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Hello my friends!!  Sorry I’ve been a little busy lately, you may have noticed I haven’t posted in a few days.  I have been house/pet sitting for my sister for the last 10 days.  On day 2 her flock of Coturnix quail were attacked by a predator and all were lost but 1.  You may remember hearing about this on my last posts.  Good news is, he’s still alive!  I’ve been nursing him back to health, but it hasn’t been easy.  He still requires around the clock feedings and water thru a syringe because his eyes are still shut:(  I’m not sure if he’ll ever see again.  All the swelling has gone down but still they’re shut and I can’t figure out why other then they were badly scratched and my hope is they’re still healing.

I have also been caring for her remaining 6 Bobwhite quails, 11 chickens, 9 cats, 3 dogs, 4 pet rats, 2 bearded dragons, 1 turtle, 2 snakes, a full incubator, a garden and bringing in the mail.  That’s about 2+ hours of my day!  I have also been watering my neighbors gardens, flower beds, and potted plants everyday, another 30-45 minutes of my day.  My mother is also out of town so I have been making daily trips to her house to water outside plants and bring in mail.  Not to mention I still have all my own house/farm/yard chores to keep up with.  So there’s been little time to write.

I will keep you all updated on the fate of the quail.

Well, my sister’s injured quail made it thru another night and we are on day 4 since the attack.  He has made very little improvement since I started around the clock care and hand feeding.  Yesterday he spent a considerable amount of time preening which I see as a good sign in his recovery.  This morning I decided that enough time has passed and it was safe enough to try and bathe him to get some of the dried caked on blood off so I can see more to the extent of his injuries.  Up until now, it’s just been a matter of taking a damp cloth to him to just wipe away a layer or so.  I didn’t think it was a wise idea to put him under the stress of bathing him due to how weak he is and the trauma he’s suffered.  There is still 2 areas that are rather caked with blood which leaves me to believe there may be puncture wounds after all:( The swelling in his eyes has subsided slightly and I continue to administer an eye antibiotic ointment.  I’m still hopeful he’ll make a full recovery, but only time will tell.  My sister comes home on Saturday and I’m hoping he’ll be strong enough to go back home.

Wrapped in a warm washcloth after his bath

Well, it’s been 3 days since my sister’s quail were attacked by a predator on my watch.  (I’m taking care of her animals while she’s on vacation.) The only survivor is a male.  I brought him home with me to take care of him and give him the fighting chance he deserves.  I was first surprised he made it thru the day following the attack which happened sometime during the night.  Then surprised he made it thru the day yesterday, then last night.  But, here he is, still fighting.  I continue to feed him and give him water thru a syringe numerous times throughout the day in an attempt to keep him nourished and hydrated, so his little body can heal.  I look forward to the day the swelling in his eyes subsides, although I have no clue whether or not he’ll ever see again, I’m hopeful he will.

Feeding the injured quail

If you follow us on Facebook you’ve probably heard about how I am pet sitting for all my sister’s animals while she’s on vacation and you’ve probably heard how all her quail were attacked by a predator.  All but 1 of her quail were killed.  This guy is the only survivor and as you can see, in pretty bad shape.

I strongly felt like I needed to give this guy a fighting chance, so I brought him home with me where I have been feeding him and hydrating him thru a syringe.  His face is so scratched up that his eyes are swollen shut, he can’t see to find food or water and is too weak to do much more then stand.  Every half hour or so, I feed him a concoction of food, water, probiotics, and electrolytes by mouth thru a syringe, 1 drop at a time.  Most people would of culled him by now, but for some reason I feel like I can get him thru this.  Maybe it’s just the guilty feeling I have because although this was by no means my fault, it happened on my watch and I feel awful about it.  And, as I mentioned, her whole flock was wiped out but this 1 badly injured male.  Maybe he won’t make it but I have to try.  He has made it thru the last 36 hours which I am already surprised by.  I really didn’t think he would make it thru the day yesterday, then I didn’t think he would make it thru the night, but he’s still with us so my efforts continue.  I will keep you all updated on him.

Injured Quail

Heat Exhaustion – Heat exhaustion is common in large breed chickens; watch them closely in hot weather. Signs of heat exhaustion include: excessive panting, breathing with their mouth open, drooping head, listlessness and collapse. At the first sign of heat exhaustion, get the chicken inside immediately and put a fan on low, as birds can go into shock and die quickly. Mist the chicken lightly with cool water to help bring their body temperature down. Keep your bird quiet and calm and do not handle any more than necessary, avoid any added stress.  Offer cool water with added electrolytes to help with dehydration.  If after you’ve done the above and there is no improvement within a short time, contact your veterinarian.

The picture is of my Delaware Grace, a large breed chicken.  She is not very tolerant of the heat, she is the one that I keep a close eye on when the temps outside rise high during the summer months.  She was very uncomfortable this afternoon so I brought her inside to cool her down a bit.

Cooling Down “Grace”

Boy oh boy it’s been an eventful morning around here! Made the call to let Goldie, my Serama hen, out of isolation, had her in because I thought she was sick but now I don’t think she was, still not real sure but she seems healthy and she is her usual self, so back in the flock she is. However, upon letting her out she tried to go poo and seemed to be having difficulty doing so and then I discovered her vent was sticking out, she had some prolapse going on! She laid her egg and it was still out so back in isolation she went. I brought her into the house to treat her but had to deal with my 3 year old daughter and get my hands cleaned and supplies together to help Goldie, took about 10-15 minutes. Went to deal with the vent and was pleasantly surprised to find it corrected itself!! Phew!!! So now I’m still paranoid and keep going to check on her because I know it could happen again. I pray that it doesn’t.

Then I went to my sister’s house to take care of her animals and birds because she’s on vacation and found that her Coturnix Quail fell victim to a predator last night:(  Only 1 is left and he is in bad shape!

To make matters worse, it’s forecasted to be another scorcher today! Stay Cool my friends!!!

Ok, so there’s a lot of information out there on how to keep chickens cool, and if you’re a fan of several facebook farm pages like I am, you’ve seen just about every one post about keeping chickens cool in hot weather. Ever wonder what people way back when did to keep their chickens cool??  I have.  My guess is, they did nothing and lost a lot of chickens to the heat.

Chickens do not have the ability to sweat like we do, so they pant and spread their wings to help cool themselves.  They also dust bath.

Here in Southeast Michigan the weather forecaster says our temps are expected to be 96-100 degrees with a heat index of 105 today!  That’s HOT!!! The chickens will not be happy!!! To help keep them cool, I put frozen water bottles in their waterers and fill it with ice.  I also add extra electrolytes to their water.  Extra waterers around the run are also a good idea.  I put them by their dust bathing area so they have them close by.  I also add frozen water bottles to the nest boxes because there’s a good chance that it’s even hotter in them.  My flock also enjoys extra special treats of frozen fruit and veggies, they LOVE it!!!!!  During the summer months all my fruit and veggie go straight to the freezer for extra hot days.  A few dishes of crushed ice around the run is also a nice treat. Of course make sure there is plenty of shade.  If their run is mostly sunny, add some beach umbrellas for added shade. I also like to add a small kiddie pool with just a few inches of water in it for those who are brave enough to try it out, standing in the cool water will help them cool off.  An added fan is also nice and you can freeze a gallon jug of water to place in front of the fan, it’ll act like an air conditioner.

There is so many tips and tricks of tried and true methods out there for you, but I can’t stress enough that an abundance of COLD water is the most important of them all!  Chickens don’t like warm or hot water and won’t drink it! They can quickly become dehydrated putting them at an increased risk of heat stress and heat stress can and will kill your beloved feather friends.

Stay cool my friends and while you’re taking it easy inside keeping cool, remember your friends outside that don’t have that option.  Whether feathered or 4 legged, keep a close eye on them, heat stress can be prevented if you stay alert and watch them closely.

A fan wondered if Silkies are hard to hatch.

Answer:  In my personal opinion from experience, Silkies ARE challenging to hatch.  I have had several issues hatching Silkies and therefore no longer do.  The issues I’ve had are death a short time after hatching for no apparent reason, shrink wrapping (when the membrane dries out and shrinks around the chick) Yes, for the record, my humidity was high enough, and splay/spraddle legs.  

If you have any suggestions, advice, or such that you would like to offer our followers, please leave them in a comment to this post.  Thank You and Happy Hatching!!!