Baffled by my Seramas

[ogr8ys1]

I have two Seramas, brother and sister, born 5/09. The hen started laying eggs at the end of September, laid a total of 10 eggs (5straight, two days off and then five again) and then stopped and no eggs since. The rooster was very vocal up until last week, and has not uttered a sound in over four days. Upon closer inspection their combs both seem quite pale. I feed them game bird crumbles, mixed with DE and a handful of scratch grains each day. Every other week I feed them a hard boiled egg - they are both eating and drinking (and pooping) and are active. I have them housed in my house for the winter at about 65F in a wired cage 18"x36" with pine shavings as bedding - any suggestions or clues to their behavior??

 

[chickenzoo]

Often pale comb is a sign of anemia..... Have you ever wormed them if they've been on the ground? Did you get to check really good for lice/mites. They can hide really well, especially around the vent and really suck their blood and make them very weak. I too would watch the scratch, I would be concerned about big pieces for the little guys, mine get Flock raiser and fruit/veggies as treats or the pet parakeet treat sticks. If not that, take a listen to their chest for wheezing, look at their eyes and make sure they are clean and clear...... make sure you have not been using any household products around them that could make them sick (Febreeze etc...) Best Wishes

 

[ogr8ys1]

Thanks for the thoughts - what would I use to worm them? They've never been wormed - can I give them cayenne pepper as I did with the larger chickens? Or I do have some Wazine, but I'm not sure how I would dose them since they're so small. To be on the safe side, even though I don't see any lice/mites I'm going to thoroughly dust them with DE which I'm told is effective as well. I want to switch off the pine bedding as well as there's way too much dust in this room now - there's a fine coat of dust which I've noticed seems to be worse over the past few days - these two have never seemed to be the healthiest of birds since I purchased them - the woman I got them from kept about 45 of them in a 4'x4' area and her whole place was filthy. The hen had bloodly diarrhea for almost a whole month while I treated 2x for 14 days each with Duramycin. I like the idea of the parakeet treat sticks and will pick some up today. I think I will also put the heat lamp back on top of their cage, maybe it's too drafty back here for them even with the heater on. As for Febreeze, I don't use anything back here, except fabric softner on the bedding which is in the same room - but I did spray an air freshner about three weeks ago in the room although I thought I was careful not to get it near the cage. How do you feel about the game bird crumble? I'm able to get that in 10# bags which works better because there's only two of them - my outdoor chickens are on layer pellets, which if I should be concerned with the size of scratch I wouldn't attempt to give them. I'll discontinue their scratch, too - they've never seemed a fan of any greens I put in even though I cut them up very tiny. What fruits can I give them?? Thanks for your help - I love Rizzo and Dolce and want to make sure they're ok!! (And happy)

 

[Camelot Farms]

My Seramas do well on regular layer pellets. I worried at first that they were too big for them, but they do great and I have less waste and less mess.

What about yogurt? Have you treated them to that? Healthy and yummy!

 

[ogr8ys1]

They've had the yogurt mixed with egg and honey, but they're not a big fan of it. The definitely love the egg, which led me to believe they might be eating the eggs she was laying although I cannot find any evidence of that (broken shells, etc.). I just checked them head to toe for lice/mites and don't see anything - but it does seem the rooster (Rizzo) has had diarrhea but I don't see it in the cage - I'm switching off pine shavings today - I just added cayenne pepper to their food and put duramycin in their water. Here's something funny - Rizzo just crowed four times - maybe it's been a behavioral thing? I used to spend quite a bit of time in here because that's where my computer it docked but for the past week I've had it in the living room - maybe he missed the company and our little "chats" because he's definitely talking to me now!!

 

[chickenzoo]

I was just worried about the scratch because those are big pieces of hard corn and such for their little croup's to smash down, I know people that use the game bird for them. Pellets are compressed but will still grind up in pieces easier than I would think scratch would. Great that he's feeling a little better... he missed ya

 

[ogr8ys1]

maybe i'll throw in some pellets as a treat - but i like the idea of the treat sticks so i'll pick some up at work today - anybody have suggestions for a different type of bedding? Was contemplating corn cob but I don't know if I'd have a problem with them eating it - suggestions?? I'm new to all of this so I really enjoy hearing different ideas!! Thanks!

 

[chickenzoo]

Does your cage have a wire bottom? If so you can use kitty litter ( if they can't reach it) etc.. If not I use news paper with just enough shavings to absorb moisture. I've never had much luck with the corn cob....but that's just me. Try using bigger shavings to cut down on dust.

 

[ogr8ys1]

I don't have a wire bottom in this cage as I thought it a bit cruel to not let them scratch - also, now that I'm really watching them, Rizzo's beak seems a bit longer - any advice on weather or not to trim it??

 

[chickenzoo]

If you can post a pic i can tell. You can even use an Emory board if he'll let you to take it down a bit...