Beware: Hazards That Await Your Chickens 4

I imagine that many of you are familiar with “What To Expect When You’re Expecting“, a book recommended to pregnant women about various scenarios that a woman could encounter regarding the health of her baby. I’m sure the author’s intention wasn’t to scare the sh*t out of expectant parents, but some folks might have reacted that way.

It seems like advice to new chicken ‘parents’ is quite the opposite: birds are simple, low maintenance pets that once you’ve secured a decent shelter all you have to provide is food and water. From years of chicken keeping, and far too many hours spent in online poultry groups, I can attest to the fact that chickens are vulnerable to pathogens and predators and plain old ignorance from their well meaning keepers. And the difference between human parents and chicken keepers is we may not have access to reliable professional help.

New parents are coached on kid-proofing their home, car and environment to protect their little charges from innumerable potential dangers lurking around every corner. I wish that chicken keepers were as vigilant and aware of everyday risks that could affect their flock: attacks by dogs, being run over by cars, injured by unsecured coop doors or ramps, stepped on by other livestock, to name just a few.

In this fourth post in the series I’ve featured two types of hazards: those in which you have no control over (what insurance companies refer to as ‘acts of God’) and the things that are preventable if you know what to look for.

So insurance is having me get estimates to repair my coop. A car swerved to avoid hitting another car, came across my front lawn, hit my coop and a few other things. I’m waiting for estimates from a few different contractors. I feel like even if they repair it, it’ll never be structurally the same. – Sharon Szabunka

Tornadoes and strong winds went through our area. So much for the newly finished coop. We had 12 chickens it. Luckily nine survived. – Lacey White

Photo credit: Unknown; Wendy Becker; Rene McNeal Bowden; renotherapy5; Summer Lingenfelter; Chris Mize

I came home to one of my worst nightmares today. A chick got out of brooder box got stuck in this glue trap I had under a shelf forever ago. The first thing I thought of was to take a photo and ask for help online. Then I thought “WTF are you really about to let this chick suffer while we wait for help?” I covered all the sticky parts with paper towels and then grabbed vegetable oil and doused all the parts where she was stuck and massaged it in. She eventually was released, then I washed her in warm water with Dawn dish soap twice. I used my diffuser and blow dried her on low/warm for a little bit. She looked so pathetic. I was in tears! It seems a bit traumatized and cold. I just peeked in at her and she is scratching around in her bedding. – GreenHarbor76

As you can see there are any number of ways that chickens get them selves ‘stuck’. I don’t think these scenarios are often preventable.

Photo credits: Greg’s World; Unknown; Patty HS; MetDaan Animals; The RealPax

Photo credit: Unknown; Teela Dawson

You won’t believe how my morning started. A chicken managed to get herself stuck inside a mason jar. I ferment their feed and was confident they couldn’t reach this particular jar, but here we are. I discovered her this morning, and she’d likely been trapped for at least 12 hours. She’s now in the brooder box to rest in a safe space for the next day or so. She has electrolyte water and I’ve been giving her small doses of oil through a syringe in case she’s dealing with impaction. I can’t say for sure if it’s sour crop because, honestly, after being wedged in a jar of fermented feed, she reeks like a college frat house after a party. She got a sink bath – something my wife’s definitely going to question later – and while she smells slightly better, it’s still rough. – George Thomas

In the category of “Creative Ways Chickens Try To Kill Themselves” we submit this entry. Somehow, this young rooster climbed into the engine compartment of the farm truck. We just happened to see his feet because two other roosters were sitting on the tire. With the help of a step stool, we were able to pull his bird brain to safety. He was very much alive, but tomorrow may bring another adventure. Chickens. – Happy Wife Acres