Adopting Abused Flock - NEED HELP!

[PeachStreet]

Hey Everyone!

Long story short - I have 3 pullets that I've had for just over 3 weeks and are currently being treated for coccidiosis. My Polish showed severe signs of being ill, though no blood in her droppings. Just off colored and mucousy. She is improving - thank goodness! I know, it's been a rough week. Things seem to be going well in that department.

Here's where the adopting an abused flock comes in.... We were searching for a used coop to buy for our girls. Went out to look at one we found and saw that there were 10 hens and one little bantam rooster still in the coop. Horrible conditions. Dirt floor. Never clean, so droppings everywhere. Drinking algae instead of water. 100+ degrees and no feed in sight. Some of the hens are around 4 months and not yet laying and the others are just under a year and are laying.

When we saw this mess we inquired about the chickens who were in the coop we'd come to pick up and were told to just go ahead and take the coop and let the chickens out in the yard - which would be fine if they had EVER free-ranged in their lives and were with a responsible owner but I'm pretty sure they haven't seen grass since they were born. Sooo we offered to buy them and the coop - she accepted. This was Monday. We've made arrangements to go and pick them up later today, one of the pullets already died yesterday, possibly heat. Who knows?! I can't get to them fast enough.

However, like I said, I've been a chicken owner for 3 weeks. So far I've had a crash course in coccidiosis. I constantly read blogs, forums, have bought books, all in an effort to do what's best for them. Today I will be going from 3 to 14 and while I know I will give them a better life I don't want them to suffer further because of my ignorance.

I know not to put my 3 pullets with them right away, especially because of the cocci. But when can I? When they are around laying age? I wish I could remove the other pullets this lady has with her laying hens because they shouldn't yet be eating the laying feed, correct? But I have nothing set up for that. Will they be okay?

I know I need to clean the coop with a bleach/water mix because she's never even bothered to remove droppings. At least not for a very long time. It's a big coop with run, 8 boxes, so plenty of room for them plus mine.

Should I treat this new flock for anything? Worms, Cocci, just in case? Should I just give them a vitamin or electrolyte solution or maybe ACV to build them up?

Obviously, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated and not at all considered offensive or insulting to me. I'm sure you can see that I care greatly but that won't bridge the gap between what I know and what I should know.

Please help!

 

[Judy]

I would give them part game bird or other high protein feed. You can order products like NutriBoost or something but I don't know anything about them. I might pick up a bottle of infant vitamin drops without iron and put a dropper in their water maybe every other day. Some probiotic would be good, any kind, that meant for animals, live culture yogurt, whatever.

Ammonia kills cocci but bleach does not. I'd use a dilute ammonia solution, maybe soap and water to the place, then spray the ammonia solution around. Better yet, you can buy Oxine, but it's not cheap -- and don't use the activator. Here's a thread about it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/560758/oxine-anyone-used-it/30#post_7268068

 

[PeachStreet]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It is much appreciated! I did not know about the ammonia. Yesterday I picked up the Save-A-Chick Electrolyte and vitamin supplement and the Save-A-Chick Probiotic, which can be both be added to their water together. Would this work, do you know anything about these products?

 

[Life is Good!]

Personally, I'd start with a Sav-A-Chick electrolyte in the water. The probiotics can come later. As these chickesn were not likely handled very much - you first need to get over the hurdle of 'human' is good caregiver. Get yourself some live mealworms and start handfeeding the flock - live mealworms are the best chicken treat ever, they LOVE it! (you can also grow your own mealworms - search for the 'mealworm farm' thread on the Feeding your Flock section of the forum, it's seriously long but informative). But if they've been left to their own devices for any length of time, they'll not likely be open to you as a friendly....know what I mean?

If you cannot find game bird feed, you can usually find 'broiler' feed which is about 21% protein. I get it in crumbles for our meat flocks. I'd fill a feeder as well as sprinkle it liberally around the ground. Scratching is instictual behavior, so they'll find what they need in the ground if they're not used to a feeder system.

Don't forget to add oyster shell for the older hens - they'll need it. And if you've got 'em on grass, they'll find some grit, although some might be beneficial for them as well.

Depending on if they'll have a dedicated run or not, consider putting up a temporary fence so they don't forget where 'home' is.....just some t-posts and some fencing that you zip-tie or even twist-tie onto the posts to hold it up for a few days.

By next week, you'll have a new flock to enjoy! Mealworms really do help the chickens figure out you're friend! Good luck!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yogurt is one of the best things you can give your birds, no matter what age. If you give them food, and they're hungry, you can stir in some yogurt til everything is lightly coated. I guarantee you they will eat it. Don't do this more than once a week to start. Usually they love yogurt but too much of it will cause them to get diarrhea. Save-a-chik in their water and mealworms for bribery and they'll be fine, as long as they're not too far gone. If they are looking pathetic, you might increase the yogurt to a couple times a week or daily, depending on their size and weight and appetite. You just need to watch them really closely and see how they are responding to treatment.

Pullets having lay pellets is fine as long as they're over 4 to 4-1/2 months old.

 

[Suzierd]

I would check them over for mites and lice, they probably need wormed two. Keep a close eye out for Respitatory signs or any thing that could infect your flock. Good luck with them I hope they just need a little TLC.

 

[PeachStreet]

Thank you all so much! I have checked this post several times throughout the day as we were out getting supplies. You've all been incredibly helpful. All seem be in relatively good shape except for one pullet who was nearly trampled to death when I poured out the food for them. I brought two big bowls out because I knew they'd be hungry. I wasn't prepared for how hungry! I had to get the attention of half of them just to get them off of this one. Once I got some of them to move over the weaker one and she devoured her share and then some, too. I will keep an eye on her and separate her if need be.

The 10 hens and one roo have nearly consumed 3/4 of a 5lb bag of the gamebird feed since I brought them home just two hours ago. They do something on occasion that sounds like it could be a little cough but I don't know whether that's from eating and drinking so quickly or some respiratory issue. I don't even know anything about chicken respiratory illnesses. Sigh... And for all I know it could be a normal chicken noise.

I will inspect droppings in the morning for worms, etc. after a thorough cleaning tonight of the coop once I get the kids to bed. And I guess from there I'll see how egg production is and try to lure them in with mealworms to check for things like mites and lice.

For now they are enjoying grass for what is probably the first time, nice cool dust baths, iced water, watermelon and some kale thrown in for good measure. Hopefully I'm not over doing it!

Thanks again for all of your help. I can't begin to tell you how much it has meant to me!

Jamie

 

[Lacy Blues]

I hope you're not overdoing it too. If they've been locked in a room with no food and slimy water, I'd be very careful about exposing them to too much too fast. It's like the survivors of the holocaust. They couldn't sit down and eat a big meal even though they were starving. It would have killed them. I would do it in small doses. You probably let them eat their fill of commercial feed. I would let them digest that for a while and then let them have some grass for a very short while. Then some more feed later... you get the idea.


Edited to add: that coughing noise probably WAS from eating too fast. Sometimes they'll choke when they're really hungry.

 

[PeachStreet]

Thank you for your honesty! That makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, I cannot limit their grass intake because their new coop and run are in my yard - all grass. They ate until they were full. Pecked a little at the watermelon, though they weren't overly excited about it. Didn't touch the kale. And they didn't seem as crazy about the grass as I would have thought. I mean, they seemed like normal chickens not grass/green things deprived chickens.

Anyway, they went into their coop and bedded down just before dark, just like they should. Hopefully tomorrow is a new day. They'll be over their shock a bit and I'll be over the horror of seeing them starving and can take the less is more approach.

The lady I got them from had a whole backyard of other birds. None with food and all with algae for water. It was a sad, sad sight. Should I turn her in? Who would I even tell if I decided to so? I'm glad to have rescued these 11 chickens but there are so many more out there....

 

[KnoxvilleChick]

I would absolutely report her. It depends on where you live and what your ordinances are, but start with Animal Control. Tons of birds in unsafe living conditions can also be a public health issue, so you might try that avenue as well.

No matter the age of the chickens, you'll want to quarantine the new members of your flock for at least 4 weeks. There are several really informative threads about that here. Good luck!