Hmmm - Where to begin? Okay. Long story short: There is a farm about 25 minutes from me where I go and hang out with the chickens. I work there in the Fall but not right now. They know I'm chicken crazy and I don't have any of my own right now so I go there two or three times a week for my "chicken fix". (Plus, whoever is supposed to be taking care of them does a lousy job so I try to make sure everything is in order for them.)
They have 21 three month old mixed bantam chicks they got from McMurrays. One of the chicks has failure to thrive and is much, much smaller than the others. Today I was watching her and I noticed her tail trembling noticably and it never stopped. Also, there are no feathers on either side of her abdomen back where her tail is. (I believe she is a white laced wyandotte if there IS such a thing - or maybe a poor excuse for a blrw?) Do you have any idea what could be causing the trembling and if there is anything that can be done? I thought about taking her home but I honestly think it would be detrimental to her overall well-being if she was taken from the others and her familiar surroundings. She seems happy enough.
My other question is about a grown bantam rooster. Besides the chicks, they have a flock of 6 RIR's and 3 what I think are bantam cornish. One of the roosters sneezes several times every time I visit but they've been there since April and he shows no other signs of illness and acts perfectly normal. None of the others have been sneezing. Could it be possible that he was born with something that causes him to sneeze - or maybe allergies - and NOT an illness? Like I say, he does it several times every time I'm there but, other than that, I see no signs of a problem.
Thanks for letting me pick your brain. I hope you can shed some light on these two situations!
They have 21 three month old mixed bantam chicks they got from McMurrays. One of the chicks has failure to thrive and is much, much smaller than the others. Today I was watching her and I noticed her tail trembling noticably and it never stopped. Also, there are no feathers on either side of her abdomen back where her tail is. (I believe she is a white laced wyandotte if there IS such a thing - or maybe a poor excuse for a blrw?) Do you have any idea what could be causing the trembling and if there is anything that can be done? I thought about taking her home but I honestly think it would be detrimental to her overall well-being if she was taken from the others and her familiar surroundings. She seems happy enough.
My other question is about a grown bantam rooster. Besides the chicks, they have a flock of 6 RIR's and 3 what I think are bantam cornish. One of the roosters sneezes several times every time I visit but they've been there since April and he shows no other signs of illness and acts perfectly normal. None of the others have been sneezing. Could it be possible that he was born with something that causes him to sneeze - or maybe allergies - and NOT an illness? Like I say, he does it several times every time I'm there but, other than that, I see no signs of a problem.
Thanks for letting me pick your brain. I hope you can shed some light on these two situations!
