# Curious...



## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I wasn't sure exactly which thread to put this on, it doesn't seem to fit anywhere really so I'm putting it here...
I have 2 4 week old d'Uccle's, one appears to be a cockerel and the other a pullet, the cockerel shivers a lot even when the temp is at or above what it should be. I have a thermometer in the brooder pen (the grow up pen isn't quite ready for them yet) and I watch their behaviour for signs of cold or hot (sleeping in the outer ring of the heat lamp etc) to make sure they are comfortable. The pullet does not shiver and neither of them cuddle up unless they are scared of something. He doesn't have any signs of illness at all and the shivering has been a thing since I got him at 4 days old. Of all the chickens that I've raised I've never seen this. When I hold him it feels like he's absolutely vibrating. He eats, drinks, plays, chest bumps, runs around, dust bathes, scratches for buried food, all normal behaviours are there. He does not sleep excessively, does not make any breathing noises, does not have a snotty nose, he roosts. Everything seems normal except this shivering. Am I missing something? Should I increase the heat? I don't want to make the pullet over heat but I don't want him to be cold either. They are both about 90% feathered now. 
What do you guys think? Oh and the shivering is intermittent, frequent but not constant. Nervous? They are both very skittish (VERY skittish for some unknown reason)....I'm just at a loss.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Where and how did you get them?Were they shipped,is the main question.Maybe it was traumatized some how and has a "nerve" problem.I once had a cockatiel who was abused by teen aged boys.He trembled for a long time but eventually got over it(my only child at the time was a parakeet).If yours are almost feathered,I wouldn't suspect cold temps but some neurological problem and signs and symptoms brought about by stress.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> Where and how did you get them?Were they shipped,is the main question.Maybe it was traumatized some how and has a "nerve" problem.I once had a cockatiel who was abused by teen aged boys.He trembled for a long time but eventually got over it(my only child at the time was a parakeet).If yours are almost feathered,I wouldn't suspect cold temps but some neurological problem and signs and symptoms brought about by stress.


I got them from the farm supply store, no breeders around here. The hatchery they use is...a hatchery but it is by far superior to most others that I've dealt with. I didn't think it would be cold either but he only shivered occasionally, not even noticeable except that I watch them all the time lol until about a week ago and I swear nothing traumatizing has happened to them short of seeing if they like grapes (they don't)


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

They don't like grapes?Let them grow up a little more and try again.Mine don't like the green ones but will chow on red or purple grapes and that includes my exotic birds.He was probably shipped and went for at least a truck ride,maybe even a plane ride.You don't know what happened to him before you got him and everybody is different.Chickens are tough but a little thing can affect them in big ways,especially day old chicks.I've had sickly chickens,sometimes it just happens.Hopefully he grows out of it.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> They don't like grapes?Let them grow up a little more and try again.Mine don't like the green ones but will chow on red or purple grapes and that includes my exotic birds.He was probably shipped and went for at least a truck ride,maybe even a plane ride.You don't know what happened to him before you got him and everybody is different.Chickens are tough but a little thing can affect them in big ways,especially day old chicks.I've had sickly chickens,sometimes it just happens.Hopefully he grows out of it.


it was a green grape that I gave them, they picked at it once or twice, shook their heads then it became part of the scenery.

The hatchery is about 150 miles from me, give or take. So they had about 2 hours in the truck. Not that it matters, you never know what can happen in those trucks, the drivers aren't exactly old granny drivers. 
yeah, I'm not worried about it, I was just curious because I've never seen it happen for no obvious reason before. I am always looking to learn something, I firmly believe no one can know absolutely everything there is to know about any subject so there's always room to learn. I actually crave learning.

I've had so many bad experiences with other hatcheries though. I wish we had breeders around here. If I could have a rooster, I would breed my own.

But, he seems happy and healthy otherwise and is doing well developmentally. I mentioned before that these 2 are very skittish which is odd for d'Uccle's, especially ones that I handle as much as possible but after 3 ish weeks, they aren't settling down. So maybe something did happen to him in that week before I got them, they were in a bin with who knows how many others for that week at the store.

I will be looking for a new home for him sometime in the next few weeks or so, I may wait to see how his crowing goes, if he's relatively quiet and doesn't crow often, I may try to hold onto him. I am thinking of petitioning the city for permission to keep him. It really amazes me that people can have large dogs that bark incessantly all day long and you can hear them for blocks and blocks but you can't have a rooster? *smh* Makes me think the law makers are not chicken people. This is a farming community for crying out loud.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

They have crowing collars that are suppose to quell the crowing to a lower level.I've never tried them but others have.I know what you mean about barking dogs,we've got them here,too.When I was looking for a house I made sure no cities or gated communities with all their rules,laws and regulations.I can pretty much have what I want except lions and tigers and bears and they just changed that law in the last couple of years because some idiot turned his loose then committed suicide.Most of the big cats and other critters were subsequently killed by the authorities instead of rounded up.It was a sad situation because most were endangered and they didn't even try to save them.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> They have crowing collars that are suppose to quell the crowing to a lower level.I've never tried them but others have.I know what you mean about barking dogs,we've got them here,too.When I was looking for a house I made sure no cities or gated communities with all their rules,laws and regulations.I can pretty much have what I want except lions and tigers and bears and they just changed that law in the last couple of years because some idiot turned his loose then committed suicide.Most of the big cats and other critters were subsequently killed by the authorities instead of rounded up.It was a sad situation because most were endangered and they didn't even try to save them.


I actually have one of those crow collars but after trying it on a previous rooster decided that I will NEVER subject a chicken to that kind of thing again, it was awful, he hated it, he kept walking backwards shaking his head and trying to get it off, he got his toenail stuck in the mesh, in order to work it had to be on really tight and then, when he did crow with it on, the crow sounded like he was being strangled, it was very traumatic.

That is very sad, what a shame. I know the authorities (as such) just don't want to deal with animals, they'd rather just shoot them and be done with the situation, they donuts to eat!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

If is weight is also good, I would think maybe a neuro problem that may or may not go away. 

I have 7 roos in an area where you are not allowed any, just hens. However, this is a big racing pigeon area and I believe the zoning says you're only allowed 20 pigeons but these people have thousands in coops the size of their homes. So don't make trouble with me! My roos are pretty quiet for roos.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

seminolewind said:


> If is weight is also good, I would think maybe a neuro problem that may or may not go away.
> 
> I have 7 roos in an area where you are not allowed any, just hens. However, this is a big racing pigeon area and I believe the zoning says you're only allowed 20 pigeons but these people have thousands in coops the size of their homes. So don't make trouble with me! My roos are pretty quiet for roos.


He's a tad smaller than his roommate but not enough to call him "small". As far as weight goes, I don't actually know how much a 4 week old d'Uccle should weigh but he is, by no means, skinny. He has good weight for his size, bright eyes, active, playful, eats and drinks like a champ, I really see nothing to indicate any problem other than the shivering and like I mentioned before, it's frequent but not constant. 
He does like to play in the water, he has one of those chick waterers so he can't get his whole body wet but he does get his chin, chest and feet wet, maybe he is actually chilled? Idk, everything else is fine with him so I'm not going to worry about it until and if something worse happens.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I HAVE GOOD NEWS!!!! omg I'm so happy!! I spoke with a cop (ahem, excuse me "police officer" and his wife is on the city council. I was asking why the guy down the street can have a giant german shepherd that barks non stop at everything that moves but no one can have a rooster or anything else. He said that unless the neighbors complain A LOT, they don't care and won't do anything about it, they are not driving around the neighborhoods looking for people breaking those ordinances. They won't even come to collect a dog that is "at large" unless it bites someone even though that is a law too, all dogs must be leashed at all times within the city limits. SO, I asked him if I can keep the rooster relatively quiet and the neighbors don't care, then can I keep him? He said, yep, we have no problem as long as the neighbors have no problem. His wife nodded along while he said it and added that those laws are super old and most people pay no attention to them at all so unless it becomes a nuisance and neighbors complain, I can have what I want. So, I am keeping my rooster!!! omg I could just break out into a happy dance right now.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Congrats!!!I love my roos so I know you are over-joyed(me,too).I thought it was interesting a cop and his city council wife would tell you to "ignore" the laws.I guess everybody is doing it.As for dogs/laws,they aren't enforced here,either.When the neighbor dogs run loose and kill my chickens,I get harassed by the dog warden for bothering them and for having free range chickens and it's all my fault.The loose dog is ok with them.It always happens on my property.Over the years,I've lost over 100 chickens to dogs and have been bit twice and still the dog warden does nothing.But the law is on my side to protect my livestock and I can and will shoot the dogs.I killed 4 dogs and the neighbors got the message and keep them up now.If someone's dog is loose,they come running here first.I can grab a shotgun and be out the door shooting in seconds.Now I'm the "Crazy Chicken Lady" but that's ok because they leave me alone and keep the dogs up now.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

My neighbors are okay with the roos. One's a cop, LOL.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> Congrats!!!I love my roos so I know you are over-joyed(me,too).I thought it was interesting a cop and his city council wife would tell you to "ignore" the laws.I guess everybody is doing it.As for dogs/laws,they aren't enforced here,either.When the neighbor dogs run loose and kill my chickens,I get harassed by the dog warden for bothering them and for having free range chickens and it's all my fault.The loose dog is ok with them.It always happens on my property.Over the years,I've lost over 100 chickens to dogs and have been bit twice and still the dog warden does nothing.But the law is on my side to protect my livestock and I can and will shoot the dogs.I killed 4 dogs and the neighbors got the message and keep them up now.If someone's dog is loose,they come running here first.I can grab a shotgun and be out the door shooting in seconds.Now I'm the "Crazy Chicken Lady" but that's ok because they leave me alone and keep the dogs up now.


Dogs running loose and killing other people's livestock is against the law pretty much everywhere I think but no one ever does anything about it. They blame you for having free range chickens....do they stay on your property? (the chickens). In my area, not necessisarily in town but on the edges of town and in the county chickens run loose all the time, there is a town not far from here where the chickens are leg banded according to owner but they all run all over the town, up and down mainstreet, you have to watch where you drive and everyone feeds them, if you find an egg, it's yours etc. 
I'm babbling, I'm sorry, it's been a long day.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Yeah,they stay in my yard and I kill the dogs in my yard.It took years and a lot of murdered chickens for me to get to this point but the dog warden is useless and incompetent.I got tired of telling them the laws and my rights.They tell me I can't shoot dogs then I have to tell them I have the right,by state law,to protect my livestock and that includes the free running neighbor dogs killing my chickens.A predator is a predator.Then I inform then there's another state law stating you have to keep your dogs confined,the dog owner is breaking the law and I'm breaking no laws.You have to know the laws and your rights or they'll get over on you.I don't bother them with my problems anymore, I take care of my problems permanently and feed the vultures at the same time.Did you know vultures have a pecking order,too?I love watching them eat and fight over it.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

chickenqueen said:


> Yeah,they stay in my yard and I kill the dogs in my yard.It took years and a lot of murdered chickens for me to get to this point but the dog warden is useless and incompetent.I got tired of telling them the laws and my rights.They tell me I can't shoot dogs then I have to tell them I have the right,by state law,to protect my livestock and that includes the free running neighbor dogs killing my chickens.A predator is a predator.Then I inform then there's another state law stating you have to keep your dogs confined,the dog owner is breaking the law and I'm breaking no laws.You have to know the laws and your rights or they'll get over on you.I don't bother them with my problems anymore, I take care of my problems permanently and feed the vultures at the same time.Did you know vultures have a pecking order,too?I love watching them eat and fight over it.


I did not know that vultures have a pecking order but it makes sense, most flocking birds do.


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