Today, catching the weather report, I knew that I really couldn't put off doing something about the coop temperature another night. The morning after the last night we had when the temperature went down to 25 degrees, Buck came out with a blue tipped comb.
I spent some time on a website about chickens asking questions, but I was advised to give him electrolytes and antibiotics.
That is already a very spoiled chicken, diet-wise, and I just don't believe that he needs electrolytes. Antibiotics I have talked about previously. Unless it's life or death, they are right out. I'm certainly not going to hold a chicken down, particularly one as evil tempered and with as long a memory and thirst for evening scores as Buck and squirt antibiotics down his throat. The following week I'll be dosing him w/probiotics.
Not happening.
As it warmed up, his comb turned reddish again, so I could see that it was really time to bolt that ceramic heater to the wall and figure out how to keep the cord from being pecked into a fire hazard. I bored a hole in the floor of the coop, and passed the cord through a piece of pipe that fits in there, elbows around to reach the extension cord under the coop. The chickens are far too curious to leave anything exposed. There can't be anything that their beaks can gain purchase on, or they will tear it to bits.
The whole flock of hens is now unified under Buck. He runs around them trying to get a little sugar equally. No hen is left out or ignored. They don't seem to consider it a compliment, but more the price to pay to get the benefits of safety in numbers.
Tonight after people [Avian-Americans] went into roost I collected the stragglers from the shed and popped them into the coop one at a time. As they went in, they were greeted with no raised voices. They were received with sounds of recognition and acceptance. I heard no squawking, nor protests, just more of the usual before bed pillow talk.
I am hopeful.
Maybe I will get my shed back, now.
I spent some time on a website about chickens asking questions, but I was advised to give him electrolytes and antibiotics.
That is already a very spoiled chicken, diet-wise, and I just don't believe that he needs electrolytes. Antibiotics I have talked about previously. Unless it's life or death, they are right out. I'm certainly not going to hold a chicken down, particularly one as evil tempered and with as long a memory and thirst for evening scores as Buck and squirt antibiotics down his throat. The following week I'll be dosing him w/probiotics.
Not happening.
As it warmed up, his comb turned reddish again, so I could see that it was really time to bolt that ceramic heater to the wall and figure out how to keep the cord from being pecked into a fire hazard. I bored a hole in the floor of the coop, and passed the cord through a piece of pipe that fits in there, elbows around to reach the extension cord under the coop. The chickens are far too curious to leave anything exposed. There can't be anything that their beaks can gain purchase on, or they will tear it to bits.
The whole flock of hens is now unified under Buck. He runs around them trying to get a little sugar equally. No hen is left out or ignored. They don't seem to consider it a compliment, but more the price to pay to get the benefits of safety in numbers.
Tonight after people [Avian-Americans] went into roost I collected the stragglers from the shed and popped them into the coop one at a time. As they went in, they were greeted with no raised voices. They were received with sounds of recognition and acceptance. I heard no squawking, nor protests, just more of the usual before bed pillow talk.
I am hopeful.
Maybe I will get my shed back, now.
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Glad to hear from you, but criticisms will be ignored. It's the beauty of the web. I will answer all friendly remarks. Buck handles the rest.