Opal "egg bound"

from August-October my black giant jersey hen, Opal's, bottom got more and more swollen. her vent was so stretched to the side that she could barely poop. and as you see in the pictures it stuck out very far. When this happens to a hen she is either egg bound or has some kind of infection. and in both circumstances, there isnt much you can do. if she is egg bound, soak her bottom in warm water so the egg can move through the cloaca. but more commonly it doesnt get better, which results in death within weeks-months, which is the most humane thing for the bird, since she is greatly in pain. so, Opal died in late October. and to make sure, that she was egg bound (which is good compared to the other options, so the other chickens wont get infected) i turned her on her back, and using doctor gloves and a serrated knife (easier to cut), to find out what was inside. sure enough, out came stinky yellow/orange goo, and many (i stopped counting at 30) soft shell eggs with rotting yolks inside, and a large hard shelled something decomposing in her uterus. her uterus was also the size of two fists, compared to the normal size of an egg. there was also eggs jammed between her intestines and other organs. there isnt much you can do to prevent this except keep their stress level down.

so opal is in chicken heaven right now, along with my others: Dolly, Gerty, and Belle. that is the one thing we-pet owners- must remember: that heartbreak always comes with getting an animal.

this is a picture of when i dissected Opal. she is upside down. all the orange stuff coming out if her is what i believe to be rotting eggs. and thats not even all of them! i just had to find out what was wrong with her...

Adding new chickens to your flock

Hey! I just bought two new hens on Saturday. I got two blue cochin pullets, they are so fluffy! this is a picture of Cosette, and her twin is Adelaide. So, when introducing new chickens into your flock, you must introduce the new chickens slowly and with a watchful eye. The introduction should spread out for a week. Before you get the new chickens make a temporary cage next to the run so your girls and the new chickens can see each other during the day. Make sure they also have food and water, and if laying, a nesting box. And even a small perch/stool/step for them to roost on if you want, and shelter from wind and rain or heat if the weather is bad. Here is what to do each day:

Day one-three: keep new chooks in temp. run, provide seeds, feed pellets, veggies, etc to keep them occupied.

Day four: put new girls and your flock in the run together (would be better if you had a larger area) for about 10 minutes, be in the run with them. you should expect the new chickens to be pecked, feather pulled and jumped on by your flock. they have to basically "fight out" the pecking order. after ten minutes, put the new girls back in their cage. let the chickens cool off for an hour. then repeat a couple more times throughout the day.

Day five: put the new girls in the run with the flock for about a half hour a few times throughout the day. keep an eye on them, and interceed if it gets too violent (wear jeans!). remember the smaller the flock, the closer and tightly knit they will be, so new chickens are more of an intruder to them, so it is harder to introduce new chooks.

Day six: put the new girls in the run with the flock at the end of the day (around 4 or 5 pm). make sure the new girls have a perch in the run to be able to take a break from the pecking. when the flock goes in the coop at night, see if the new chooks will go in too. if they dont place, them on a seperate perch from the rest of the flock when it is dark to stay during the night.

Day seven: The chickens will all wake up together. During the day, watch the chickens closely. they will not all get along perfectly, but after a few more weeks together, they will. Make sure also that every two hens you add you need to add one more nesting box to the coop.

goodbye belle

belle died. well, actually we had to put her down because she just continued to get more and more sick and weak. she would eat just fine, but would continue to lose weight. and eventually couldn't even stand. one of the major contributing problems were mites/flee infestation. she was covered, i couldn't even hold her for more than a minute before i was covered with mites! so that really lowered her immune system so she couldn't fight back. i tried giving her antibiotics, protein (cat food, cooked meats, flax seed), and fatty foods (cheese, whole milk, breads, yogurt...) to help her gain weight and boost her immune system, because that is what also gets attacked with mites. and i also used this powder call diatomaceous earth (DE). it kills the mites by rubbing the power into their feathers. if you see just one mite on the chicken (usually around the head and vent area), you must apply DE right away. because when there is one, there is one hundred. wear a mask when applying, because it is bad to inhale the DE. on a very infested bird, apply at least once a week. my other chooks had mites but the DE got rid of them. i even had to bathe them in a sink full of warm water and soap. (it got rid of a lot but, giving them a bath should be your last resort because it can make them very stressed). also, spread the DE all over the ground of the coop and where they take dust baths, even if they don't have mites. the best way to cure mites is prevention.

unfortunately, when something this serious happens to a chicken, you will have to know when to draw the line. there are vets that will treat chickens, but after all, it is just a chicken. belle was like my baby, she loved to be held and wrapped up in my jacket and would fall asleep in my arms immediately . but i have other chickens chickens and other animals, and if i took her to the vet, he would probably say there isn't much you can do to help and treating belle would have cost more than all my chooks put together! so one does have to draw the line at some point, i did after i spent $25-30 on her, but in the end it was hopeless.

on the bright side, i will always be grateful for this learning experience for the future, and know how to handle this kind of a situation. it also introduced me to DE, which really is a chicken lifesaver, and i will be getting two more girls from a friend as a favor for her. yay!

Clipping Wings

If you have chickens who tend to escape frequently from their designated area, then first check the run, or surrounding border, of their area to see if there are any places they can go through or get under. if there isnt, or they continue to escape, then most likely they are flying over the fence (chickens can "fly" up to probably 8 feet (if they really wanted to) depending on their size-the smaller the higher) the way to fix this problem is to clip their wings. this doesnt hurt then in any way, its just like cutting nails or hair. all youre cutting are feathers. there are 5 simple steps to do this:

before you start get: sharp scissors, a towel, and find a place to sit

step 1. hold the chicken that is the escapee, and sit down on a chair (or whatever)

step 2. hold the chicken so its head is in between your arm and side-if they starting freaking out you can cover their head and body with the towel. but if your chickens are used to being held then you shouldnt have a problem.
step 3. use you hand to spread the wing so the primary (outermost) feathers are sticking out.

step 4. while keeping the feathers spread out, clip the primary feathers from the outside towards the smaller feathers or visa versa. dont cut the smaller feathers, only the larger (primary) feathers,

(there are about 6-7)

step 5. after youre done clipping the feathers, tell the chook she's a good girl and and put her back with the others

thats it! the first time will always be awkward, but you'll get it after a while. remember that after the chickens molt, they will grow back their primary feathers so thats when you will need to clip them again. and you only need to clip one wing to make her off balance. but if the chook continues to escape then you will need to clip the other wing. and also make sure you are clipping them high enough, in the last pic you could probably cut them a 1/2 inch or inch higher than what i did.

the thing with fancy chickens-caring for sick chicken

"fancy" chickens are bred for ornamental purposes. not for meat, eggs, personality, or being healthy. its like having a persian cat (or a pug or pom for dog lovers). they are especially cute and more unique looking, but boy do they come with lots more problems! i declare Belle, my ameraucana (which isnt really that fancy of a breed) my designated problem chicken! there's no end with her! first it takes her almost TWO years to lay consistently, then she gets a cold or some other sickness i dont know every other month, a few weeks ago i thought she was going to die because she had something hanging out of her vent (butt hole) and was acting very weak and sickly for a week. so i called my chicken expert (hey, even shrinks have shrinks :) and said that if it was tissue coming out there was nothing to do to help her. or it could be an egg shell, which would come out eventually. i tried to check it out, thankfully with belle's cooperation, by cuts probably a pound of chunky poops that were stuck to her fuzzies. then i saw the tube like thing hanging out. i gave a little tug to see if she just needed help to get it out. i had to get another opinion, and dad was the only one brave enough to look. he thought it was tissue. so that got me very concerned. so here's what i did:

i got:

-a box/cage,

-light/lamp,

-newspaper or hay,

-and water and food bowls.

then i set those things all up in my room (or a place that is warm inside) and turned the light on. i got belle, and put her in there. the reason you should do this is so the sick chicken can get rest to heal, be less stressed by being in a quiet place without the hassle of the other chickens, and get warm to get her body temp up.

i had to keep belle in there for 3 days. then at 6:00 in the morning i heard a squealy high pitched "eeee" or like someone was really trying to get something out. (its the sound they make when the egg is coming out.) but of course i thought she was dying. so i jumped out of my bed, rushed over to help her. and then i get this AWFUL whiff of all the rotten fishy dead smelling things in the world combined. i gagged. and then, while holding my breath, i looked to see what it was. and sure enough it was a very rotten crushed egg shell mixed with poop. yeah! i was right! it wasnt tissue! i was an egg shell, but it got stuck because it was shaped like a lolli-pop (but not that extremely shaped). belle almost immediately perked up and at the end of the day i put her back with the others. but of course she cant be all the way better, that would to much for her little princess self to give me. no, she is still weak and slow and sleepy. but she is definitely better than with that thing stuck in her. oh well. i has been worth it so far. when she was "dying" i promised her i wouldnt make her lay any more eggs (like i even could) if she would just get better. thats the thing with pure breeds, or fancy breeds, is that they have a great personality. belle is my little baby who will always jump on my lap, burrow her head in my side, and fall asleep. i love her.

now, because of this story, i am not saying dont get fancy breeds. most of the time they are perfectly healthy like any other chickens breed. especially ameraucanas, many other people i know who have ameraucanas have not had any problems with them. belles just...special.

the best breeds

many people who want to get chickens ask me what breeds are best. well, i say, there are many breeds that are best for different tasks for the chicken. when i say different tasks i mean either egg producers, table/meat/broiler chickens, pet chickens-which are based off of personality, show chickens-who's more fancy, brooder/breeding chickens-if you want your hens to have chicks, weather hardy chickens-hot or cold, and many more..i got my chickens based on personality who will get along with who, and egg production. i currently have six different breeds in my flock of seven: Light Brahma (there are also Buff and Dark colors), Rhode Island Red (abbreviated as RIR, there are also white rhode islands), Red/brown Ameraucana (be sure to always spell it this way, not with an "i"; there are also blue, buff, partridge, black and more), Buff Orpington (very common, most Orpingtons are buff, but some are black or brown), Black Jersey Giant (a rooster can get up to 15-20 pounds--thats turkey size! the hens are very big too; there are also white jerseys), and Barred Rock (this is really just a color, most breeds are Plymouth and Dominique barred rocks).

all of these breeds, at least in hens, get along well together. Brahmas are usually the alpha breed because of their confident and calm personality, and are bigger. but they also make the best pet chickens for children because of their confidence. RIRs are usually more skittish, but submissive. Ameraucanas can be flighty (also called "playful"), but make great pets too and lay blue/green eggs. and barred rocks & buff orpingtons are commonly know

n as garden

buddies and are usually very friendly. jersey giants are usually bred for meat because of their size but not in commercial farms because they are "slow growers" compared to others commercial breeds, they are friendly and good natured.

breeds i recommend as friendly backyard chickens:

-wyandotte*

-sussex

-faverolle*

-australorp*

-delaware

-dominique

-easter egger (not recognized as pure bred)

-java

-maran

-new hampshire red

-plymouth rock*

-brahma*

-jersey giant

-ameraucana*

-rhode island red*

-star ("sex-link")

-polish

-cochins*

-silkie*

-sultan

7 eggs a day!

if you have chickens, you will notice by now that you are getting more and more eggs everyday. the girls are back! so you will notice in the fall/winter that you dont get many or any eggs at all, for me it was 0-2 eggs out of my 7 chickens a day-which is not nearly enough for our family. you will also notice that the girls will lose their feathers on their neck, sides, tail, and underneath. this is called molting. hens wont lay when they are molting. you may also notice that they look a little thinner (which is fine because they dont have an egg in them, and they are not eating as much during this time), and just plain ugly-and they know it! they wont be as freindly or want to be held, they get very self conscience of their appearance. and this is fine, dont force them to do anything they dont want to, because it will only increase their stress level. they will look like this a couple months out of the year. the younger hens-or pullets- may not molt at all or have an extreme molt that lasts very long or short. so expect the first year to be...abnormal. the reason the chickens molt is so they lose their old feathers and get new ones, like a reptile shedding its skin.
but when they get their new feathers, they are so pretty and super soft! and slowly you will notice that you will be getting more and more eggs a day. i am getting between 4-7 eggs a day now which is really good. we have so many extras! so our neighbors get happy too when the girls start laying again :)
so depending on if you and/or your family are big egg eaters you may or may not need to buy eggs from the store when the chooks are molting. you should realize that getting eggs from the store isnt part of the natural process of growing your own food. the chickens who lay these eggs are starved and forcefully treated to molt quickly and then continue to lay eggs which is very stressful for them. animals, like plants are seasonal, so its okay to not eat eggs for a couple months.

Belle is back!

So, i have an ameraucana hen, named belle, who lays light blue eggs (along with araucanas, and easter eggers-crossed breeds that lay green/blue eggs). she has only laid about 10 edible eggs, and the other 10 have been deformed or soft shelled or cracked the last 2009 year. and hasnt laid at all the last 5-6 months. she is two years old, and i guess she has made a New Year resolution of laying eggs again, because she has laid at least seven within the last ten days! which is amazing! and her eggs are extra orange because she eats all the healthy stuff, unlike some other girls. oh, and you may have heard that blue (or green) eggs are more healthy, or have more protein; but that isn't true. they are just the same as any other egg or hen. it just depends on what they are given. more veggies, fruits, sun, fresh water, clean air, and organic natural supplements will not only increase their health status, but they will lay more eggs, and better tasting, healthier eggs!

another thing about having a small flock of "pet" chickens that lay for you, is that you can tell who's egg is whose. and it is always so exciting getting a variety of egg shapes, sizes, and colors.

fun pics of the girls feb/2010

the girls roaming the yard

egg eating

the culprit!----------->

today, and a few days ago, i have found broken egg shells with all the yoke and egg white missing, and i realized that one of my chickens was eating the eggs! so if you find you have this same problem, here are some ways of how to fix it:

-collect eggs asap after the hens have laid
-find the culprit (mine in this case is Charlotte), you can tell if the chicken has egg on her beak, or you will see her

-make sure your chickens have enough calcium and protein and vitamin D for their diet, you can buy supplements such as oyster shells for calcium, or grind their egg shells into a powder and put in in your chickens' feed bowl, this will make the egg shells harder
-darken the nesting boxes or coop if it is too light, so they cant see the eggs as well
-make sure the chickens have enough things (food) to occupy them throughout the day so they dont get bored and get into trouble
-make sure you have at least one nesting box for every 2-3 chickens

-if an egg cracks or gets trampled clean up all the egg asap
-make sure there is enough nest litter in the box (hay, wood shavings)

-collect the eggs, and replace them with two wood eggs or golf balls, so if your chicken tries to peck them they wont be able to break them so hopefully the chicken will eventually give up

so those are all the tips i have, hope they help!

more new girls!

i got new chickens! a black jersey giant, around 7 months, we named her opal (because she's opalescent). and we got a buff orpington, around a year old, named Charlotte. they're pretty skittish but want to be included and are very curious. so now i have a total of seven girls. i know i explained how to introduce the new girls into the flock the right way, but i have learned and experienced more things and that are to their benefit and health.

one, make sure the hens you get are the same size and close in age when you get them. you don't want to mix a 2 month old with a 5 year old hen (etc), because the older hen is stronger, more dominant and likely to seriously hurt the younger, and the younger hen is more susceptible to diseases the flock might be caring, and visa versa.

two, make sure the new hens you get are buddies and get along. opal is more attracted to the flock and wants to be around them because she most likely didnt have any "friends", which is good for her; but charlotte most likely had a buddy, and now she is depressed and not wanting to be with the flock-which equals less eggs, and a poor immune system. so when you pick up the birds, be sure to ask the owner if the girls you get are "buddies", or just choose two (or more) that you see hanging around close each other. chickens do become very depressed if their buddy is seperated in any way from them; they are just as emotional (in their chicken way) and caring about their pals as people are.

three, take your time to check the birds to see if they look healthy or if they have anything wrong with them. check the home they are in and see if it is kept well and clean (ig they are able to have fresh air, and protection from weather, and are being given plenty of good food, etc). the lady i got opal and charlotte from had a good life, but i wasnt able to stick around to do all these things, so there is always a risk in getting new chickens to add to your flock, as it is with all animals.
a wonderful book i recommned to all chicken owners is "chicken health handbook", which talks about all the diseases chickens can get and how to prevent them from getting diseases, maintaining a low stress level in the flock.