a blue layer, so look forward to hearing what yours are like! I've heard great things about cream legbars and cochins in terms of personality. Wyandottes are gorgeous and I'm getting mixed messages about their temperament! Some say they tend to dominate a flock so it's interesting that yours is at the bottom and sweet with you. I have two easter eggers that look like they're getting some large muffs and I can't wait to see what color eggs they lay. Hoping one of them will be a fun green or blue. Right now my Australorp, Betsy, is the boldest chick. None of them are okay with handling but she will come right up to me and peck at my long strands of hair. She's very curious and likes to watch what I'm doing. Eleanor is the first to leap up to my hand for treats. The two eggers are goofy as heck but very sweet. I think once they go outside and I can sit beside them and let them approach me, they'll warm up faster to handling. I'm just being patient, talking to them softly, and spending a lot of time near them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 @laritheloud I have definitely noticed that even just a week in, they are less and less interested in being handled, and trying to check them daily for pasty butt has gotten more challenging, LOL! They do still come to my hand for "treats" though, which at this point is just some of their starter feed. I am hoping they will be friendly, but your approach sounds perfect! Slow/steady and consistent time spent together! I also have to give a shoutout to my bird-hating rescue dog. He knows there is something in the brooder, he is constantly sniffing the air, and he is attentively listening to their chirps when we allow him in the room. But he has left them alone, he hasn't jumped up to see whats in there, and he is being SO good about it so far. We haven't let him "see" them yet though, so that could change...😂 I know they wont be friends, but I am at least hopeful he will tolerate them through the fence and run. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawjagrrl Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 5/11/2022 at 9:12 AM, Sal said: @laritheloud I have definitely noticed that even just a week in, they are less and less interested in being handled, and trying to check them daily for pasty butt has gotten more challenging, LOL! They do still come to my hand for "treats" though, which at this point is just some of their starter feed. I am hoping they will be friendly, but your approach sounds perfect! Slow/steady and consistent time spent together! I also have to give a shoutout to my bird-hating rescue dog. He knows there is something in the brooder, he is constantly sniffing the air, and he is attentively listening to their chirps when we allow him in the room. But he has left them alone, he hasn't jumped up to see whats in there, and he is being SO good about it so far. We haven't let him "see" them yet though, so that could change...😂 I know they wont be friends, but I am at least hopeful he will tolerate them through the fence and run. I did handle my bunch often while they were still little and they would often perch on a leg or arm, sometimes a shoulder. My pasty butt patient avoided me like the plague and still does two years later (which is shame because she is so big and fluffy and cuddly looking, but screams bloody murder if you catch her for any reason). My dogs are farm dogs with an active prey drive and they do hunt out small game like rabbits, squirrels, young raccoons, etc. I don't except them or even my indoor frenchie to be trusted around the hens, but all of them have accepted the coop and run being there and don't try to get in. That's good because my flock has no sense of danger from them or even the large hawks and owls that hang out in the area. I even played a YT video of a rooster alarm call....nothing. We have a pullet farm up the road from us and occasionally escapees make it into our woods, but between our dogs, the coyotes and bobcats, none have ever gotten up to the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawjagrrl Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 4:41 PM, laritheloud said: I've heard great things about cream legbars and cochins in terms of personality. Wyandottes are gorgeous and I'm getting mixed messages about their temperament! Some say they tend to dominate a flock so it's interesting that yours is at the bottom and sweet with you. I have two easter eggers that look like they're getting some large muffs and I can't wait to see what color eggs they lay. Hoping one of them will be a fun green or blue. Right now my Australorp, Betsy, is the boldest chick. None of them are okay with handling but she will come right up to me and peck at my long strands of hair. She's very curious and likes to watch what I'm doing. Eleanor is the first to leap up to my hand for treats. The two eggers are goofy as heck but very sweet. I think once they go outside and I can sit beside them and let them approach me, they'll warm up faster to handling. I'm just being patient, talking to them softly, and spending a lot of time near them. I'd heard the same about wyandottes but "Dot" appears to be an exception. When they were chicks my wheaten maran was the most curious about me and interactive, but she is high in the order and less social now, while my silly legbar girl is always up for a visit and highly vocal. I did handle mine a lot as chicks that were open to it and I do think it helped me once they were outside. Saffron (the wheaten) was so scared the day I took that pic that she flew up on my shoulder for safety (and pooped down the front of my shirt). I was glad she saw me as safety. I know some people think think the EE muffs are weird looking, but I love them. I'd love to add some salmon faverolles to our flock, which have fun personalities, beautiful eggs, beards...and 5 toes. Here's my cochin, Brownie, when she still tolerated me. I miss this stage! She is absolutely enormous now, not at all broody and just randomly leaves an occasional egg in the run or coop floor. So much for her being the broody hen down the road! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 5/11/2022 at 11:59 AM, Jawjagrrl said: I'd love to add some salmon faverolles to our flock, which have fun personalities, beautiful eggs, beards...and 5 toes. A friend of mine has salmon faverolles and they are really awesome, incredibly friendly and total goofballs. I would definitely like to add some to our flock in the future too! I feel like I never hear anyone talking about this breed either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 (edited) On 4/21/2022 at 1:43 PM, Brandon p said: You should get a bantam Cochin. They go broody all the time and the there is an easy humane way to stop it if you don’t want them broody. Me boys would order fertile egg for and size chickens for seabrights up to Brahma’s. The bantam o chins are great mothers and raise these of the chickens no matter the size And teaches them to Properly act. If they are broody and you need or want them to produce eggs I can tel you how to safely do this with out doing crazy stuff like dipping them in frezeing water. I suspect there is a wide range of broodiness and mothering. One of our original buff orpingtons would go broody each spring and would simply not come out of it. For a couple of years I let her hatch fertile eggs. So was an absolutely great mom, would defend the chicks against our dogs. (see pics above, she'd mother them for months). I hatched some bantam cochins and they do go broody. Two of them tandem set some eggs last year and were absolutely terrible mothers compared to our orpington. They were good egg setters, but once they hatched there wasn't a lot that they were good at... and they were done with the chicks at a very young age. It was pretty neat watching two of them setting and mothering together, though. It broke their silkie friend's heart. They were all hatched (by us) and raised together. When the two started setting the silkie would just hang out in the coop with them most of the day like "what are we doing here, guys". Then she got very mean after that and once the babies were hatched and left the coop, she'd mount and "breed" the two moms and get rough with them and the babies. Like she was upset about something. Chicken politics... it didn't last too long, just a few days. Edited May 11, 2022 by jwcarlson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 My mom is a chicken keeper. I just got her one of those little chicken tables and some fruit/veggie hangers for Mother’s Day. She loved it! She started with four chickens and now has around 40 😂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 On 5/11/2022 at 3:38 PM, mouseturd13 said: My mom is a chicken keeper. I just got her one of those little chicken tables and some fruit/veggie hangers for Mother’s Day. She loved it! She started with four chickens and now has around 40 😂 OMG the little picnic table!!!!! I definitely need one of those! 😂 That is too cute. It sounds like the Chicken Math got the best of your mom, her flock is so pretty! 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 Decided to try to get photos of the babies as babies, since they are already changing so fast... Of course, the only way to do that without completely blurry photos is holding them. 😂 The kids finished naming them - so here they are, LOL! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 19, 2022 Author Share Posted May 19, 2022 Coop progress! The run is coming along. Hardware cloth and predator apron is going in! Drainage and dry well are installed… and of course I added window boxes! 😂 The chicks are now 2 weeks old and starting to get so big!! The tiny chicken tails are killing me! Sooo cute!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Link removed for being strange. It showed a snake with chicken eggs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 On 5/20/2022 at 6:26 PM, Streetwise said: I was not expecting what I saw! 😳 Snake had a good dinner, and a warm bed. 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 My babies made it outside! https://streamable.com/ncw72o https://streamable.com/cdm2sf Welcome home, ladies! (Once they get used to their home they'll have daily 'free range' yard time; we plan to extend the run area with a big walk-in pen.) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 @laritheloud How exciting!! 😍 I love how nervous/skeptical they were at first, I wonder what they are thinking. They look so happy scratchin' around! How did they do their first night in the outdoor coop? Did they go right in at night time, or did you have to help them out? I am already realizing how much I am going to miss having ours inside, but I am definitely looking forward to introducing them to their new home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 On 5/23/2022 at 11:13 AM, Sal said: @laritheloud How exciting!! 😍 I love how nervous/skeptical they were at first, I wonder what they are thinking. They look so happy scratchin' around! How did they do their first night in the outdoor coop? Did they go right in at night time, or did you have to help them out? I am already realizing how much I am going to miss having ours inside, but I am definitely looking forward to introducing them to their new home! They had to be scooped up and placed inside. They also took a few hours to get brave enough to go back out in the run this morning. Some people lock up their chickens in their coop for a few days but I don't feel right doing that, so I'll just return them in the coop in the evenings if I have to. I did stick a stick-on disc nightlight in there and it's on a timer, so it'll go on for about an hour after sunset to hopefully entice the chicks to go back inside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 I'm back after their first full day outside and they are having the time of their life scratching around in the dirt and straw. Love these little birds! We'll see if they can find their way back into the coop this evening. I turned on their light and I'll move the food back inside to try and entice them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 They went into the coop all by themselves to sleep last night! I'm so glad they're loving the outdoor life! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 @Sal when I first put my chickens outside, I had to put them in the coop for several nights before they would go in themselves. It didn’t take too long, but it’s VERY important to put them up right at dusk. Mine would go to sleep in a pile against the fence. One night I forgot to put them up until about an hour after dark, and I came outside to discover something had grabbed Goldie trough the fence and nearly scalped her. That was my first foray into being a chicken nurse! Thankfully chickens are quite tough, and Goldie’s doing fine to this day, though she still has a bald spot on her head. I’m really sorry about your little chick passing. I lost a chick at a similar age once. She just stopped eating and drinking. I’m glad you got some snuggles with her at the end. ❤️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/24/2022 at 10:16 AM, laritheloud said: They went into the coop all by themselves to sleep last night! I'm so glad they're loving the outdoor life! Love hearing (and seeing) that yours are transitioning outside well! I am so anxious about this! We are planning their first "field trip" outdoors this weekend - so we will see how it goes. They are 3 weeks old as of yesterday - and are feathering up SO fast. We love them so much. I haven't really noticed too much of a struggle for pecking order, and in the evenings they all huddle up into a big chicken-pile and snooze on each other. It's pretty much the cutest freaken thing I've ever seen. 😂. I got them a little mini roost in the brooder, and they've started using that too. On 5/26/2022 at 12:30 AM, Hobbit said: One night I forgot to put them up until about an hour after dark, and I came outside to discover something had grabbed Goldie trough the fence 😢 So sorry to hear this, but glad to hear Goldie survived! It helps me to hear how resilient they are! After losing that first chick right out of the gate, I am definitely ON EDGE about everything. 😂. I have had to try very hard not to be a helicopter mom to my human children, and that is translating to my chicken parenting too. Last night, while the chicks were out of the brooder visiting with us, an ant ran across the floor, and before I could get to it, one of the chickens bolted over and DEVOURED it. BIO-SECURITY FAILURE!!!!! I joke, but also, is she ok?? 😂😳 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 The chickens ARE your bio security! That was a bio security success!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJ Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 On 5/26/2022 at 9:08 AM, Sal said: is she ok I think in the world of Poultry biosecurity is talked about as limiting exposure to poultry disease, so things like quarantine and not walking in your coop with manure from your friends coop on your shoes. As for the ant its a healthy snack for the bird and one less ant you have to worry about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Posted May 31, 2022 Author Share Posted May 31, 2022 Thank you @Hobbit & @BigJ - I tend to try to use humor to cover over my raging anxiety, but I forget sometimes it does not translate to written word. 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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