Backyard Chickens?

Rits said:
Is this your first rooster?
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Well my first one in years. We've had chicken for years. I've had them since I was a kid. A few years ago we downsized and moved where we could only have hens. :( The people that bought our house kept our rooster.
Rits said:
Oh, the young ones are too funny with their hormones...
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He's about 15 months now. That pic is old. I just happened to run across it today and thought I would share.

Rits said:
...sounds like he might need cockerel bootcamp
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He's not too bad.....now. Back then he was full of himself and had to peck EVERYTHING! He was pecking my phone in those pics I posted. :rolleyes: He has 9 ladies that keep him busy these days ;)
 
Update:
Though no eggs to date, all of my chickens are doing well except for the Speckled Sussex.

I noticed white pasty diarrhea with solid green poop in the coop. Didn’t pay mind to it until one day, Mike Abbott didn’t come out of the coop with the rest. Mike Abbot is one of the original 6, so she is one of the seniors that rule. I got her to come out of the coop to the run and she isolated herself in the corner and pooped white pasty green goo again. So I quarantined her in a dog crate in my garage. Research says the green is from not eating and excess bile. The white pasty diarrhea says it could be 14 different things…from bacterial infection to coccidiosis to Pollurum disease (which the chicken needs to be eradicated).

She is lethargic, laying down and not moving much at all. I have thrown everything at her…Tylan 200 abx shots in her chest muscle- no change. Went and got some Corid to treat for coccidiosis and see little change. I am currently force hand feeding her mashed feed and yogurt 2x day. She is still pooping white pasty poop. I even have given her warm water Epsom salt immersion baths and ground up tums in case she is egg bound.

Going on a week now, grown kinda fond of Mike Abbott…sure hope she gets better.
 
Chicken keeping definitely isn't for the faint of heart! You basically have to become your own vet because so little vets will see or treat chickens, the money isn't there and chickens are "dispensable" Usually my first go to is coccidia treatment with lethargic, ruffled feathers and head tucked in. Make sure to treat for multiple days. I just lost a chicken myself. She looked great, feathers healthy and clean, no messy butt. Young and hadn't laid an egg yet but no egg felt. She was just acting "off" one day and didn't come running with the rest when I went out there to check on them so I immediately brought her in, heat lamp on, her own water and mashed food. Some scrambled eggs. She didn't want to eat but was drinking. Treated her for coccidia but she sadly was leaving as fast as she got sick that evening, the same day I brought her in, so I had hubby put her out so she wouldn't suffer. :( I'm treating the rest of the chickens just in case because it has been warm here lately and wet. Hope you have better luck with your girl!
 
Is she eating? As @Rits mentioned, scrambled egg is my go-to for a sick one. If the rest of the flock is perfectly healthy I would think less of disease and more of internal something or other. I did necropsies on several of mine, hardware disease in two of them (both less than a year old), an older hen had ovarian cancers. It's interesting but not for everyone, obviously. I hope your Mike Abbot comes around and lives to tell a new story. ❤️
 
Dragonborn said:
What breed would you recommend for me? Ohios weather is cold in the winter & hot in the summer.... and can change within 10 minutes flat. I want eggs :) lots of eggies!
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Rhode Island’s reds are pretty hearty and lay almost daily!! I have 2 reds (hens) 1 rooster (not nessesary) but mine free range so he’s a wonderful protector. I have an Americana she’s usually about 4-5 eggs regularly each 7 day week! My Cochin and Cochin/polish cross are flighty/goofy birds and one isn’t laying at all…

I have a friend in Ohio and she has reds and Leghorns (big white hens). They lay daily as well and do well up there!
 
So my Speckled Sussex is still on the down. I have given Covid for coccidiosis and am currently given Safeguard in case of worms. She has been in the dog pen for last 10 days and I have pretty much been force hand/water feeding her daily. Two days ago she developed a horrible right leg limp and no way it’s from trauma. It has to be from a vitamin deficiency caused by the Corid medicine. So finished the Corid last night and started her on Poultry Cell vitamin booster- will do this for 5days and hope she improves over all. I have scoured, researched and done everything in the book- If she does not, then I am clueless.
 
On a much brighter note….
I was really dreading this morning with the chickens because I am also deworming the other 10 and it’s a PITA to catch those shits.

So they are 5-1/2months old and everyone is always asking when are you getting eggs. Tbh, with it getting dark so early 5pm, I am/was not expecting any until next Spring, period.

I was very pleasantly surprised to have an egg in the nest box this morning!! I am truly speechless to go out there dreading the deworming and then to find my first egg on Christmas Day.

This had to come from one of my EE’s. I have an Easter Egger, a Prairie Blue Bell EE, a Starlight Green EE, and an Olive EE.

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Congratulations on your first egg! Hope your other chicken gets better soon.
 
Ddski5 said:
I have scoured, researched and done everything in the book- If she does not, then I am clueless.
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With the limp it's either a vitamin e deficiency or Marek's. Speaking from experience. Treat for the vitamin deficiency with vitamin e and selenium to help process the vitamin e. If that doesn't work, sadly there's not much you can do for Marek's other than cull. If it comes down to it I'd send the body to a state lab to confirm to see if there is Marek's on your property. It is virtually everywhere because of wild birds and the dander travels incredibly far so another not if but when situation. It doesn't necessarily mean you should cull the rest of your flock but know that any new birds coming in are high susceptible to the same thing happening. Some birds are strong enough they fight it off and live a long life. Some succumb right away, others it is a slow disease before the tumors grow and affect their quality of life. It sucks as there is no true vaccine for it. Just a shot that helps fight symptoms that has to be given prior but doesn't prevent the disease or death.

Grats on the first egg! I'd wait to eat and check what the egg withdrawal timing is for safeguard.
 
So sorry about your sick hen. Hope it turns out to be not-Mareks, but if she dies, it would definitely be good to know if it is or isn't. If you think you want to send to a state lab if she dies, they usually want them chilled but never frozen. My first chicken that died I put in the freezer because I had company and couldn't deal with it at the time and I thought it was the right thing to do. Anyway, you might look up your state lab requirements beforehand. :cry:

On a better note, there is nothing like your first egg! My very first egg happened to me by surprise - I didn't even have my nests built yet, found it in the sand on the floor. I built the nests that day cursing myself but soooo happy to have an egg. I felt like a kid in a candy store every day when I'd go pick up eggs. I called it Magic.
 
Ravenbird said:
If you think you want to send to a state lab if she dies, they usually want them chilled but never frozen
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Yep! Mine had us rinse the bird with cold soapy water then wrap in wet paper towels and double bag the bird and place in the fridge. Send sometime Mon-Wed so that it arrives when they are there.

The first egg is truly special! Just wait until you get your first double yolker which probably will be soon as those are more common in young birds. :D
 
Ddski5 said:
I have two chickens laying every day. My very first egg sandwich!!

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Store the eggs pointed side down. They'll last longer that way and if you ever get into wanting to hatch eggs in the future thats the way they need stored too. We haven't bought eggs from the store in close to 5 years now... The yolks are so orange too from eating grass and bugs!
 
Rits said:
We haven't bought eggs from the store in close to 5 years now... The yolks are so orange too from eating grass and bugs!
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Not sure if you have “crawfish season” where you are but have you ever given yours the heads? We did last summer and they were some of the most delicious flavorful eggs we had. We plan to do it again this year! We quite literally season ours from the inside out! Bwahaha. We add parsley, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, & oregano to their crumbles. And they free range all day!

Here’s Big Red and His Chicks! They greet me at the top of the stairs because they’re spoiled to the core 🤦🏼‍♀️!
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