Do you have chickens?

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Permalink Reply by farmgoddess.com on January 24, 2009 at 9:19am

Honestly I don't think they will live 25 years. Maybe I've heard this but to date never seen one live that long. I have the same problem. I get new chicks every other year to keep laying. I sell part of my eggs to offset cost so I need at least 2 dozen a day. In the past I let them loose on the farm. Some survive, some don't. They stray around and something eats them. This year I am going to raise meat birds so when I take them to get processed I'll take the older birds and have them processed ground, bone and all for my dogs. I have 5 dogs and learned that feeding the right dog food makes all the difference in health, well being, etc.

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Permalink Reply by lani on January 24, 2009 at 2:33pm

I was told that hens stop or slow down egg production in the winter. Not so our hens have given us eggs since they first started laying. The breed expections are one egg every 2 to 3 days. They have been giving us at least a dozen a day and most days more (like 16). We have 20 hens - they are now 8 months old. Mostly brown, but on occasion a white egg and some double yolks. Don't believe everything you read.

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on January 24, 2009 at 2:40pm

I think it depends on winter temperatures. At the ranch, when we had 20 below zero F, our hens slowed up, but still produced some eggs which we had to gather several times a day so they didn't freeze and pop. We kept lights on in the coop for minimal heat and heated their water.

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Permalink Reply by farmgoddess.com on January 24, 2009 at 2:41pm

Mine too. Of course this is their first year. I have 20 laying hens and getting almost 2 dozen a day. Some days maybe 14. At least every few days double yokes.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Singley on January 29, 2009 at 3:06pm

HELP!!

I just came in from gathering eggs and noticed that one of the wooden eggs I keep in the nest boxes is spotted with blood. I checked all the hens by turning them over one by one. One of my auracanas is all wet with blood underneath. Her vent looks clean to me but all around the area is wet with blood.
This can't be normal but she doesn't seem at all upset or in any discomfort.
What should I do? I am dithering here not understanding what could be wrong and afraid to make matters worse.....

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on January 29, 2009 at 3:15pm

Wow! I don't know. I think I would call your vet and ask him/her if they know of a farm guy who could help you.

That would be very unnerving to find. Have you checked to see if she has any peck marks? Any possibility she could have been injured by a predator?

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on January 29, 2009 at 3:19pm

It could be that the other chickens are pecking her, hence "pecking order." Chickens can be very vicious. Any with an odd feather or injury is fair game, unfortunately, and for some odd evolutionary reason, the chickens don't fight back, from my observations, but just allow themselves to be abused or even killed. Watch your flock and see if that's occurring. If so, isolate the hen for a while, but in a cage, if you can, among the rest of the flock so she won't be treated as an outsider when she's reintroduced. I made the mistake of adding a couple of chickens from somebody else's flock to mine and the results were disastrous.

You might consider butchering her -- better eat her while she's healthy than allow her to be abused.

You can learn a lot about behavior from chickens.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on January 29, 2009 at 3:53pm

So far I've been lucky, all my chickens apparently get along. Are these new chickens to you, Susan?

I just went out and did an eye, wing and leg count on my chickens, everyone looks ok. I picked up and held the New Hampshire reds too, I haven't done that very much before, but I think I should get them acclimated to being picked up. (with gloves on!).

They didn't particularly like it, but calmed down until they let me know they had had enough. :)

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on January 29, 2009 at 4:19pm

Check pecking order stuff. Hope it's not something else!

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Permalink Reply by Susan Singley on January 29, 2009 at 5:26pm

Okay, I brought her inside for a bath so I could see what's going on. Her vent is fine but she has a large-ish patch of skin and feathers missing from her abdomen. I washed her and put antibiotic cream on the wound. I called my vet because the wounded area is likely to get infected--it is pretty horrendous. (If anyone is ghoulish enough to want photos, I can take some.)
So my vet doesn't do poultry, the vet hosp that does poultry has their poutry doctor (should I call her a quack?) on a call 150 miles away--she won't be back until Saturday. If she makes it, I'll take her in Saturday to see what can be done for her.
I would butcher her, but she is one of my son's special hens. He named her Daisy. This is what happens when you name food......
If you like, you can say a little prayer or blessing for Daisy that she holds on until the weekend.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on January 29, 2009 at 6:05pm

Heal quick, Daisy!

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on January 29, 2009 at 8:24pm

It could be tiny mites that operate against the skin, deep in the feathers, which would cause feathers to drop out. Could also be injury from the roost, breastbone rubbing at night during roosting. Either thing could cause the other chickens to peck her. There are commercial dusts to deal with mites, or lime the roosting and nesting areas. Also, diet imbalances can contribute to cannibalism as well.

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