duknuk’s chicks

I tweeted about this thread on Twitter, specifically to FarmAid they had some tweets about this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/di...=nytimesdining

I told them that this was the place to read the best chicken thread in all the land! (LOL)

This is me on Twitter http://twitter.com/mcclave1155

Carry on my little chicken lovers!

You are awesome Millie!

Thanks Millie! for spreading the word on these wonderful creatures.

It's a different experience than keeping a dog or cat, and is so grounding for children, that the more families give it a try the better.

I've probably mentioned I had hundreds of birds 35 years ago,
but "backyard chickens" are the most fun!

( A lot of the problems mentioned in the NY Times article are due to a lack of basic knowledge and all are preventable.)

Spotted this helpful info on
http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard...ness-HC25.aspx

(and btw, this mypetchicken.com site is rapidly becoming an excellent resource for all sorts of chicken information.)

Q: How do I care for a wounded chicken?

A: Separate your chicken from any others in your flock first thing so she doesn't get picked on by the other chickens. Make sure she is in a place that is warm (to avoid shock) and that she has access to plenty of food and water. You can wash the wound out carefully with sterile saline solution, and apply and antibiotic ointment. (Do not use anything on your chicken that contains the suffix -caine, like benzocaine, for example). Keep an eye out for infection, and take her to a vet if you can. If she only has a small wound, she will probably recover quickly; the big danger is infection. Even larger wounds often heal if you give your chicken good care. Chickens are surprisingly resilient! In fact, if your chicken has been bitten by a dog or a raccoon and you are worried about rabies, stop worrying. Birds can't get rabies; only mammals can.

If she is in a great deal of pain, you may dissolve 5 aspirin per gallon of water and let her drink that--it should reduce the pain. Make sure she is no longer bleeding since aspirin thins the blood and can increase bleeding. If she is eating, drinking and pooing. you can probably reintroduce her to the flock again as soon as you think her wound won't be pecked by the others.

We had a little flock a few years back when the kids were little. Those chickens loved my youngest son and would all run up to him when he came outside. He could reach down and pick them up or sit down on the ground and they would all come and love on him.

My oldest was a different story,as soon as he would go into the yard the rooster would chase him and try and spur him. He got real good at running and screaming and looking behind him to see if he was fixing to get spurred.

He could only go in the yard when they were in the pen. Never could figure it out cause he was never mean to them or anything but he was afraid of them and I guess the sensed that!

We ended up naming the rooster "Chaser" because of the way he use to chase John!

Millie, I've wondered about that too. I often have children come by to see the chickens and the little ones don't put Russell on alert, but older boys, and especially grown men, do.

I wonder if roosters can smell testosterone.

Her name is Suzie Q (the Q stands for Cutie)

and it's only taken her one month to become

a full-fledged member of the flock with

rank and privileges.

aww that picture is priceless. Suzie Q seems right at home (with her cute self)!

Suzie Q is a cutie and I'm so glad the gang accepted her. Is that a big group dust bath or just the gang enjoying fall sunshine?

Originally Posted by HelenR Suzie Q is a cutie and I'm so glad the gang accepted her. Is that a big group dust bath or just the gang enjoying fall sunshine?

Both.

~~~~~

The only two that give Suzie Q any grief are Lucy, the Guinea Hen and Sara.

Lucy is simply ecstatic that someone has arrived in her world that is lower in rank than she is, and she delights in reminding Suzie Q of that fact at least once a day.

The other nudge is Sara. It's funny because Sara was at the bottom of the rank before but she had all this cuteness going for her. I think Sara knows Suzie Q out-cutes her.

Sara has taken to sleeping on the shed side of the coop, where Suzie Q sleeps. Sara sleeps on top of the shavings bags, while Suzie Q sleeps on a shelf as far away from everyone as possible. There will come a time next month when I will close the inner door that separates the coop from the shed side and they will have no choice but to mingle with the other 18 peeps, like it or not.

I ran across this interesting article about why roosters have wattles.

A wattle is the bit of flesh below a rooster’s beak. What purpose does it serve? Carolynn Smith at Macquarie University in Australia conducted a study that suggests that it’s pure chicken bling. Sarah Zielinski writes in Scientific American about the results:

Cutting off the wattles of roosters and seeing how the behavior of hens changed wasn’t an option. Instead, Smith created four animated roosters. The animated roosters (see second part of the video below) all acted the same, performing the tidbitting routine over and over, and they all looked the same, except for their wattles. One had a normal wattle, one was missing his, a third had a wattle that didn’t move, and the fourth had an extra floppy wattle.

A test chicken would be placed inside a test pen with two “audience hens,” a couple of buddies intended to make the test hen more comfortable in the less familiar surroundings (fowl are social creatures). One of the videos was then played for the test chicken and her response was recorded: How quickly did she respond to the animated rooster? How quickly did she start searching for food (the normal response to a male tidbitting)? And how long did she search for food?

The test hens responded more quickly to the tidbitting males that had the normal or stationary wattles, less quickly to the one with the extra floppy wattle (the wattle moved so much that it swung up the side of the rooster’s head and appeared much smaller than it was) and slowest to the male lacking wattles. After the hen’s attention was gained, though, she reacted about the same to each of the four animated chickens. Smith suggests that the wattle helps a rooster gain a hen’s attention when he is tidbitting, rather like a human guy wearing flashy clothes while doing his best dance moves to try and pick up chicks.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/scie...-have-wattles/

The things people research!!

rooster bling -

Thanks sparkle8 - interesting read.



Here's a seasonal joke for you ...

"Quit Complaining and eat it ...
number one, chicken soup is good for the flu--
and number two, it's nobody we know."

Originally Posted by duknuk Millie, I've wondered about that too. I often have children come by to see the chickens and the little ones don't put Russell on alert, but older boys, and especially grown men, do. I wonder if roosters can smell testosterone.

Interesting theory, I guess it's possible!

Here are two sources of naturally raised chicken
which you can find in the supermarket:

Gold'n Plump
Bell & Evans

These guys are doing it right.

The chickens are treated right, which means they don't need antibiotics and they forage, which means their meat is more nutrient dense than commercially raised birds.

If you know of any other brands which can be bought in a supermarket, please post.

On a similar note ...

Did you know that produce raised by industrial farms has, on average, only 10% of the nutrients as compared to organic produce? (And in my opinion, only 10% of the flavor.)

You pay a little more, but you get so much more in flavor and health benefits. Nutrient dense food even satisfies hunger better. It stops cravings. Your body stops telling you you're hungry (for nutrition) even though you just ate calories.