Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Teila]

Hey appps I just saw the sentence you added to your recent post about Al not really eating.

It is probably not going to be of much help but I have noticed that my gals do not have the enthusiasm for breakfast that they had in summer .. since the mornings have been cooler, they have seemed quite content to stay in the coop and leave breakfast until later.

I have noticed a slight decrease in their food intake and the fact that they seem to eat more in the afternoon than the morning. This could also be because they are not laying. I am not concerned about them as they seem healthy, comb colour and poops are good; just noting a change in them since the cooler temps have arrived.

Also, they are definitely not fans of wind and as it has been windy the last two days, it took some encouragement to get them to come out yesterday for a free range and then they just sat on the sheltered deck, under the gazebo with their Dad.

 

[appps]

Hey appps I just saw the sentence you added to your recent post about Al not really eating.

It is probably not going to be of much help but I have noticed that my gals do not have the enthusiasm for breakfast that they had in summer .. since the mornings have been cooler, they have seemed quite content to stay in the coop and leave breakfast until later.

I have noticed a slight decrease in their food intake and the fact that they seem to eat more in the afternoon than the morning.  This could also be because they are not laying.  I am not concerned about them as they seem healthy, comb colour and poops are good; just noting a change in them since the cooler temps have arrived.

Also, they are definitely not fans of wind and as it has been windy the last two days, it took some encouragement to get them to come out yesterday for a free range and then they just sat on the sheltered deck, under the gazebo with their Dad.

That's a good point. I used to open up and they would all come rushing out but lately I open up and the three australorps rush out and everyone else looks at me like I am mad

I've actually started letting them out and locking up colonel and winry so they can get into the dirt eating and then coming back to feed the rest about half an hour later because otherwise I have to drag their buts out of bed! It is windy here this morning so fingers crossed its the cold not what the others have.

Makes me think too, should go cover colonels cage, she will have no fat on her to keep warm!

 

[Fancychooklady]

That's a good point. I used to open up and they would all come rushing out but lately I open up and the three australorps rush out and everyone else looks at me like I am mad

I've actually started letting them out and locking up colonel and winry so they can get into the dirt eating and then coming back to feed the rest about half an hour later because otherwise I have to drag their buts out of bed! It is windy here this morning so fingers crossed its the cold not what the others have.

Makes me think too, should go cover colonels cage, she will have no fat on her to keep warm!

With more than one bird showing symptoms it makes it more puzzling. For me, my course of action would be to
1- remove all of the bedding and replace with something they can't eat.
2- worm them all again and dust them for external parasites.
3- change the feed brand and up the protein. Look at how you store the feed.
4- start a course of antibiotics .
It's important to keep an unwell bird warm so your thoughts of covering the bird are correct.
Boil up some cheap pasta till it's quite gluggy , while it's hot stir in a few raw eggs and tin of sardines or mackerel in oil. Believe me if anything will peak their appetite this recipe will.
How old are the birds ? As you say , this could just be age catching up with them.

 

[appps]

With more than one bird showing symptoms it makes it more puzzling. For me, my course of action would be to
1- remove all of the bedding and replace with something they can't eat.
2- worm them all again and dust them for external parasites.
3- change the feed brand and up the protein. Look at how you store the feed.
4- start a course of antibiotics .
It's important to keep an unwell bird warm so your thoughts of covering the bird are correct.
Boil up some cheap pasta till it's quite gluggy , while it's hot stir in a few raw eggs and tin of sardines or mackerel in oil. Believe me if anything will peak their appetite this recipe will.
How old are the birds ? As you say , this could just be age catching up with them.

Had to go check and surprised to find the first photos I have were around March 2013 so only three years, I was sure they were a year or two older. I'm wondering if the slow crop is the cause of her being sick or simply a symptom of her being so close to death. Especially as winry doesn't have it and it's not compacted like Carl's was. We gave her a feed of the polyaid and she's cuddled up with winry and protected from the wind now.

I'm worried the worming may be too much for her system? But I guess I've reached nothing to loose stage

All bedding is gone.

The feed is stored in one of those plastic barrels you can get from feed stores. It's a brand new bag this week too.

Can you get antibiotics anywhere but the vets?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Had to go check and surprised to find the first photos I have were around March 2013 so only three years, I was sure they were a year or two older. I'm wondering if the slow crop is the cause of her being sick or simply a symptom of her being so close to death. Especially as winry doesn't have it and it's not compacted like Carl's was. We gave her a feed of the polyaid and she's cuddled up with winry and protected from the wind now.

I'm worried the worming may be too much for her system? But I guess I've reached nothing to loose stage

All bedding is gone.

The feed is stored in one of those plastic barrels you can get from feed stores. It's a brand new bag this week too.

Can you get antibiotics anywhere but the vets?

The poly aid has probiotics and all the vitamins they need , so if you can get that into them that's a bonus. To worm or not to worm is the question. The problem with worming through the drinking water is that you have no way of knowing for sure that each individual I'd drinking the required dose and over a period of time an infestation will slow a bird down. The liquid avitrol seems to be more palatable to the birds.
You can buy antibiotics online . Little valley poultry .
3 is not old for a chicken , are your birds moulting , how long since they laid an egg ?

 

[appps]

The poly aid has probiotics and all the vitamins they need , so if you can get that into them that's a bonus. To worm or not to worm is the question. The problem with worming through the drinking water is that you have no way of knowing for sure that each individual I'd drinking the required dose and over a period of time an infestation will slow a bird down. The liquid avitrol seems to be more palatable to the birds.
You can buy antibiotics online . Little valley poultry .
3 is not old for a chicken , are your birds moulting , how long since they laid an egg ?

Colonel molted half naked and isn't quite back to normal yet. That's the reason I missed it for so long, I just thought she looked scrawny because she was missing so many feathers and she isn't one likes cuddles so was only when I picked her up for some reason one day I realised she weighed nothing.

My young australorps are giving us 1-2 eggs a day, nobody else has laid for what seems like months but they were all moulting to one degree or another.

 

[Teila]

Can you get antibiotics anywhere but the vets?

Our local feed store stocks Triple C Antibiotics so if you ring around, you may not have to order online.

 

[appps]

Oh and that little valley poultry is a good site. They have 150g polyaid plus for what I pay for 80g at the pet shop.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh and that little valley poultry is a good site. They have 150g polyaid plus for what I pay for 80g at the pet shop.

Yeah , I've found poly aid plus to vary in price. I found it in one pet shop in Hobart for $30, yet I've bought in Kingston for $19-50 . Gotta shop around, but I've found little valley to be a good source for most of my poultry needs.
A hard moult can be very taxing on a birds health , especially if they are already under par.
Whenever my birds are struggling with protein I switch to laucke game bird finisher.
Another way of seeing to their dietary and vitamin requirements is to add a scoop of
Livamol to your existing feed. A bag this size is about $20 and will last for ages. We give it to the horses and goats also.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Our local feed store stocks Triple C Antibiotics so if you ring around, you may not have to order online. 

Triple C contains chlortetracycline hydrochloride and Oxymav B contains oxytetracycline hydrochloride , both are effective on gram pos and neg bacteria and scientific tests have revealed that the microbial activity is the same for both.The best absorbed and soluable is Doxycycline , but it is only available on prescription .

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/pharmacology/antibacterial_agents/tetracyclines.html

I should add, when administering antibiotics you should cease all calcium supplementation and dairy products.