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Thanks, Blooie...Your birds have one huge advantage......YOU.
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Thanks, Blooie...Your birds have one huge advantage......YOU.
I know this is not a popular viewpoint, though a valid one nonetheless, but I don't think the current methods described in your post will ever "return your flock to health" but rather will just keep treating them in a palliative manner as each new health crisis arrives.
If you ever grow tired of trying to diagnose and fix each new problem as it arises, you may want to explore options to KEEP the flock healthy all the time rather than trying to get good health back from each new crisis. Your flock will have a better life and I've no doubts you will also, as both of you will have less stress.
Dust bathes and good food really help with lice, but this may sound harsh, but you have a flock of poor doers. We have cattle, and have often noticed that poor doing animals are much more susceptible to lice. I think chickens are the same way. You might need to really cull on your flock.
In my opinion, if you have an 8 year old chicken, you must be doing more right than wrong. I have never come close. Chickens do not live forever, and the end may be close.
Any bird with a leg so badly injured that needs amputation, I would cull.
Mrs K
I would assume that some of their external parasites are getting out of control due to no having enough unfrozen ground to properly dust baths.
We cull based on suffering and whether we believe they can recover or not.
I am open to any suggestions for keeping birds in good shape. I have spent quite a bit of time looking stuff up and trying to find permanent solutions, rather than knocking back issues again and again but found none... Guess I stink at doing proper research