Sorry for the slow reply, been very busy. Just a random thought, based on the neck hackling in the middle of the last lot of pics, Wilma may be a slow-maturing Wilbur... If this is true then special fancy triangular edged feathers would be starting to emerge from the back and shoulder areas, though they might still be hidden.... I'm not sure though.
Quote: The scales are not good, but nowhere near as flat out bad as a lot of the chooks I cull for bad scales. I'm more concerned about their randomness and the thinness and strange angle of her left shinbone. However this all seems normal in America. I would breed her if she were mine just to see what that scaling means but it's not a truly good set of legs unfortunately. At least it doesn't indicate outright deviant bone structure to come.
That black mark is something to check on; it's a scab, with swelling, and may indicate a bite, puncture, or staph infection. Runty going lame suddenly too indicates possibly an infection, so possibly treat as one anyway because her toe is clearly swollen. I would check Runty for injuries or swellings too. Bumblefoot is contagious.
Is her foot hot, or just that toe? However unless it is in fact bumblefoot having gotten into her system, I wouldn't think her overall condition is purely from a stab to the toe. Something's making her feel quite ill. The staph can attack and kill the whole bird sometimes. Generally though you'd see a much more swollen foot.
Something I would recommend you check out, also: that lump at the base of Wilma's jaw, at the corner of her mouth, in the last pic. That bulge is not supposed to be there. Also, the shrivelled, pale-edged dull reddish-brownish color of the wattles along with the hunching/ruffling and crest color fluctuation should be considered a sign of something being fairly wrong.
That said, I can't offer you actual advice there, I experiment and play it by ear/sight/smell/learning and intuition. I know a lot of people look down on that but they lose more chooks than me so I ignore it.
I would check the poops, the belly, the temperature of limbs and general body, the crop, and so forth. The eyes are bright, so that's good. Sometimes it's only a tiny variation which indicates a severe underlying problem. If the belly area is too full it could be organ swelling etc; nothing to panic about, because it's something it'll take a fair bit of experience to diagnose by feel, and I gave that as an example, I don't think Wilma has that.
Even if you don't think it matters, checking and recording everything is a good idea, because later on all the symptoms will fit together and you'll have that 'aha' moment. Hopefully in time. When I'm baffled about a problem, I usually fast or just flush them with olive oil to remove blockages/whatever, and try to treat symptoms. In this case it looks like infection is one, as well as cardiovascular insufficiency being a possibility, from the color flush & fade pattern and the mauve wattle centers. Rosemary is a potent heart tonic which is also an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, etc.... Same is all true of honey. If it's unheated... One of the first things I almost always do for a mystery sick animal or injured one is honey water. Just make it more water than honey, no need to be too specific, but if it's too thick they are sometimes less inclined to drink it. Generally a flat tablespoon to a cup of water is good enough. 'Nectar water' style.
Honey in its natural/uncooked form is antibacterial, anti inflammatory, contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, pro- and pre-biotics, among other substances still being discovered, it soothes and heals, and is a nervine, all of which have saved countless lives.. I often forget it, LOL! Just because I automatically use it almost as a matter of course, so it's become so second nature I forget to list it as one of the most important life supports you can offer. Rosemary combined with honey is extremely powerful as a heart tonic among other uses, including as an anti infection salve to apply directly to uncleaned wounds. In my opinion wound cleaning of tiny particles of dirt etc often does more harm than good since it washes away the important first response of the body as well.
You can see wasting in a bird's feet, often, since chooks actually have naturally fairly plump feet compared to many other birds. Also in faces. You should not be seeing bone structure beneath the skin at any time, it is a symptom of trouble brooding. I would be suspicious of any bird with legs as thin as Wilma though it can be genetic and her feet aren't wasted, so it's not that.
Rats are known to eat parts of animals while they sleep, as well as parts of humans, usually the nose, ears, toes and fingers. Something has pierced her toe, it looks like, from the top downwards unless the bottom has a wound as well. Since that's a rather unusual mark I would suspect a bite. Infection can make her ill, especially if it's gotten into her bones. The fact that she's enjoying your company and hasn't become completely introverted is encouraging, but she needs something done. In America I hear there is something called 'NuStock' which is not stockholm tar but sounds like it does an almost identical job; that might be useful in this case or future injuries.
Hatchery stock are prone to dying of literally everything. I can't stay far enough away from them to be honest, as in I'm never worried about what they could give my birds but I'm tired of always fighting battles the birds are predisposed to lose. Bad breeding, I feel sorry for them and support the eradication of such poor stock and their misery by not supporting the cage breeding or intensive production breeding industries. I would keep survivors and breed from them rather than patronize a hatchery, I feel that strongly about the sad creatures they produce.
Quote: Since they need to be the teeth of the chicken, powdered is not much use. Supposedly they get better calcium from other sources. If the average piece of oyster shell is smaller than half a cm, it's getting too fine to be useful.
Best wishes, I hope your flock's ok.
Quote: The scales are not good, but nowhere near as flat out bad as a lot of the chooks I cull for bad scales. I'm more concerned about their randomness and the thinness and strange angle of her left shinbone. However this all seems normal in America. I would breed her if she were mine just to see what that scaling means but it's not a truly good set of legs unfortunately. At least it doesn't indicate outright deviant bone structure to come.
That black mark is something to check on; it's a scab, with swelling, and may indicate a bite, puncture, or staph infection. Runty going lame suddenly too indicates possibly an infection, so possibly treat as one anyway because her toe is clearly swollen. I would check Runty for injuries or swellings too. Bumblefoot is contagious.
Is her foot hot, or just that toe? However unless it is in fact bumblefoot having gotten into her system, I wouldn't think her overall condition is purely from a stab to the toe. Something's making her feel quite ill. The staph can attack and kill the whole bird sometimes. Generally though you'd see a much more swollen foot.
Something I would recommend you check out, also: that lump at the base of Wilma's jaw, at the corner of her mouth, in the last pic. That bulge is not supposed to be there. Also, the shrivelled, pale-edged dull reddish-brownish color of the wattles along with the hunching/ruffling and crest color fluctuation should be considered a sign of something being fairly wrong.
That said, I can't offer you actual advice there, I experiment and play it by ear/sight/smell/learning and intuition. I know a lot of people look down on that but they lose more chooks than me so I ignore it.
I would check the poops, the belly, the temperature of limbs and general body, the crop, and so forth. The eyes are bright, so that's good. Sometimes it's only a tiny variation which indicates a severe underlying problem. If the belly area is too full it could be organ swelling etc; nothing to panic about, because it's something it'll take a fair bit of experience to diagnose by feel, and I gave that as an example, I don't think Wilma has that. Even if you don't think it matters, checking and recording everything is a good idea, because later on all the symptoms will fit together and you'll have that 'aha' moment. Hopefully in time. When I'm baffled about a problem, I usually fast or just flush them with olive oil to remove blockages/whatever, and try to treat symptoms. In this case it looks like infection is one, as well as cardiovascular insufficiency being a possibility, from the color flush & fade pattern and the mauve wattle centers. Rosemary is a potent heart tonic which is also an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, etc.... Same is all true of honey. If it's unheated... One of the first things I almost always do for a mystery sick animal or injured one is honey water. Just make it more water than honey, no need to be too specific, but if it's too thick they are sometimes less inclined to drink it. Generally a flat tablespoon to a cup of water is good enough. 'Nectar water' style.
Honey in its natural/uncooked form is antibacterial, anti inflammatory, contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, pro- and pre-biotics, among other substances still being discovered, it soothes and heals, and is a nervine, all of which have saved countless lives.. I often forget it, LOL! Just because I automatically use it almost as a matter of course, so it's become so second nature I forget to list it as one of the most important life supports you can offer. Rosemary combined with honey is extremely powerful as a heart tonic among other uses, including as an anti infection salve to apply directly to uncleaned wounds. In my opinion wound cleaning of tiny particles of dirt etc often does more harm than good since it washes away the important first response of the body as well.
You can see wasting in a bird's feet, often, since chooks actually have naturally fairly plump feet compared to many other birds. Also in faces. You should not be seeing bone structure beneath the skin at any time, it is a symptom of trouble brooding. I would be suspicious of any bird with legs as thin as Wilma though it can be genetic and her feet aren't wasted, so it's not that.
Rats are known to eat parts of animals while they sleep, as well as parts of humans, usually the nose, ears, toes and fingers. Something has pierced her toe, it looks like, from the top downwards unless the bottom has a wound as well. Since that's a rather unusual mark I would suspect a bite. Infection can make her ill, especially if it's gotten into her bones. The fact that she's enjoying your company and hasn't become completely introverted is encouraging, but she needs something done. In America I hear there is something called 'NuStock' which is not stockholm tar but sounds like it does an almost identical job; that might be useful in this case or future injuries.
Hatchery stock are prone to dying of literally everything. I can't stay far enough away from them to be honest, as in I'm never worried about what they could give my birds but I'm tired of always fighting battles the birds are predisposed to lose. Bad breeding, I feel sorry for them and support the eradication of such poor stock and their misery by not supporting the cage breeding or intensive production breeding industries. I would keep survivors and breed from them rather than patronize a hatchery, I feel that strongly about the sad creatures they produce.
Quote: Since they need to be the teeth of the chicken, powdered is not much use. Supposedly they get better calcium from other sources. If the average piece of oyster shell is smaller than half a cm, it's getting too fine to be useful.
Best wishes, I hope your flock's ok.
I am about to leave for the day and I don't have much time. I made some honey water (natural raw organic honey raised locally (10miles)) and put it in the cardboard box where Runty is living, and added Wilma to the box. They're being very calm and stationary right now. They have honey water, garlic/OACV water, and their organic grower feed. Should Wilma be on liquids only, due to infection? I will need to build a 2nd box when I get home this evening to separate them so that Runty can still eat... Also! I have a Rosemary bush on my back deck that I have noticed they sometimes eat. Maybe they knew? I will chop some up small and add it to the honey water. They don't seem very interested in eating/drinking at the moment though. I wish I could stay and observe them today.
mini chicken! The (super sweet and docile) indoor cat has sniffed her and seems to care very little about the chickens at all. Mostly he just wants the attention I give them to be on him.
