Buckeye Breed Thread

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
Has he always been this way or is this something new with him.?

 

[foxflower]

I found little black mites when I originally checked him over and have him on Ivermectin-Plus. This is all I had that was adequate. This is only the 2nd day he's been like this. If it's the mites, what would recovery time be after 2 days on Ivermectin? I don't see any sign of injury, blood, etc. but I can check him again tomorrow. He can stand in a more regular stance briefly. He does like cat food. I'm not taking him to the vet, he's just your average roo. If he survives past the deworming/de-miting, I'll put on some probiotics and ACV. He sounds slightly stuffy when breathing, but it's barely noticeable, and there aren't any other signs of respiratory problems. He is one of 71 chickens, and he's the only one like this. He has lots of ventilation while being able to get out of the snow and wind. Humidity, despite the snow and wind, is very low here in the high desert. They have places to dust -- DE, sand, ash, and dirt. And I still saw that little black bug by his vent. Mites, wow, so much trouble from such little mites. Is the grass hay the problem?

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Quote:
Sounds like you have it dialed in!!! I hope it works out and if it doesn't, remember, some chickens just die.

 

[foxflower]

I've really learned a lot from all you folks on BYC in the last year. So much so that I've gotten something of a reputation in our tiny community for knowing something about chickens. The truth is, I just look it up on BYC! The challenge of learning is one of the things I like most about having chickens, and this is a new challenge and opportunity to learn. If he dies I'll be sad, frustrated, and then I'll move on to the next learning opportunity, and maybe capayvalleychick's roo. I love how these buckeye's forage and are mild tempered. When we did butcher the extras in the fall they definitely had nicer meat than they others too. Thanks for the advice and thoughts. I'm going to check on him tonight. Tomorrow I can update everyone on what's happening with him.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
A few things I think of come to mind when I see this picture. Mites will draw out the Life in a Bird adding Several negative factors. One being Stress and two Being vitamin deficiancy. The mites will suck every last good bit of energy the Buckeye has Which will in return Lower his immunity system. Definatly something we dont want to see in any of our flocks.
Might I suggest a few different treatments to bounce this Guy back. First Seperate him from the flock. Feed him a diet for 3 days of Scrambled eggs and mash that with the feed you normally feed him. If you have any on hand Offer him a broad spectrum antibiotic.
I like tylan-200 For buckeyes it would be 1cc for 3 days and half a cc for 2 days, Administered into the left Breast. Also add some vitamins and electroltes in his water. (this can be pedialite for babys or gatoraid if you dont have any for poultry.) Also add a spoon full of sugar to his water. Give him a nice dark place to recover in Mind you not pitch black, he needsto be able to see. Just somewhere mellow warm and quiet.

 

[foxflower]

Quote:
A few things I think of come to mind when I see this picture. Mites will draw out the Life in a Bird adding Several negative factors. One being Stress and two Being vitamin deficiancy. The mites will suck every last good bit of energy the Buckeye has Which will in return Lower his immunity system. Definatly something we dont want to see in any of our flocks.
Might I suggest a few different treatments to bounce this Guy back. First Seperate him from the flock. Feed him a diet for 3 days of Scrambled eggs and mash that with the feed you normally feed him. If you have any on hand Offer him a broad spectrum antibiotic.
I like tylan-200 For buckeyes it would be 1cc for 3 days and half a cc for 2 days, Administered into the left Breast. Also add some vitamins and electroltes in his water. (this can be pedialite for babys or gatoraid if you dont have any for poultry.) Also add a spoon full of sugar to his water. Give him a nice dark place to recover in Mind you not pitch black, he needsto be able to see. Just somewhere mellow warm and quiet.

I can do this stuff, but my question remains...Is it responsible to use a bird like this for breeding? I don't want to breed a lot of weak birds. He is, first and foremost, a rooster. If I can't use him for breeding, then he is going to have to depart anyway, and I don't need to be filling him with meds. This is not a pet. I'd appreciate feedback on the breeding issue. Thank you poultry farms, also, for the treatment info. If I am going to keep him for breeding I will certainly do this stuff to build him back up. Would you breed a bird who'd gotten this sick when none of the other 71 birds (80 if you count the ducks) are sick?

 

[capayvalleychick]

Quote:
I don't know the answer to that.
If you decide to cull him, you might want to take him to the CA Animal Health & Food Safety Lab at UC Davis, to do a necropsy. That way, you will know what it was that was wrong with him and whether or not it can affect the rest of your flock. It is free. It's best if you take the animal in alive, so that they have a fresh sample.
I did this when I had a respiratory problem going around in my flock. They didn't find out exactly what the issue was, but ruled out everything that might have been a major illness. I agree, avian vets are too expensive in most cases but I like to use the lab to keep on top of health problems that may be serious health risks.

I don't mean to be the morbid one when everyone else is trying to help!

Kim

 

[foxflower]

Hm, if I come get your roo I could think about it, otherwise, driving a live roo that far with my two little ones in tow, is too much for me right now. It's about 6 hours to UCD. I am curious, of course. He's still in bad shape this morning, but a little perkier I think -- he didn't appreciate being picked up and fought it more than he did before. He thought the cat food I gave him was pretty great. I gave him some nutrena all-breed too, because it has grains covered in molasses and I thought that might help with the energy depletion. I just don't want to depelete too much of MY energy saving a useless bird. Know what I mean?

 

[Tailfeathers]

If you saw mites, I would recommend the treatment for that before giving a shot of Tylan. Tylan is an antibiotic and will only serve to decrease the vitamins in his system plus if he has no need of an antibiotic, it will only serve to decrease the effectiveness of the Tylan when he does have a need.

Here is something I recently saw on the internet. It says to pick a bird up and blow thru the feathers and count the number of mites seen. Then it gives this approximation of how many mites may actually be on the bird:

5 mites counted = Bird may be carrying from 100 to 300 mites

6 mites counted = Bird may be carrying from 300 to 1,000 mites (light infestation)

7 mites counted = Bird may be carrying from 1,000 to 3,000 mites - small clumps of mites seen on skin and feathers (moderate infestation)

8 mites counted = Bird may be carrying from 3,000 to 10,000 mites - accumulation of mites on skin and feathers (moderate to heavy infestation)

9 mites counted = Bird may be carrying 10,000 to 32,000 or more mites - numerous large clumps of mites seen on skin and feathers; skin pocketed with scabs (heavy infestation)

I hesitate to write this because I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea but if it helps you then it's worth it. I have never had a mite or lice problem of any kind on my place until recently. I use DE regularly and in copious amounts. Truly, until recently, I have never seen a single mite or lice on any of my birds. But about two months ago one of my Buckeye roosters began showing signs of sickness. His tail was sagging, he was low on energy, I can't remember but I think his comb may have started turning pale, and then after a couple of days I noticed that he started looking like he was wet all over. He showed no signs of any kind of CRD or anything else. I don't remember now if I gave him a shot of Tylan or not. I may have given some Denagard in the water but don't remember if I did that or not either. About a 3 days or so after I noticed he was looking wet, I went out one morning to find him dead.

Having never had a mite or lice problem, I never even thought about that. Then I noticed one of the hens starting to get that wet look too and her feathers were all matted. So I decided to bring her in the house, give her a good bath, and let her spend some time in a carrier in the house eating some applesauce Gamebird Startena mash. Well, as I was giving her a bath, I started feeling like I had things crawling on me. Then I looked down at my hands and saw they were covered in mites. Then I looked at her and saw that she was just infested with them. Then it donned on me what I had read about mites in the past with their feces matting the birds feathers and the other symptoms on lethargy and such.

So I immediately gave a dose of Ivermectin-Eprinex and then I dusted them all down good with DE. That dramatically reduced the mite population on them but it did not eliminate it. A week later I dosed them again with Eprinex and I dusted them several times with DE during the week. Still it did not eliminate the problem. So I bought some Permethrin solution at the Co-Op and sprayed it on them according to the directions as well as spraying down the whole breeding pen and area. It says to wait 2 weeks before reapplying. I've still got some time to go before reapplying but I'm gonna check them all over good on Saturday and I think I'm going to give them a bath in Adams Flea & Tick Shampoo if I see any mites on them Saturday.

I should say that I'm not exactly sure where the mites came from but it's possible I brought them home from a show I attended in December. I'd like to think that's not the case but I can't think of whatelse it may be. I've never had a problem bringing anything home from a show before. I should also say that I did get a little lax in my use of DE recently. These birds were in a breeding pen and while I've been meticulous about using DE in the coops, I never thought about using it in the breeding pens - until now.

The other thing that I think is worth noting is that none of my other birds have any signs of mites on them at all. It's really odd but the Buckeyes are the only birds that had them. I have read that like people, certain chickens will tend to attract or repel pests more than others. Perhaps Buckeyes have a special taste the mites like. I've also read that drinking a tablespoon of vinegar a day will repel mites in humans. I wonder if ACV in the water will do the same for chickens? I use ACV and will be adding some to the Buckeyes water this weekend too.

Now, having said all that, Dave is correct. All you can do is the best you can do and it sounds like you have a good handle on things. And some chickens just die.

God Bless,

 

[cgmccary]

FOXFLOWER:

If you are using the "injectable" Ivermectin, there is no need to treat every day. Ivermectin is strong stuff. What you do is -- put about 3-5 drops on the skin where his neck meets his back (like you apply Frontline to a dog)-- be careful not to get any of the Ivermectin anywhere else. Do this one time and them repeat in 10-14 days -- that's all. This is the best way to use the Ivermectin.

You can also use Frontline, btw, in the same manner (just a few drops NOT THE WHOLE PACK). It will kill mites too. The Ivermectin, however, will de-worm and de-mite (including any scaly leg mite) & de-louse the bird. Just be really careful with it. Give him the proper amount of an electrolyte/ vitamin in his water for a few days to help him recover. I use something called "Rooster Booster" -- 1/8 teaspoon per gallon of water. here's the website for the product:

http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/product/50701

Check all your birds for mites. Usually if one has it, then all have it.

I have had the problem of mites and they are very, very difficult to get rid of. Simultaneously with treating with the Ivermectin or Frontline, try and replace any litter in the coop. Use pine shavings or cedar shavings & especially get rid of all STRAW! You can dust the coop with sevin dust as well as the nest boxes.

Let us know how he's doing.

Chris