The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: becca1401 on August 18, 2009, 07:59:31 pm

Title: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 18, 2009, 07:59:31 pm
My neighbour has 12 ex battery farm chickens which she has had for about 7 months now. They look really scraggy,have no weight on them and when they breathe there chest are really rattling. I am quite concerened as they are always jumping over the fence into my garden and upset my chickens. I have week old chicks and lots of eggs due to be hatched shortly. Should I be concerned about her chooks infecting mine?

I have had chickens for a few years which have included ex battery farm chickens. They came scraggy but soon feathered up again and put on weight with a bit of TLC. I have never had a sick chicken and never had any chickens leave my garden. I cannot understand why my neighbours chickens prefer my garden to their own?
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: sandy on August 18, 2009, 08:46:46 pm
They may not be cleaned out and have dirty, dusty bedding making them weeze, they probably are like humans, the other mans grass is always greener!!. I should try to stop them commin over by highering the fence with netting etc, best to keep them out anyway as they will eat the food you put out for yours!!! Some one else may have a greater idea of what they may have,
 I am a real novice, just going by my instincts.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: shetlandpaul on August 18, 2009, 09:37:03 pm
do you talk with the neighbour have a chat. sounds like they are very unhealthy. i would build your fence up but they will get through. there behaviour is normal they like to go for a nosey about.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 18, 2009, 10:30:19 pm
I get on well with my neighbour. The problem is the chickens belong to their teenage daughter and she seems to rule the roost. We have informed her of the problem but there is a slim chance that anything will be done. She has told me that she is moving their pen but this will means they will be right next to where my chickens sleep. I
suppose I will just have to make my fence higher and just keep an eye on my chickens health.

It makes me cross that we have had various different animals over the yewars including pigs and have always considered all of our neighbours. We have never had any problems with anyone but my neighbour is upsetting everyone with chickens roaming loose all over the village eating plants and scratching up gardens. It just spoils it for me.

I love living in the country and I enjoy the sounds and smells that come with it. Unfortunately there are people out there who hate it and will do anything to ruin everything for you,so you have to keep the peace and make sure you don't upset anyone. Unfortunately there is always one person who makes it hard for you.

Oh well. I shall carry on with my battle!
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: doganjo on August 18, 2009, 10:48:48 pm
Can't you talk to the daughter direct and tell her that you will have to ask Defra to come and check your hens in case they have caught anything from hers, and does she want hers done too.  You could say they will have to kill any with infections - she probably won't know that they don't do this and it might get her to sort things out.  How high is your fence - mine was 4ft and is now a foot higher with wobbly chicken wire that they can't settle on so they don't jump into Hester's jaws any more.  You could also suggest extra feeding ideas for them - my porridge recipe for instance?
Hope you get it sorted - but don't let it stress you out.   Mummy and Grannie Annie will come down and beat her up for you ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 04:36:52 am
It is 4:23 in the morning and I have been up for the last hour with my dog who is making alot of fuss about being in labour. I just read your post and coudn't stop laughing. My neighbour is lovely and we have told herabout her sick chickens,so they are apparantly going on holiday for two weeks whilst she sorts out there new home.(I hope the bloody things don't come back)She is the sort of person that loves animals,buys them shoves them in a tiny cage then never does anything with them again. I think her rabbits were greatful when my dogs when over and ate them. Sadly she got some more.
The funny thing of all is my 1 year old keeps telling me "That bloody chicken in garden" then he trys to catch it and my dogs who never,ever touch any of my animals have started chacing them. I think everyone knows how annhoyed I am with my neighbour as this happened with the last lot of chickens she had,which turned out to be cockerels. This ended up well for Edd as he convinced her they had to be shot and spent the afternoon popping them off one by one. I genuinely feel sorry for the chooks as they probably look worse then when she first got them,we even saved one from the foxes jaws once at 2:oo in the morning.  she shoved this one in a dirty old shed then it died a day later. Lets just hope she never gets any more!
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: shetlandpaul on August 19, 2009, 07:00:21 am
hang on a mo. you moan about her chucks invading your land now your telling us that you permitted either by neglect or accident your dogs to kill her pets and now they are trying the same with you hens. you need to build a proper run for your hens it would be nice for them to roam but your dog is an issue. forgetting the fact that your neighbor could have complained to the police you say you live in the country the next time it could be shot. if her hens can get in yours can get out. your dog running after your birds will put them off the lay and should be prevented as best as you can also its a welfare issue. now off the moaning are you giving the vinegar in there water and checking for bugs.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 07:08:16 am
I think you may have the wrong end of the stick. My neighbours fence had a huge hole in it and so she put her rabbits right next it. I told her that my dogs where working dogs and if she keptthe rabbits there at some point my dogs would eat them. She said ok and then left them. They were lucky not to have been eaten by the fox as the run they were in was flimsy. I did appologise and offered to replace them for her but she was fine about that and replaced them herself.

Now my dogs do not chase my chickens,turkeys ducks or pigs they completely ignore them. I am just fed up of putting my neighbours very sick chickens backover her fence and my dogs have obviously noticed that and have now started chacing them. They have never bitten any of them!!!!!!!

My chickens have never left my garden. Ever!!!!but people are constantly knocking on my door telling me there is a chicken loose in the village of which I then have to retrieve and put back over my neighbours fence as they are not mine.

I hope this makes things a little clearer.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 07:12:04 am
I have had chickens for several years and never leave them out when I am not at homeunlike my neighbour. They have a very large netted run which the get shut up in where as my neighbours chickens cannot even turn round in there run. I am a responsible animal owner and have replaced my neighbours broken fence with two new 6 foot panels.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: DJ_Chook on August 19, 2009, 07:18:30 am
I've never had posh chooks. I've only ever had exbatts, ex commercial freerangers and ex barn hens. Across the board I've noticed that some of my girls never did feather up at all and others feathered up a few weeks.

Despite 100% top chicken husbandry & keeping a sooooper clean house and run. My last lot of 6 exbatts which I've had since mid April, have never started to feather up.

Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 07:21:59 am
These poor old chicken has a raspy chest and just crackle all the time. There eyes are bubbly and watery and they never get cleaned out. I have absolutely no problem with ex battery farm chickens I just don't want my chickens to get ill
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: sandy on August 19, 2009, 08:36:49 am
Dose knowone go to bed???? Becks chickens and Ducks are well looked after but locals think it's her chicklens that are wondering around the village, some go off to the shop :D I found if funny last year when she told me her neighbours cockerels were on the children's trampoline!1 that conjured up very funny images!!!! Also Beck has lots of vegetables that they jump over and eat, I suppose her chickens know where there breads buttered!!!! ;)
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: shetlandpaul on August 19, 2009, 08:53:02 am
you can get an antibiotic from the vet that mixs with there water. its dead cheap i paided 4 quid for 250 grams. i would if it was me offer to get her some and at the same time treat your own  it sounds silly buying some one else drugs but it will protect yours as well. as your flocks are so close then you really need to treat all the birds as one. it sounds like the same bug that was attacking our chicks a few weeks ago this stuff cleared it fast.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: sandy on August 19, 2009, 08:56:48 am
P.S ALL us women will understand the dog making a fuss about being in Labour (sorry Linz) keep us posted!!1
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 09:02:14 am
Thanks for the advice I will get some antibiotics as I do worry more for the chicks. I am sotired this morning after going through labour with my dog and not being able to sleep for a week because of my bad arm. I must go and let my chickens and ducks out and leave the eggs in the nest until fudge lays hers, or she will get into a panic again because all the eggs.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: Rosemary on August 19, 2009, 11:10:17 am
Well, what did she have?
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 11:21:46 am
What I was trying to say is that my ducks and chicken lay their eggs in one nest. The ducks lay their eggs early in the morning  and fudge my only laying chicken lays hers in the afternoon. When I let them out I collect the eggs and sometimes have to mess the nest up a bit because my ducks like to hide thier eggs. Well this seems to completely confuss my chicken 'fudge' and she starts clucking to the ducks and the other chickens,then they all come and look at the nest. Well the ducks don't seem to really care and the other chickens are not sure what they are suppose to be looking at,but poor old Fudge decides its best not to lay any eggs just incase someone is STEALING them.

So this is why I have to leave the eggs until the afternoon so that when Fudge comes to lay there are always eggs there and this makes her a very happy chicken.

THE END
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: shetlandpaul on August 19, 2009, 12:57:44 pm
poor girl. how many pups.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 09:23:18 pm
Sorry. I have barely slept in a week and I m now seeing things. My lurcher has only 2 male puppies that are black. She found it all very distressing as I don't think she ever knew she was in pup. She has been panting all day on and off and is still restless. She is not in any pain and is comfortable but we think she may be holding onto more pups. We have been told that it is common for some puppies to be born along time before the rest of the litter. I am not totally convinced and think she is just a bit confused about the day.

If anything  is going to happen it will be be tonight so that means another sleepless night. You see on top of this I have had a constant reem of visitors and I mean constant and had to endure between 4 - 7 children on various days of the week,3 of which are mine. My sister in law has just bought 43 chicken hatching eggs 12 Quail and another 24 quail on the way. My incubator is manual turning so guess who will be doing that.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: sandy on August 19, 2009, 09:31:41 pm
Poor Lucy and poor Beck!!!! fingers crossed it will all go well and you can both get some sleep!!!
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 19, 2009, 09:40:39 pm
No visitors until 3:00 tomorrow unless someone wants to suprise me. I may lie in until 6:00!
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: Hardfeather on August 20, 2009, 07:04:26 am
Sorry. I have barely slept in a week and I m now seeing things. My lurcher has only 2 male puppies that are black. She found it all very distressing as I don't think she ever knew she was in pup. She has been panting all day on and off and is still restless. She is not in any pain and is comfortable but we think she may be holding onto more pups. We have been told that it is common for some puppies to be born along time before the rest of the litter. I am not totally convinced and think she is just a bit confused about the day.

If anything  is going to happen it will be be tonight so that means another sleepless night.

That's not a good sign.

Whelping bitches should not be allowed to go for long spells between pups, without veterinary examination/intervention...........particularly if they are seemingly distressed.

There may be a pup 'stuck' and this could prove fatal for pups and bitch. Another alternative is that the bitch is very tired after delivering the first two pups, and she is physically unable to deliver the next pup............which means any others behind it are being compromised, too.

It may be simple to sort out.............the vet will probably give her a dose of oxytocin, and may help her to deliver the first pup from that point, after which she will likely get on with it herself.

I'd be inclined to treat this as an emergency for the sake of all.
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: becca1401 on August 20, 2009, 09:16:34 am
We have watched her over the past 24 hours and don't believe she is having any more pups. The problem with her stressing in because I have a Bedlington terrier in the other room with 4 puppies and my Lurcher thinks they are hers. It is hard to explain to other people what she is like. I spend all of my time with the dogs and can safely say she is just mentally stressed or rather confussed with whats going on. She is being a good mother to her pups but if she keeps me up crying again she will have to go down the shed with the heat lamp. I think that everyone we know who breed lurchers are shocked that she only had two as normal they have loads.

I would take her to the vets if I thought it was necessary but I no he would just tell me to keep her somewhere quite away from the other dog which is hard in the house as no matter where you go you can here the puppies when they cry.

My Lurcher is like a baby and likes the security of me around her then she is totally fine
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: bibs on August 20, 2009, 12:30:10 pm
Hi - sounds like a nightmare. In my still - learning -about -chickens opinion, the neighbouring chickens could be infected with mycoplasma. The bubbly eyes give it away. It needs treating. Hope you can convince neighbour to get it sorted out.
All the best Bibs
Title: Re: Infected chickens
Post by: doganjo on August 20, 2009, 11:35:26 pm
Most breeders don't have more than one litter at a time, unless they have staff and appropriate facilities.  When the pups come to weaning stage at 2 to 3 weeks it will be a nightmare.  You can't put them in together as their mothers will fight - even if they are best friends normally.  I wish you the best of luck - I've been a dog breeder 30 years and wouldn't want to be you right now!  Have fun! ;D ;D ;D