The Great Chicken Adventure

Mrs. Beasley hatching a rock & we're still coccidia free

2010-08-12T17:18:00.001-04:00

As you know, Mrs. Beasley has been a broody little hen lately, and it's been difficult to collect eggs when she's sitting on them 24/7. But after I put the egg-shaped rock under her this week, she's been a little calmer about giving up the eggs. She's still planted in the nesting box most of the time, but she's less cranky. I also took a fecal sample to the vet this week and yay! We're still

Update from Camp Cluck

2010-08-09T20:34:00.000-04:00

When Coco went to visit Dr. Licata a month or so ago, Dr. Licata suggested that even though the sample tested negative for coccidia that we run the test again in a month just to be sure. Well, I called the office on Saturday to see if I could drop off a sample, and guess what? Dr. Licata is out on an indefinite medical leave. Most importantly, I hope she's OK. I only met her that one time but I

Can you find 18 eggs in this picture?

2010-07-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

I've been concerned lately because Ethel and Lucy haven't laid eggs in a while. With Mrs. Beasley broody and the coccidia fiasco so recently over, I was worried maybe they were still sick. Well today I went into the coop to get the feeder and saw one lone white egg in the middle of the floor. On a hunch, I moved a cement block that I used to block off the area under the nesting boxes so Mimi

Mrs. Beasley is one broody hen

2010-07-22T21:34:00.000-04:00

For the better part of the last week, Mrs. Beasley, my Wyandotte hen, has been nesting. This isn't the first time she's done this. Several months ago she set up shop in one of the nesting boxes for a week or so. The problem is that there isn't a rooster in our flock, so she can sit on an egg until Jesus comes back and she's not going to hatch a chick. A local chicken farmer told me that

All of that noise was in the coop this morning

2010-07-11T09:46:00.000-04:00

I was sound asleep this morning, dreaming about chickens, when through my fog I realized that I was actually hearing my own chickens. There was quite a bit of bawking going on out in the hen house. I waited a few minutes, because it's not unusual for the girls to do some bragging when they lay an egg. But this was longer and louder than normal, and involved what sounded like the whole flock. So

We're coccidia free!

2010-07-08T16:09:00.001-04:00

Dr. Licata called today with good news: the stool samples they tested were both free of parasites and coccidia. YAY! She said we might want to recheck in a month just to make sure it stays under control, but for now we're free. YAY! That means that Coco and Mrs. Wiggins should begin to see some improvement in their skin as they begin to feel better. And in a week or so we can start eating

Coco goes to the vet - again

2010-07-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

Well, it's time for another stool check to see if the flock still has coccidia, and I made the decision to not go back to the vet I'd originally gone to in June. They were all nice there, but I felt like I spent a whole lot of money and time and got very little in return, including advice or help. So today, we went to see Dr. Licata at Suburban Animal Hospital in Henrietta, and all I can say

Camp Cluck gets a thorough cleaning and an upgrade

2010-07-02T18:40:00.002-04:00

Darling Husband was hard at work this week at Camp Cluck, giving the coop a thorough cleaning that involved the Shop Vac; the coop could pass any white glove test. The hope is that we've cleaned up any coccidiosis in the bedding, or at least helped keep it in check. Then it was on to upgrades. As regular readers (and people who know us) already know, building the chicken coop ended up being a

Chickens, chickens everywhere and not an egg to eat

2010-07-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

We're into the second round of treatment for coccidia on the flock - I see some improvement in the chickens but someone still has some watery poop, which isn't encouraging. We are getting about 5 eggs a day. Except we can't eat the eggs. We have to wait 10 days after their final treatment. Which, if this doesn't clear up soon, could be October. I'm contemplating having another vet do the next

The chickens still have coccida so we treat them again

2010-06-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

As you know, my flock of eight hens has been treated for coccidia over the last week or so. There's no question that the girls are acting 100% better; I thought for a day or so there we might lose a few. But when I took a stool sample back to the vet's to have it rechecked, it still tested positive for coccidia. Which means we treat again with Albon and then recheck in about 10 days. Coccidia

Field trip at Camp Cluck

2010-06-21T20:12:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, the girls had a little outing: we set up a barrier across the back of the yard and let the girls wander around for a while. Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

New photos from Camp Cluck

2010-06-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

Things are returning to normal at Camp Cluck after our outbreak of coccidia. We're not back at 100%, but we're close. The girls have resumed their excavating; they should be almost to China by now. I don't understand their fascination with digging. I get that they like to take dust baths, but we're talking huge holes in the dirt that they're making. They can't dig their way out; David

Who's in charge at Camp Cluck now?

2010-06-13T17:25:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone! This is Mommy's dog Bandit. My job is to help Mommy take care of her chickens and to write on my blog, It's A Dog's Life. The chickens are feeling better after their first round of medicine. Except that Coco is not the boss of everyone any more. I think she got voted out of that job while she was sick. I don't know who the new boss is because no one is pecking Mommy black and

And the diagnosis is ...

2010-06-08T20:03:00.000-04:00

Coccidiosis. The chickens have coccidiosis. I'm a little bit impressed with myself for actually tracking down the info and making a diagnosis, and knowing that I needed to see a vet. Unfortunately, our vet doesn't see chickens so I had to go to a vet who sees - get this - exotic pets. Yes, a chicken is an exotic pet. And because a vet can't prescribe medicine without actually seeing an animal,

Sick chickens and sandy beaches

2010-06-08T14:27:00.001-04:00

The chickens are sick. I noticed over the last few days that someone has had diarrhea. I wrote it off to too much lettuce. But then last night I noticed bloody, mucusy stool. Rats. Someone is sick. I don't know much about chicken illnesses, but after a little reading and searching I think the girls have coccidia. Yesterday they were all acting fine, but today Coco is very lethargic and just

Chicken pics June 3, 2010

2010-06-03T15:53:00.000-04:00

I noticed today that Mimi and Gidget are peeping less and clucking a little more, and that they're legs have more feathers and their combs are starting to show. In other words, the babies are growing up! Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

The hens lay six eggs

2010-06-03T11:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was an historic day at Camp Cluck: we got 6 eggs! That means that every hen - not counting Mimi and Gidget, who aren't old enough to lay - laid an egg. That's pretty exciting! Especially when you consider that they all use the same nesting box, even though there are two available. A few times I've opened the lid to find two hens in the same box at the same time. A week ago, I had one

Ethel and Lucy are both laying

2010-05-28T12:25:00.002-04:00

Well, it's official: Lucy AND Ethel are both laying eggs! I know because I got two white eggs yesterday, and they're the only ones who lay white eggs. I've suspected for a while that Ethel might be laying, but I've yet to actually see her on the nesting box. When we found all of those eggs under the henhouse, I suspected at least some were her handiwork. Then all of the hens went on egg laying

Mim and Gidget update

2010-05-26T13:13:00.000-04:00

For two days in a row, I've gone out to the chicken run and found Mimi and Gidget outside, without protection of cage, scratching around with the other hens. Yay! They are glued at the hip, and they are a bit skittish if I'm bringing treats, because the older hens don't let them have any. (I give Mimi and Gidget theirs inside where it's safe.) But they are out and about and not getting bullied

New blog look?

2010-05-24T21:33:00.003-04:00

OK, check out http://campcluck.wordpress.com/ and let me know if you like this blog layout. I think I like this one I've been using better. Thoughts? Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

Be patient!

2010-05-24T20:45:00.000-04:00

I'm playing around with some new blog looks so be patient! Thanks! Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

How chicken catching skills come in handy when you eat out

2010-05-24T13:07:00.002-04:00

My chicken catching skills came in really handy today when I caught a bird today inside Panera's. Inside the restaurant. You can read about it on the Notes From The Funny Farm blog. Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

No eggs and scared chicks

2010-05-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

Two stories out of Camp Cluck today: I'm almost out of eggs, and Mimi and Gidget are still afraid to come out of the henhouse. The past few weeks, the hens have stopped laying - or at least slowed down. I was getting as many as five eggs a day; we're down to one or two. I did get three eggs once this week, which is hopefully a sign that things are headed back to normal. It better be; I only have

Beauty is in the beak of the beholder

2010-05-17T14:12:00.002-04:00

Well, I tried. At least I can say that much. I set Mimi and Gidget up with a lovely sanctuary that included some potted plants to give them cover from the hens. Within the hour, the hens outside the crate has destroyed the pansies (you can see pics in this post), and when I just went out, this was the scene that greeted me: Visit my new blog, Notes From The Funny Farm, and don't forget to

Mimi and Gidget get a sanctuary

2010-05-17T10:58:00.001-04:00

Mimi and Gidget seem to be settling in OK inside the coop; they have their little hiding spot, and the hens are relaxing enough to let the new girls sleep in the nesting box next to Coco. But Mimi and Gidget aren't getting outside very much, if at all. I scooped them up and took them outside today ,and immediately the hens surrounded me. And when I put the new girls onto the ground, they