Frankly I’m impressed by your chicken husbandry and dedication to the flock! Who could have predicted the boiled piss situation - not me for sure. I’m delighted he’s making a recovery and have no useful suggestions for cock taming having quickly decided we were happy to live cock-less when presented with the situation (ours went to live with the nice man who ran our local garden centre in Belgium who definitely didn’t eat him 🙈)
Oh love. It all turned out ok. No harm, no fowl (so sorry). Seriously though all of us who love our pets so madly have fucked up and caused them distress. It is horrendous. Forgive yourself. You know more than you did before and everyone's ok. xx
That's such a kind thought, thank you. And yes Merlin is back to crowing at the world and bothering his ladies so all is well. Now I'm just working out how better to protect his girls. X
I certainly would not have known and remember my desperation to keep my big Brahma hens cool in a heatwave. They adored chilled watermelon. Hen keeping is not easy!
It is very hard to see them struggling in the heat and Iused to set the hose on them, on a very fine spray, and keep them in the shade, but in the temperatures we have had, it is very hard to keep them cool.
It’s a good idea to always bounce ideas off another person, before you try something new that you think is clever. Sometimes just voicing your intentions aloud makes you realize how messed up it is.
That’s not an infection your bird has, but physically damaged bronchial tissue. I hope he survives. Out of the crate.
It's a ridiculous hobby that does not save any money. The time and money I expend far outweigh whatever I would spend on eggs. Plus they are constantly trying to top themselves in the most dramatic ways. I'm sure they'll worry me into an early grave!
I can see how much you love them and therein lies the source of your suffering. Yes, I would love mine and worry and be their broody human mama too! ❤️
You are not alone. I nearly killed my favourite bantam by giving her left over pastry as a treat. She wolfed it down. Next day she had severe sour crop and looked very poorly indeed. Vets were closed for the weekend. I took some advice and managed to tip her upside down and massage the crop to expel the foul smelling material. Luckily she recovered. But there will be no more treats like that again. They are strictly on layers pellets. I didn’t sleep with worry and regret. We also had a cockerel called Merlin. He was a darling with the 5 hens. Luckily!
They are idiots and will try to kill themselves at the drop of a hat..well done for fixing sour crop. I've done it with lots of massage and dosing of Vx but it's nasty
Thank you. Current crisis is ticks! Never had ticks on the hens before. Just on their faces. Promptly removed, but hens look set back. Will ring vet for advice…
I don’t like feeling inept either. So humbling when I’ve screwed up. Glad your Merlin is alive and well! It sounds like you’ve got excellent nursing skills!
Goodness I’m amazed and impressed that you managed to detect the source of Merlin’s distress just in time! Glad he’s on the mend.
I think I may have inadvertently condemned one of my girls to death by red mite… and I didn’t discover it in time…trying to eliminate it to save the others though… not an easy task!
Red mite is awful once it gets hols. I think every chicken keeper gets it,. especially in the warm wet weather we are having at the moment. Hope your girls recover
Oh Merlin! (What happens in boiled cock piss, stays in boiled cock piss)
I'm adopting that immediately!
Frankly I’m impressed by your chicken husbandry and dedication to the flock! Who could have predicted the boiled piss situation - not me for sure. I’m delighted he’s making a recovery and have no useful suggestions for cock taming having quickly decided we were happy to live cock-less when presented with the situation (ours went to live with the nice man who ran our local garden centre in Belgium who definitely didn’t eat him 🙈)
Coq au vin?
😱😱😱
Oh love. It all turned out ok. No harm, no fowl (so sorry). Seriously though all of us who love our pets so madly have fucked up and caused them distress. It is horrendous. Forgive yourself. You know more than you did before and everyone's ok. xx
That's such a kind thought, thank you. And yes Merlin is back to crowing at the world and bothering his ladies so all is well. Now I'm just working out how better to protect his girls. X
I'm glad he is ok. Arthur Parkinson may be able to help with taming Merlin, he has talked about similar problems on his substack.
Ooh that's a good shout. I'll ask him!
I certainly would not have known and remember my desperation to keep my big Brahma hens cool in a heatwave. They adored chilled watermelon. Hen keeping is not easy!
It isn't, is it?
I've started giving them frozen fruit and even floating frozen peas in water in the heatwave but it's a bit of a desperate situation
It is very hard to see them struggling in the heat and Iused to set the hose on them, on a very fine spray, and keep them in the shade, but in the temperatures we have had, it is very hard to keep them cool.
Oh that's a good idea. I like the thought of a chicken sprinkler system
I know how much you care for your animals so I am so delighted to hear Merlin is back on form. Happy news. :)
It’s a good idea to always bounce ideas off another person, before you try something new that you think is clever. Sometimes just voicing your intentions aloud makes you realize how messed up it is.
That’s not an infection your bird has, but physically damaged bronchial tissue. I hope he survives. Out of the crate.
Well he's yelling his heart out this morning and seems to be back to his wicked ways! So I think we managed to get through it. Thanks for your care.
This makes me realize I don't have the fortitude for raising chickens!
It's a ridiculous hobby that does not save any money. The time and money I expend far outweigh whatever I would spend on eggs. Plus they are constantly trying to top themselves in the most dramatic ways. I'm sure they'll worry me into an early grave!
I can see how much you love them and therein lies the source of your suffering. Yes, I would love mine and worry and be their broody human mama too! ❤️
We’ve all been there - one day I will tell you about my experience of owning rabbits - not one for a public forum! X
Sounds like a gin confession
You are not alone. I nearly killed my favourite bantam by giving her left over pastry as a treat. She wolfed it down. Next day she had severe sour crop and looked very poorly indeed. Vets were closed for the weekend. I took some advice and managed to tip her upside down and massage the crop to expel the foul smelling material. Luckily she recovered. But there will be no more treats like that again. They are strictly on layers pellets. I didn’t sleep with worry and regret. We also had a cockerel called Merlin. He was a darling with the 5 hens. Luckily!
They are idiots and will try to kill themselves at the drop of a hat..well done for fixing sour crop. I've done it with lots of massage and dosing of Vx but it's nasty
Thank you. Current crisis is ticks! Never had ticks on the hens before. Just on their faces. Promptly removed, but hens look set back. Will ring vet for advice…
I know! So, So many ticks on all the animals and even my children this year. Let us know if you get any good suggestions.
I use Incognito on the humans. Including 4 year old. A must, as we have a family of hedgehogs and they often have ticks. It works.
Oh that's really helpful, thank you. I'll investigate.
I don’t like feeling inept either. So humbling when I’ve screwed up. Glad your Merlin is alive and well! It sounds like you’ve got excellent nursing skills!
I think some intense googling was the secret!
So glad it turned out well—except perhaps for Calypso?!
Well, actually it's ok so far as we have fitted peepers to Merlin. That should stop him being able to attack anyone. He looks ridiculous though
Goodness I’m amazed and impressed that you managed to detect the source of Merlin’s distress just in time! Glad he’s on the mend.
I think I may have inadvertently condemned one of my girls to death by red mite… and I didn’t discover it in time…trying to eliminate it to save the others though… not an easy task!
Red mite is awful once it gets hols. I think every chicken keeper gets it,. especially in the warm wet weather we are having at the moment. Hope your girls recover