I can't keep my flock healthy.

[ccredeur]

Im looking for help. Advice. I guess anything. I can't seem to keep my flock healthy. I have a flock of around fifty. Ranging from brooder to adult. I have gone through every problem imaginable. We've had respiratory illness, bumble foot, mites, and now worms. And the illnesses aren't mild. They're so extreme. The bumble foot is probably the worst. My hen is so bad off that she can hardly walk.

Ive got an entire pharmacy for them now. Im a self proclaimed chicken vet at this point. Yesterday I found worms in my teen's poop and I about lost it. I am ready to toss in the towel. I don't understand why they keep getting sick.

Here is the run down on my coop/run:
I have two large coops. Both are walk in. One is 4x8x6 and the other is 8x8x6. I've changed the roosting bars three times. Thinking maybe they were causing the bumble foot. They now use really thick tree branches. Big enough that they're feet are flat. I clean the coop every Saturday or Sunday morning. Give or take a week if I have something to do on that weekend. I use construction sand as litter in both coops. Poop boards under where they roost. There is plenty ventilation. It was insulated in the winter and I now have box fans in each coop for the blistering heat. They have acess to three waterers that we dump and rinse every other day or as needed. The teens eat flock raiser (nutrena? or purina? I don't remember right now). The adults get 20% layer pellets from our feed store that I believe is purina. Or they get the producers pride pellets from tractor supply. Whichever place we stop. But they have been eating the teens crumble. They get scraps as we have them in the evenings. They have free access to oyster shell.

Their run is a large 30x40 fenced area with two trees for optimal shade. We have aviary netting covering the entire top because we had an issue with a hawk. They are in there all day while we are at work and free range supervised in the rest of the yard. But they spend majority of their time in the run. The run is obviously mostly dirt. Mud when it rains. There are things for them to roost on. I have a forage box with wire for them to have greens. (though they don't let that last too long before pulling them out). Their food stays in the coops. They have access to it all day and night. I ordered some port holes today to make feeders I can close up though. I'll have that done this weekend. They have a kiddie pool filled with dirt, sand, and first saturday lime.
I also put the FSL down in the coops and sprinkle on the roosting bars. It also goes into their water bowls to keep algea down.

They get loved on every single day. I sit outside with them for an hour at least every single afternoon and usually all day on weekends. They are let out the coops at 6am and go to bed around 8pm.

When they all got that respiratory virus they were given shots of duramycin for three days. It cleared up. The bumble foot hit three of my girls. One healed up fine after one treatment. One is healing currently with no issue. She had a mild case on both feet. The other one isn't doing too hot. It's very infected. Her whole foot is large and pink. I've lanced three areas now four times over the course of two or three months now. It starts to heal then gets worse. Im getting a large amount of infection out. Usually fluid infection (pale yellow) and then large chunks come out. I get what I can out, then I clean with vetericyn, pack with neosporin and prid. Cover with guaze and wrap with vetwrap. She is staying in our feed room which is air conditioned with a concrete floor. I change the bandage every two days. I just brought her in there indefinietly this last time I treated her. She is NOT a chicken who likes being indoors. This last time I poured peroxide in the wound as well. This morning she was walking around and even singing an egg song. She laid an egg yesterday. She was pooping green monday. I gave her a shot of penicilin after I cleaned her up. But we forgot the bottle out on the counter and the feed store is out, so she hasn't had another dose.
She is not pooping green anymore and is eating and drinking. Shes getting around a little better.

I found mites on them a week ago so I've treated the coop with permetherin spray and increased the amount of FSL Im using. I have to recheck them,

Now, yesterday, one of my lavender orpingtons pooped pretty watery stuff. I checked it out and what do you know? I see movement. There were the tiniest of worms in it. I ran inside to see what I had to treat them. I have safeguard goat dewormer 10% oral suspension. I will be adding that to their water as soon as Im confident that its appropriate and the right dosage.

So. I am at my witts end. Im sure sour crop is next and I really might just abandon ship. Please help. What am I doing wrong here?

Also want to add- I have a cross beak EE. So add that to my list of chicken disasters.

ALSO ALSO I almost forgot. I have a turkey poult with a swollen face and who sneezes now. Found that yesterday. HAAALP.

Attached are pictures of the coop and run and everything else I can find for y’all to get an idea of what I have going on.

 

[nuthatched]

Oh man, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time! I'm not sure what could be going on, except bumble foot is infected cuts or splinters on the feet, it doesn't have anything to do with roosts. The turkey could have a sinus infection, which might require surgery.

 

[ccredeur]

Oh man, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time! I'm not sure what could be going on, except bumble foot is infected cuts or splinters on the feet, it doesn't have anything to do with roosts. The turkey could have a sinus infection, which might require surgery.

Surgery?! What am I looking for to determine that?
I changed the roosts thinking they weren't wide enough the first time. I thought their feet were uncomfortable or were having a hard time gripping. I then put in pieces of molding from our house that we changed out.
Those were starting to splinter.
So now I have the large tree branches. Thanks to a hurricane I have an abundance of those.

Im sure its getting infected from the mud outside. The mud smells awful. I've been trying to find a truck load of sand to purchase and dump in the run.

 

[Banana01]

Sand and maybe cut back some trees so that the sun can hit the muddy areas. Sunny sand is really good habitat for chickens. My chickens bathe in the warm sand.

If you ever notice a chicken starting to get signs of illness, give them a dewormer. Worms lower their immune system just enough to let illnesses start.

I hope to comment more later after i can look at the pictures my internet is slow.

 

[My Bagurks]

As far as the roosts go, my chickens love 1x2s laid on their side. They are sturdy enough to handle several chickens and they’re pretty cheap, even with lumber prices what they are.

The mite and foot issues. A lot of people use sand in their coops so if you want to keep the sand, I’d suggest adding some diatomaceous earth to it. I don’t know the exact mix but it will definitely help with the mites.
If you aren’t dead set on sand or it’s too much of an undertaking, I would try pine shavings for the coop floor. It will make for a softer landing when they come off the roosts and when it gets soiled or breaks down, you just shovel it into the run and they scratch and spread it around. And after several cleanings, you end up semi mulching the run which can help with drainage or create dry spots for the chickens.
It’s hard to pinpoint the cause and effect of the things going on. I’m not sure where and how they’d be getting foot injuries/infections.

 

[ccredeur]

Sand and maybe cut back some trees so that the sun can hit the muddy areas. Sunny sand is really good habitat for chickens. My chickens bathe in the warm sand.

If you ever notice a chicken starting to get signs of illness, give them a dewormer. Worms lower their immune system just enough to let illnesses start.

I hope to comment more later after i can look at the pictures my internet is slow.

The area the run is in has never been a large sunny area. So it's always stayed a bit wet. We will have to consider hiring someone to trim the trees if they can get to them. They're pretty big.

What kind of dewormer are we talking? I've read ivermectin, safeguard, aquasol. But I don't have a standard dose or way to give it.
I would prefer a one dose thing orally. So I can make sure everyone gets a dose.

Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Surgery?! What am I looking for to determine that?
I changed the roosts thinking they weren't wide enough the first time. I thought their feet were uncomfortable or were having a hard time gripping. I then put in pieces of molding from our house that we changed out.
Those were starting to splinter.
So now I have the large tree branches. Thanks to a hurricane I have an abundance of those.

Im sure its getting infected from the mud outside. The mud smells awful. I've been trying to find a truck load of sand to purchase and dump in the run.

I'd look for mulch or buy wood chips from a tree company, sand might compound the issue.

As far as the roosts go, my chickens love 1x2s laid on their side. They are sturdy enough to handle several chickens and they’re pretty cheap, even with lumber prices what they are.

The mite and foot issues. A lot of people use sand in their coops so if you want to keep the sand, I’d suggest adding some diatomaceous earth to it. I don’t know the exact mix but it will definitely help with the mites.
If you aren’t dead set on sand or it’s too much of an undertaking, I would try pine shavings for the coop floor. It will make for a softer landing when they come off the roosts and when it gets soiled or breaks down, you just shovel it into the run and they scratch and spread it around. And after several cleanings, you end up semi mulching the run which can help with drainage or create dry spots for the chickens.
It’s hard to pinpoint the cause and effect of the things going on. I’m not sure where and how they’d be getting foot injuries/infections.

De won't work in ops damp environment, but I second the pine shavings.

 

[ccredeur]

As far as the roosts go, my chickens love 1x2s laid on their side. They are sturdy enough to handle several chickens and they’re pretty cheap, even with lumber prices what they are.

The mite and foot issues. A lot of people use sand in their coops so if you want to keep the sand, I’d suggest adding some diatomaceous earth to it. I don’t know the exact mix but it will definitely help with the mites.
If you aren’t dead set on sand or it’s too much of an undertaking, I would try pine shavings for the coop floor. It will make for a softer landing when they come off the roosts and when it gets soiled or breaks down, you just shovel it into the run and they scratch and spread it around. And after several cleanings, you end up semi mulching the run which can help with drainage or create dry spots for the chickens.
It’s hard to pinpoint the cause and effect of the things going on. I’m not sure where and how they’d be getting foot injuries/infections.

The First saturday lime acts as my DE. I was using it initially for odor and bugs. So I have increased the amount I put on the coop floor.

We had pine shavings before. It was just a lot of clean out and smelled. Maybe I'll go half and half? Just to cushion it some. Thank you!

 

[coach723]

How high are your roosts? Some birds won't use ramps and will jump, too high a jump can contribute to bumblefoot injuries. Any kind of cut, scrape, splinter, etc can let the bacteria in that can cause bumblefoot. Pictures of your birds foot that is having the bumblefoot trouble would help. I had a very bad case of bumblefoot that took over a year to heal the first time, and then recurred. I did not want to do any more cutting on the foot, so I was trying anything and everything. This thread, Post #8 I explain what I did that was finally successful and the supplies I used: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555
He is still bumblefoot free to this day since that treatment.
For the worms, I don't know what worms you saw, but you can't mix Safeguard in water (unless it's Safeguard Aquasol which is REALLY expensive) you have to direct dose each bird. The safeguard will settle out of the water and they will not be dosed correctly. Correct dose for the goat wormer is .23 ml (round to .25) per pound of bird weight, dose them 5 days in a row. That will take care of everything except tapeworms, which your description does not sound like. You can use an inexpensive digital kitchen scale to get weights. Personally, I would treat them all. You can get oral syringes at many feed stores, tractor supply stores or any pharmacy, just ask. Just lock your birds in the coop at dark, go out early the next morning and take them off the roosts one at a time and dose them. Turn them out into the run once dosed, once the coop is empty you've gotten everyone. Any that struggle you can wrap in a towel like a burrito to hold the wings while you dose. Pull down on the wattles. give the dose .5 ml at a time and let the bird swallow (to reduce the chance of aspirating the meds) and repeat until the whole dose is given. Shake the bottle well before drawing a dose, it settles out. I do over 2 dozen birds every 3 to 4 months, takes me about 1/2 an hour, it gets easier with practice.

 

[ccredeur]

How high are your roosts? Some birds won't use ramps and will jump, too high a jump can contribute to bumblefoot injuries. Any kind of cut, scrape, splinter, etc can let the bacteria in that can cause bumblefoot. Pictures of your birds foot that is having the bumblefoot trouble would help. I had a very bad case of bumblefoot that took over a year to heal the first time, and then recurred. I did not want to do any more cutting on the foot, so I was trying anything and everything. This thread, Post #8 I explain what I did that was finally successful and the supplies I used: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555
He is still bumblefoot free to this day since that treatment.
For the worms, I don't know what worms you saw, but you can't mix Safeguard in water (unless it's Safeguard Aquasol which is REALLY expensive) you have to direct dose each bird. The safeguard will settle out of the water and they will not be dosed correctly. Correct dose for the goat wormer is .23 ml (round to .25) per pound of bird weight, dose them 5 days in a row. That will take care of everything except tapeworms, which your description does not sound like. You can use an inexpensive digital kitchen scale to get weights. Personally, I would treat them all. You can get oral syringes at many feed stores, tractor supply stores or any pharmacy, just ask. Just lock your birds in the coop at dark, go out early the next morning and take them off the roosts one at a time and dose them. Turn them out into the run once dosed, once the coop is empty you've gotten everyone. Any that struggle you can wrap in a towel like a burrito to hold the wings while you dose. Pull down on the wattles. give the dose .5 ml at a time and let the bird swallow (to reduce the chance of aspirating the meds) and repeat until the whole dose is given. Shake the bottle well before drawing a dose, it settles out. I do over 2 dozen birds every 3 to 4 months, takes me about 1/2 an hour, it gets easier with practice.

The highest roost I have is about four foot high. The rest are lower. I dont have a picture of the foot right now but when I clean it tonight I'll get one and post it.

I definitely want to direct dose them over placing in the water, but I'll have to do that at night. I don't have the time in the morning five days in a row. I have so many that will need it. Most of what I've read online has instruction to give the goat dewormer 1tsp per gallon of water. I was having difficulty finding another way of dosing.