Recent content by masschickvet

Should have heeded the advice of whomever and relocated Momma Easter earlier in the process (she is sitting on 4 eggs that I "borrowed" from a neighbor with a rooster). One of the other hens (I assume) stomped one of the eggs and crushed it, and the 19 day old peeper inside :( I was devastated...

I have a broody Easter Egger of all things. I threw her out morning and night diligently for a week (no roosters here) before I broke down and got 4 hopefully fertile eggs from a friend. They are "mixed bag birds" RIR with EE and goodness knows what but there is no such thing as an ugly chick...

I have no advice but this is like watching a soap opera. What's going to happen? Will the chick be OK? I'm on tenterhooks here!!!

I sold 14 of my "babies" today (they are just over 6 weeks old) to a lovely garden center down the road from my work. They will be on public display for all to see and admire, and have a very nice coop and run. The owner is also going to build chicken tractors so that they can get moved around...

If they are laying birds and they prolapse their cloacas (which can have many underlying causes, including obesity, large eggs, poor muscle tone, inflammation etc etc), then that prolapsed tissue looks especially tasty to other birds and they will go after it to the point of massacre and...

I would not rule out Coccidiosis. It can kill large numbers of birds very suddenly with no clinical signs. This is the right age, too. The only way to know is to do a necropsy and look for thickened mottled intestines, particularly in the proximal small intestine, ceca and colon. A fecal exam...

I ordered 15 "mixed brown egg layers" from McMurray Hatchery. The only breed that has fuzzy feet in this assortment (according to the description) are the Light Brahmas. These two birds look nothing alike! They did when they were little peeps...but now?? and neither looks like it is feathering...

Is it medicated feed? Sometimes there are formulation problems and there is too much medication in there. The larger birds can tolerate it but the little ones cannot because they are so much smaller. It might be worth contacting the feed store or maker to see if any other problems have been...

There are many causes of "fragile beaks", including yeast infections, bacterial infections, and impaired keratinization (the making of the beak) that is either idiopathic (no cause can be identified), or from nutritional causes, and even some viruses. Sometimes the infections are secondary, but...

It's like the best kept secret for wound treatment! Also keeps the flies away so you don't have to deal with a maggot-tastrophe while the wounds are healing. Is there anything more gross than maggots????

I just wanted to pass along a really good product to use on superficial (and not so superficial) wounds and injuries on chickens (and horses, goats, etc). It is called "Aluspray". It's in a spray can so it's easy to apply. It's a silver color that the chickens don't seem to want to peck at after...

Yes, I like that idea! You're right, the one smart one will fly over and the other dumb ones, who would have never figured that out on their own, will follow shortly. Well, it may work for a while anyway...great idea!!