My first time quarantining a chicken

[DonyaQuick]

Well, I was completely unable to find a vet close enough that will do fecal floats for poultry. The support for farm animals is all for mammals. There are poultry vets in the very extended area but they don't have an office to go to; you have to schedule site visits so I don't think that's really meant for just a handful of chickens like I have (and it kind of worries me from a biosecurity standpoint). However, during my search I saw one worm in a fresh poo. It was definitely a worm, not intestinal lining, although it didn't move much and seemed totally dead shortly after. Looked to be a roundworm based on having seen similar ones in other animals' droppings. Local feed store had fenbendazole in capsules rated for poultry 4-7lbs and Ziggy is 6. I know it's not the ideal course of action but I don't want to drag the QT out just to try to get vet confirmation when I've seen a worm, so I went ahead and gave him the first dose. We'll see what comes out in the next few days. Somewhere packed up in storage I have a good microscope, so I might be able to do my own slides if I can read upon the procedure for fecal floats to be prepared in the future (would've prepped for that some time ago if I'd known it would be so hard to get one done professionally).

Seriously - let that boy out to get some fertilized eggs, in a week you can have eggs to put under her - nothing is more fun than a broody hen with chicks.

No - you are doing it right - following quarantine - way better than me, that rather lets the chips fall where they may. But I do love hatching out under a broody hen. I could not wait.

Mrs K

I will admit the temptation was definitely there lol.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Broody Hens, now with 50% more screaming! Look at this angry little pinecone.

So, probably thanks to Dimple, eggs are starting to show up in odd places. I wondered if it was her trying to steal them at first, but then one was laid right off the side of my lap so I guess not.

Ziggy is doing really well. Following the first worming dose, I saw a couple of smaller dead roundworms in one poo, but that's it - so obviously not that big of an issue. He's got one more dose that will be right near the end of the original 2 week period I was aiming for. I think he's handling the QT stress than many chickens would because he's so friendly. I open the door on his enclosure and he comes straight out and into my arms to be picked up. He also doesn't care one bit about headphones, so I've been able to sit with him on my lap for a good amount of time each day and browse forums, read the news, watch a movie, etc. I need to get some more pics of him.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Well after saying Ziggy was dealing with the QT well, I may have to cut it short for other reasons. Things are unraveling kind of fast for the following reasons:

• I'm sick with something nasty that is going around town. This means I snork, hack, and wheeze all night and will be doing for some time.
• Ziggy has started crowing a LOT and rather suddenly ramped it up. There is no mystery in this: he can hear my hens sometimes, he's bored, he wants attention, I can only sit with him so much, and there are things outside he can hear but can't see and he doesn't like that. He doesn't crow when it's dark but he does do a small round at first light then starts up with gusto again at about 6:30 when he knows I will be getting up soon.
• My husband is complaining about not being able to sleep because of the noise. We did discuss this extensively beforehand as far as what to expect. It doesn't wake me up when the doors are closed and somehow our dog banging about like construction crew at 4AM or barking later on doesn't wake him up, nor does our parrot setting off in the morning (easily just as loud). I think it's my own nasal noise that is the main culprit here but he's convinced it's the crowing that tipped things so I'm not likely to win any arguments there.
• In 3 days my area is getting a weird little May heat wave and Ziggy almost certainly will NOT be happy in the spare room. We don't have AC and over about 70F that side of the house is prone to heating up above outdoor temps even with the windows open. So I have another 3 days max even sans-husband-complaints before things unravel.

Options I see are:

• Hurry things along and move the small enclosure outside near the coop and let him get used to the hens in case he has to go in with them due to the impending weather mess.
• Move him outside but AWAY from the coop and try to get him through the weather mess with tarps. There will be predator proofing issues. This option probably worries me the most
• Try to block out the windows better so Ziggy stays quiet longer and find some other way to mitigate the temperatures with a spare fan or something. Problem is I don't have supplies for blocking the windows and can't reasonably go get them in my current state. This option is probably least feasible unless I get lucky and find something stashed in the shed.

My QT-related concerns are:

• What if I missed some nits with the lice treatment? I could just dust him daily I guess...
• He's due one more round of worming meds but not until the weekend.

What a mess.

EDIT: should have mentioned that the heat wave here isn't just high temps, it's also with big thunderstorms - so I would have to close the windows on the spare room too. With big storms here there is often 1/2 inch or more of water flowing over the ground everywhere even though we're on a hill. I've engineered my coop/run and its drainage to keep the ground within pretty dry through that kind of event. But the Ziggy Hut would have a river running through it and only one rather unimpressive roosting bar.

 

[townchicks]

One of those rock and a hard place spots. Is your small enclosure predator safe? If so, in your place that seems like the best option. Ideally, since he did have worms, he shouldn't go in your hen enclosure until after the second worming, as he will possibly still be shedding eggs in his stool. If you have a microscope, getting fecal float kits and checking your own samples would be a very good idea, for the future. That little eye thing looks like a scar, to me. Good for you for trying to do quarantine. For most of us, it is very hard to do it perfectly in our smaller spaces, as airborne diseases can travel some distance anyways, and of course there are the ever present wild birds. Sometimes you have to settle for "this is the best I can do", even if it's not perfect. I hope you feel better soon.

 

[DonyaQuick]

One of those rock and a hard place spots.

Yep It's a learning experience of course since I've never brought in a new bird before, but seems like I always plan things out carefully and then something goes haywire anyway.

Is your small enclosure predator safe?

Not right now. This will sound dumb but basically I finished the side panels and then only zip-tied it all together. I was going to keep it easy to disassemble to take it outside piece by piece, and then put the last bits on once it was outside where I had more room to work with it. I was going to be doing that next week after the QT. I *might* have enough spare hardware cloth to make it proofed right now. Not 100% sure. I would have to do the entire floor as hardware cloth rather than a skirt which isn't the best but better than no protection, and then probably I could just screw in the two wood panels I've already been using as a roof.

Another option that occurred to me would be to set Ziggy up outside during the day when the risk is much less, and then at dusk tuck him into a smaller thing indoors just to sleep. I could put that smaller thing in a darker place so he won't start up crowing as early. Then I could put him back out first thing.

Ideally, since he did have worms, he shouldn't go in your hen enclosure until after the second worming, as he will possibly still be shedding eggs in his stool.

I'm guessing I probably need to wait a little bit after that second dose too for the same reason.

I found this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/fecal-examination-in-backyard-chickens-101-part-1.75459/
Looks like I can make my own solution from household stuff:
"2 cups warm water
1/3 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar
Dissolve salt, then stir in sugar until crystals dissolve."

Somewhere I've got a lot of chemistry-type stuff in addition to the microscope so I should have everything (assuming it didn't get broken in the move last year; I never opened those couple of boxes).

 

[townchicks]

Another option that occurred to me would be to set Ziggy up outside during the day when the risk is much less, and then at dusk tuck him into a smaller thing indoors just to sleep. I could put that smaller thing in a darker place so he won't start up crowing as early. Then I could put him back out first thing.

That sounds like a workable plan. Good to know about the homemade solution. I've been thinking about getting a microscope just for doing my own fecals.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Looks like I do not have enough, or rather the right dimension hardware cloth to cover the bottom. I would have to either leave a small gap or do two strips. Either way there is more foot-cutting potential than I like so I won't be doing that.

I used some play pen panels to create a smaller, covered test area outside to see how he will do if he's away from the coop. Took two attempts. First attempt was complete chaos because as I was holding him outside letting him get used to the sudden lack of walls, one of the snotty little hawks in the area heard him and buzzed us to have a look. Understandably, this caused a complete freakout. Ziggy jumped out of my arms screaming and ran for a covered place where the trash bins are stored, and then...saw the ladies who all leaned over to go ooooOOOOO at him. He became very indecisive about whether to hide or say hello so he was pretty easy to catch. So that will be my first major QT goof right there in terms of unintended proximity, but I doubt he will have given them any worms or lice from 50ft away.

Attempt number two went more smoothly and he stayed in the little enclosure and scratched around for a bit. I didn't leave him outside for very long since the test setup is pretty flimsy, but either later today or tomorrow I will dismantle the bigger indoor panels and put that setup outside. I will use the smaller, flimsy playpen thing as the sleeping place setup and should be able to mostly cover it with a blanket. Then I can start the daytime-out nighttime-in routine properly. To help prevent digging under the edge during the day, I have a ton of large flat rocks that I could put around the edge in case I have to leave him unattended. Or I could put down some spare boards around the sides and weight them with rocks. There are some options to explore.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Ziggy pics! His comb where he had a lot of scabs from being pecked has healed up nicely. He finally got comfortable enough in the play pen outside that he spent a good hour this afternoon rolling around in the dirt like a goofus. Shade out there is going to be a bit of a challenge the next few days; I'm not sure how Ziggy will feel about a tarp flapping around if I add one. I placed the main coop setup where it is because it's one of few shaded areas out there.

Also, more of broody little Dimple being a grumpus. I have to be cautious now because this angry fluff ball will come screaming over (both literally and figuratively) and launch herself at my lap for a hug whether I'm ready or not. Getting her out of the coop a couple times per day still like peeling a very sticky label off of a container, but once she's out she still wants her snacks and hugs.

 

[townchicks]

Ziggy is very handsome. I'm glad he's working out so far.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Oh this is just turning into a MESS. If I leave Dimple in the coop, she stresses the others because they won't even try going in to lay eggs. I also don't think Dimple will eat or drink at all if I just leave her being broody in the coop; she just sits. Even ignoring the egg-laying issues, I can't put food/water in the coop for her because the others will spill it when they go in for the night. But as of today, if I remove Dimple to eat/drink in the run and let the others lay eggs, she starts brawls! Actual brawls! She'll even start a fight through the fence if I try to get her to eat/drink outside the enclosure. I'm glad Ziggy is near the end of his QT with me having no real worries of air-transmitted things at this point, since now I've got the upstairs chicken in the spare room (Ziggy) and the downstairs living room chicken in a carrier for the night (Dimple). I just wasn't sure what else to do. On top of that, Ziggy hears Dimple's periodic broody screaming and gets super excited, so I have chickens shouting across the house at each other. Meanwhile, my dog is taking this about as well as a spoiled toddler who just realized she has to compete with a new baby for attention. Everything has gone insane.

Given that Dimple seems to be a hardline no-food-and-drink broody unless I keep pulling her out, I'm guessing I will need to set her up for proper broody breaking once the QT is over rather than trying to ride it out some other way?