Cinnaminute
Songster
Hi, I have quite a few questions and a bit of a long story here. I hope this is a good forum for it. I'll make sure to bold my main questions to make it easier to skim through while still providing the extra information for those that may want to know. I adopted a 6mo(?) Polish bantam hen that I named Ella (I think she's about 2.5lbs but can always get an accurate weight anytime if needed). My mother actually got her for me as a bit of a surprise so I wasn't able to ask any important questions before getting her. I'm new to not only mature hens but also handling new chickens with unknown histories and origins as well as being pretty new to chickens in general so I have no experiences with illnesses of any sort (which I'm sure is about to change). I do own 6 EE pullets (my first chickens) that I've raised since they were 6 days old and now they're 13 wk currently so I know what's normal for them but not for anyone else - aka I could tell in an instant if they were showing signs of lethargy or depression due to being very intimately familiar with their behavior and vocals. I've been reading around on BYC about various things that could help me, but I figured it'd be good to ask what you all would do in my situation as well just in case I missed anything.
Thank you all so much for reading! I'm so sorry this is so long. I've included a picture of this morning's first bloody stool for reference.
- Rehoming Reason: The people were rehoming her because she was getting picked on by the other members of their flock and thus wasn't laying eggs. They said she'd often be found hiding underneath the house (coop or their home?) after being chased off by the other hens. She was their only Polish and their daughter intended on showing her in competitions (but changed her mind). They said Ella was a little insane but likely because she could only see below her and they commented that her crest could always be trimmed if she wasn't going to be used in a show. Hearing that, I didn't understand why they themselves didn't just trim her crest and keep her as an egg laying hen with their others. Why give her away when there was an easy solution? Can being harassed by other flock members really keep a hen from laying eggs for the first time - does stress somehow just stop the egg forming process or does it end up creating complications?
- Ella's Past: After receiving Ella, I had my mother ask them about any vaccinations and what food they were feeding her (medicated or not?) but they, I guess, thought the questions were strange? They asked my mother why she wanted to know. The only information we ended up getting was A) they had vaccinated their whole flock except for Ella because they "couldn't catch her" at the time (despite being able to do so within a couple hours to deliver her to my mother) and B) that they got her from Forsyth, GA (which doesn't give me any clue as to whether it was a hatchery, feed store, regular owner, breeder, etc.) Overall just a lack of being transparent about Ella. Should I vaccinate my 13wk pullets and if so, for what? They are kept indoors due to the extreme heat we've been having but go outside on cooler days and will be out there more in the fall. Or should I wait, just in case there was an accidental exposure to anything from Ella - despite my best efforts, I could easily make a mistake and my girls could get exposed to something Ella may have unawares. I'll be refraining from vaccinating Ella, who was the only member of their flock that didn't get vaccinated, until after her 30-45 day quarantine, but should I limit her from foraging outside in the meantime? Also, could she have contracted something from her old flock members that had been vaccinated when she wasn't? Clearly this is a great example of why many don't like to add new birds to their flocks.
- Ella's Quarantine: Ella is quarantined from my other girls. Come Tuesday it's been 2 weeks. She has no mites, no lice, and has a great appetite. I've given her grit which she's taken when she needs. She does not seem interested in oyster shell, but it's possible she's had a little of it. Hard to tell. She eats what my girls eat, Purina Flock Raiser (non-medicated). I've given her blueberries, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, and grapes as treats in moderation just like my other girls. She loves them and would probably eat until she exploded if I let her. She drinks good. She is primarily indoors. She's very calm and well-behaved. Likely still on edge and obviously has limited vision. No nasal discharge so far. No eye bubbles. No eye fog. Outside Ella is a lot more skittish and active, as expected. She startles easily, loves to dust bathe, scratch around for goodies, etc. Now that's she warming up to us, she's getting a little more bold. Pecks my hand because she's used to me hand feeding her treats. Pinches me if she doesn't want to be touched. Talks and trills and grooms a lot. She has very red wattles (and I assume comb, hard to see under all the poof of her crest). I looked at her vent and it looks like a line so I think she hasn't ever laid. I'm definitely no expert, learning as I go along.
- Did Ella try to lay an egg - first week: I had a weird incident after having her for 3 days. In the evening I put her away in her cage. About an hour or so later when it started to get dark, she'd start yelling in a distressed way. I figured she was just used to roosting with others and had gotten over the shock of a new environment enough to start to protest. After a 2 days of her doing this, I decided to move her cage next to my computer so I could witness the whole thing as it played out. It started with her doing that distress yell. I watched her eventually lay down in the straw and saw her tail end slightly bobbing up and down. She was panting. Then she starting her yelling again, louder and louder. For a quiet bird, this really startled me. After about 10 minutes she just stopped. Then she got up and went about her business. No egg. She did still yell a bit afterwards but not as much. Eventually she settled in for bed. The next day she yelled a lot too around the same time. I let her out to sit on top of the cage but she paced a lot and fussed but didn't do that laying and panting. I thought maybe she just didn't want to go in the cage so early. So the following day I started putting her in the cage late when I put my other girls to bed and she adjusted to the new schedule. She doesn't yell anymore nor does she do that behavior. She wakes up in the morning when I do around 9:30am now and waits patiently and quietly. I let her out of the cage around 12pm and she hangs around in the living room until about 9:30-10:30pm. I then put her back in the cage. Around 12:30am all lights go out. She seems comfortable and settled into the routine. Was her laying and panting and yelling an egg laying attempt or was that some kind of practice? She does not squat when I pet her, she just hunches down a tiny bit and tries to get away from me - my 13wk olds also do that little hunch down but they actually let me pet them. There is no full blown squat or wing spread. Or is this a sign that something is wrong? I would ask about this in the egg laying forum but I feel it's suitable to ask here along with everything else. She has a great appetite and poops regularly & normal, except...
- Red things in Ella's poop - second week: A few days ago I started noticing little red gelatinous bits in Ella's poop. The poop is completely normal besides that. I thought it was odd. Nothing she ate would've done that as she hadn't been outside for a while and I hadn't given her any treats the past couple days. The next day I kept an eye on her poop. In the morning it was completely normal, no red bits, but later on in the early afternoon there they were again. At least 3 poops in a row had them. I thought maybe she had gotten something off the floor that I missed when vacuuming. Yesterday I kept an extra close eye on her and the poop. Nothing weird until early afternoon. She had not gotten on the floor yet. I found a red bit in one of her poops when I went to clean it up. Every poop after that had a piece. Maybe I was just not noticing it in the morning ones? I looked around at some posts here on BYC and I saw a discussion about coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis. I've noticed no change in appetite or thirst. This morning her first poop outside the cage was clean, but her very next poop had a bloody spot. It isn't even the gelatinous lump anymore. Definitely just a bit bloody. I would greatly appreciate any advice on what I could start giving her. I'll look into getting a fecal test done, gram stain and all that as well. I have a suspicion it could be coccidiosis since I did take her out into the yard a few times so I'll be getting her some Corid in the coming days. Is that safe to give on just a suspicion?
Thank you all so much for reading! I'm so sorry this is so long. I've included a picture of this morning's first bloody stool for reference.
