Here’s my story. In order to get a more fertile veggie garden, my four year dream to get come chickens was born. Luckily I discovered BYC way back then, & started trying to learn a little something. We had chickens when I was a kid, but that’s 65 years ago, & I was just a kid. Last Christmas my kids give me a little push and presented me with a Tractor Supply, 2 chicken coop. Mind you, I’ve been collecting free supplies to build one on a 4’x8’ pallet. Finally April fool’s Day, I bought myself 2 Buff Orp’s, & 4 Cornish. My logic! Butcher the Cornish at 4 to 8 weeks, & leave the Buffs for the coop. Except Chicken math, & empty nest syndrome kicked in. Thiesens has a minimum 6 limit. This time 3 Buff Orps & 3 that were supposed to be Barred Rocks turned into Copper Crested Marons I think. So now I’m at 8. & city ordinance is 6. That’s ok because life happens. Chicks get sick, roosters, or animal attack. Something will & did happen. I had gotten the new coop along enough to get the new chicks into it, & erected a dog run connected to it. I KNOW. I KNOW. Don’t tell me. I’m vulnerable. . First day in the run I got nailed. 3 of the chicks got hit, but none was killed. I suspect a hawk, but don’t really know. 1 had a little patch of scalp torn off. The second had the skin torn loose between the leg & breast, plus some damage. The third actually had the area under its vent torn away, & the guts were hanging out. This really surprised me, as I would think the predator would have killed at least one of them. I put the 2 most damaged into sickbay. Pushed the guts back inside, & smothered everything in Neosporin. For a week now they have both been eating & drinking fortified water. I think they’re doing OK. I’m kind of old school, & don’t have a sensitivity problem. . Take these situations as matter of fact. Quit a learning curve for me.
and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about your chicks, hope they heal well.
