My ‘Whitey’ is bald!

[Duckfarmerpa1]

I totally see your point..now...we think, the birds might have came this way, because our rooster, Spike, always had a bare neck and bumm..when I asked on BYC, they just said molt..but now we think perhaps it was the lice...sad

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

I checked her vent again tonight..totally open...nothing obstructing it. I also applied more lipstick..I did not have an egg with lipstick on it today..so, she did not lay...hmmm

 

[Beekissed]

I checked her vent again tonight..totally open...nothing obstructing it. I also applied more lipstick..I did not have an egg with lipstick on it today..so, she did not lay...hmmm

How old is she? Past a certain age, a good layer will pretty much STAY open and loose, even when not currently laying. It happens to us old gals.

Here's a way to decrease chances of illness, parasites and discomfort from laying issues in your flock. Each spring near the end of Mar/beginning of April, go up to the coop late at night and do a finger check of all hens. Mark those without an egg in the chute...I use zip ties. I put a green tie on the left leg of all with no eggs.

I do it again the next night....if the green zip girls have an egg, I remove their zip. If they do not have an egg, I leave it in place. They are not a daily layer nor an every other day layer, so they are culled in the fall, no matter how they lay the rest of the season. All birds who are good layers should be laying by Mar/April, which is the peak season for laying.

At my place, green means GO. Outta here. By doing so, you can eliminate the birds most likely to contract parasites, illness or experience laying issues. Don't be tempted to keep a favorite old hen after she has aged out of that regular spring cycle...I've done that before and had to see my good old hen suffer with an egg tumor before I noticed her misery and could give her mercy. Better to kill those good old girls BEFORE they suffer, if you love them at all. You have the power to decrease suffering in your farming if you put your own feelings aside and consider the welfare of those in your charge.

Trying to nurse along old livestock is more for our own benefit than theirs, as animals do not measure the years but the quality of every moment only. If every moment is pain or illness, no matter how long it goes on, then their life is not a good experience for them. Older animals are inevitably going to experience one or the other, so try to prevent that as much as possible.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

How old is she? Past a certain age, a good layer will pretty much STAY open and loose, even when not currently laying. It happens to us old gals.

Here's a way to decrease chances of illness, parasites and discomfort from laying issues in your flock. Each spring near the end of Mar/beginning of April, go up to the coop late at night and do a finger check of all hens. Mark those without an egg in the chute...I use zip ties. I put a green tie on the left leg of all with no eggs.

I do it again the next night....if the green zip girls have an egg, I remove their zip. If they do not have an egg, I leave it in place. They are not a daily layer nor an every other day layer, so they are culled in the fall, no matter how they lay the rest of the season. All birds who are good layers should be laying by Mar/April, which is the peak season for laying.

At my place, green means GO. Outta here. By doing so, you can eliminate the birds most likely to contract parasites, illness or experience laying issues. Don't be tempted to keep a favorite old hen after she has aged out of that regular spring cycle...I've done that before and had to see my good old hen suffer with an egg tumor before I noticed her misery and could give her mercy. Better to kill those good old girls BEFORE they suffer, if you love them at all. You have the power to decrease suffering in your farming if you put your own feelings aside and consider the welfare of those in your charge.

Trying to nurse along old livestock is more for our own benefit than theirs, as animals do not measure the years but the quality of every moment only. If every moment is pain or illness, no matter how long it goes on, then their life is not a good experience for them. Older animals are inevitably going to experience one or the other, so try to prevent that as much as possible.

This post is going to make me think a LOT about my little duck, Little Lou. I won’t go into detail, but he has a forever broken, badly healed leg, on top of being a runt. He has always been my favorite, even when he was the spunkiest and bossiest little thing.

anyways...although she felt open to me last night..she layed this afternoon. Lipstick on the egg. She was born in the spring...given to us by a friend, that, just, really didn’t want to deal with a chicken after his kid tired of her. Her bum is not near like it was after I cleaned it up last week..it’s staying clean. Chris said, when he we put to check for eggs again...she was sitt in the nest box. This was after she payed for the day. But...shes not mean, like I’ve heard that Brody hens get...and she leaves the nest when there are no eggs. Should I leave them in and see what she does?

i like your idea of how to cut down on illness and nonlayers. I will write this down. I have definitely taken a different attitude with the farm than from the start. I’ve realized, that, I DO have to look out for the vast majority, and, it is not practical to have 43 ducks as pets. It was in the summer, we didn’t have to feed them much, and they were young...so there was no fighting. It’s not that way anymore, so, we only have 17 drakes now...only 4 drakes..each hand picked. I’m hoping I can keep those...because they each have a reason for being kept. Thanks again! Enjoy your nice weather down there!

 

[Beekissed]

Should I leave them in and see what she does?

Nope. You don't want chicks this early in the season if you can help it, unless you enjoy 50-60 degree weather every day. Chicks weren't meant to hatch in the early spring, which is why Mar/April is peak laying season and April the time of year when hens are most likely to go broody.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Nope. You don't want chicks this early in the season if you can help it, unless you enjoy 50-60 degree weather every day. Chicks weren't meant to hatch in the early spring, which is why Mar/April is peak laying season and April the time of year when hens are most likely to go broody.

Very true...then we’ll have to do the brooder..and, iit barely have time to sit down as it is now...

 

[Beekissed]

Exactly. Folks who lamb, kid, calve and hatch during cold weather just create more work and headaches for themselves and I find it very hard to feel sorry for them when they tell all and sundry how hard they are having it doing all this in cold, wet weather and how busy they are all the time. Self induced stress and drama makes me weary to even listen to.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Hi again..hope you are doing well. I think I have a whole new issue? So, Whitey had the yucky bumm...but, now I’m noticing that a few others are starting to get poopy bumms. Not near as bad, so hopefully I’ve caught it early. Could this be due to the external parasites? Or, do they most likely have internal parasites? I will admit I have not been as diligent with my deworming as of late. We’ve introduced new pullets, and I dewormed each of those groups when they came...but, neglected to be deworm my orginal gals for, quite some time. I’ve been using an herbal dewormer..from Molly’s Herbals...it was recommended to me by a friend I made on BYC...she is one of the few on there who uses herbals. I was very confused with what to use in the beginning...and I liked the idea of no egg withdrawal. Now I’m worried that perhaps it’s just not potent enough...or it’s just my favorite not being diligent...and, perhaps it’s a double whammy due to the lice? I figured you’d be a great person to ask. Yes, some of their poop is runny, some of it is light brown. It’s not all..the way it should be. I went ahead and gave some herbal part 1 today..which, might have been dumb...?? The dust. permeTurin comes in thurs...so we’ll be very busy that night. But, Chris and I have both had the sniffles so, we wouldn’t have been up to it sooner anyways. Thanks!

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Exactly. Folks who lamb, kid, calve and hatch during cold weather just create more work and headaches for themselves and I find it very hard to feel sorry for them when they tell all and sundry how hard they are having it doing all this in cold, wet weather and how busy they are all the time. Self induced stress and drama makes me weary to even listen to.

I’m learning this the hard way right now...this is my first year with kidding...both due this week...when we got our buck, it was because we were led to believe that it was THE season for mating...well, next year, I’ll be delaying things and we’ll be kidding in, at least March, perhaps April...this is just nuts...running to the barn for checks, etc!

 

[Beekissed]

I’m learning this the hard way right now...this is my first year with kidding...both due this week...when we got our buck, it was because we were led to believe that it was THE season for mating...well, next year, I’ll be delaying things and we’ll be kidding in, at least March, perhaps April...this is just nuts...running to the barn for checks, etc!

I agree and I don't know why people do that when or if they don't have to. Stressful on the animal, stressful on the people....that's not fun farming in my book.

No worries, by next year you will have researched a lot of things regarding farming practices and can make new plans. I spend a lot of time each winter doing research and reformulating plans in my homesteading. It's part of what makes this all so interesting to do.