The truth- Poultry

Ever been to a petting zoo? Looks so happy and peaceful... how could fluffy bundles of love ever demonstrate anything other than cuteness? Well ........ Well...... For my first post, I want to share with you what I wished people shared with me when I purchased my animals!

I started my homestead with 4 turkeys (Black Spanish turkerys) (2 boys & 2 girls)(Boys: Lalo, Paco. Girls: Lulu, Lola) and a rooster and chicken (Maxwell and Franny )from a beautiful girl and her father. These birds were magnificent and by no means problematic. They were healthy and strong. I was off to a great start... I was a born natural farmer; I mean I fed and watered them, laid their bedding, and made them a perch. It was an idyllic week.. Good memories.

..... But then I went to pick up some roosters, chickens and some ducks from this lady in Barrie Ontario. She assured me the health and quality of her animals, and that they were fantastic layers. I eagerly went to pick up these birds. I asked her if it would be safe to introduce them to my babies, and she assured me yes because the ducks and chickens/rooster stayed in the same pen as her turkerys. I arrive to this very weird home. Her boyfriend comes out completely high and leads me to this outdoor pen without any covering or shelter, completely muddy and the ducks and turkeys where there. I would like to mention this day was bone cold, they should have not been outside sitting on wet grounds.

I get my three ducks (Clark - Cayuga, Eva- Welsh Harlequin, and Rita which she says is a buff apple but I am convinced she is a khaki Campbell). I also got a Copper Marran Rooster (Pedro) and 3 Red Comet Hens (Pamela, Isla, Ceecee). While driving home, I noticed they were breathing very heavy and their noses were runny. I thought they must have been cold, so I got them into the room with my other babies as quickly as I could and built a fence divider just in case. This is when I realized that one chicken couldn't put her foot down and the other seemed kind of life-less. my barn room a rustic ventilated 22 degrees. (DIY Reno project to look forward this summer)

I thought surely they just needed to rest, it was a 45 min drive and they were cold outside and maybe the new surrounding is just putting them in shock. So I sat in the middle of the room and sang to them, Lalo being my back-up singer. After spending ample amount of time with them I shut off the light to mimic their natural sleep pattern with sunrise and sunset. Next day I return and Pamela is limping and making a pitiful sound whenever she put her foot down. Isla is congested, not eating, has dry and wet boogies and she is trying to breath through her mouth. So I inspect them and find Pamela has a severe case of bumble foot (this is a real concern and anything can cause it.. this will be a post of its own.) Isla isn't even moving when I try to pick her up, zero responses. So I had to do the dramatic (Read- Rescue Isla) and the ducks were not laying and having severe diarrhea. Only one semi okay was Pedro. I tried to contact the woman and ask her how should I take care of them and what was she doing for them. I in return got verbally attacked, called the b-word and told that I made up bumble foot since there is no such thing and that I am a dumb blonde that knows Sh*t and should.... well I leave it at that.

The things I had to do to fix these animals were insane!

But no things don't stop there.

I then get my next edition 4 Muscovy ducks (Kim, Verna, Grace, and Simon) from an amazing woman. I put them into the room with zero problems. My open group environment was working great. No introduction problems, nada all was good in regards to them accepting eachother. But that was about to change. I then get three white hens and a massive white rooster. I built a fenced run in the room for the rooster. Something my gut just didn't sit well with these birds. You ever look at someone and thing "That's a bad apple" well that is the feeling I got. I left the girls to roam free with the other birds but the rooster I kept in his separate pen in the same room so they could get use to him. Everything looks fine. Next morning I go up and everything is still fine. But oh gosh I forgot to grab the fresh cilantro so i run back up to the house grab it and run right back down. I open my coop room door and i enter into a dexter blood scene. The turkey is on top of one of the white chickens, having his way with her while the other male turkey is ripping her head gobbler off, there is blood everywhere. BUT.. THERE IS SOOO MUCH MORE BLOOD. I go to the the white rooster's run and he is on his back in a pool of blood, his gobbler torn off and his tissue squirting blood like a fountain. He's on his back going into seizure and starting to convulse.... I mean I'm in shock. I have never seen so much blood. I grab these two massive birds which I don't know how I did it and took them to a dog cage downstairs. and quickly ran back up to grab the other two. (Read blog post My First Death)

I go back to the room and I find my beautiful grace covered in blood, so now I have to run and make room for the muscovy ducks that were fine with the other birds until the white chickens came.

I know this was a lot of reading... But it is leading up to a point and a really important point.

Buying poultry can be a very serious game of roulette and bring so much turmoil to your life if you buy from a person who doesn't take proper care of their birds or have mutants. Yes their are mutant breeding and your other birds will sense this genetic defect and go on a murderous spree to eliminate them from their dwelling space.

Poultry is not a feathery delight. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED WITH QUAILS!!!! THEY ARE EVIL!!!!!!!!

Please read my next post to continue with me the poultry journey and the facts you need to know about each of the first and long lasting issues you will face as a beginner.