Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[loanwizard]

I have a light Brahma rooster, about 1 year old. Went to the coop last night and he was on the floor head down. Normally I cannot touch him as he is kinda stand offish.

A few days ago I think he was very close to being killed by a coon. He was limping, had a scrape on his leg an like a blister or swelling on his foot.

I figure it might be infected and he is sick from it. I won't take him to the vet, but was wondering if I should lance the swelling, give him an antibiotic and maybe use neosporin, peroxide, etc... and quarantine him to a cage for a few days. Thoughts anyone?

He would have been soup except for if he is sick I won't eat him and he is one of the kids birds.... besides, he has created some beautiful babies.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Does the leg look infected? It's about the right time line for sepsis. I wouldn't use h2po4 on a wound, it harms living tissue, use it to sterilize your instruments...I&D? Maybe, is it inudated with pus or just infected there...if you can keep a bandage on it,maybe, just make sure the blister is pus and if clear fluid leave it intact. Antibiotics are the only thing that will help and lots and lots of fluid and electrolytes. Can you set up an IV to deliver subq? It could be internal injury too...disclaimer. I am unable to examine this rooster so the entire treatment plan is up to you.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

So, here's a story a little off topic. The grandkids visited and i inoculated them very well this trip...afternoon snack of oaty o's. The six year old says....oh, I forgot to wash my hands...well let me see....mostly just clay dirt...me oh that's not too bad, you'll be fine, just use the tips of your fingers. Hey if they are going to move here....besides, we just had a drought and i can't waste water on silly things like washing hands all the time. Am I bad?

This issue came up with my mother-in-law who would constantly run around after her grand kids with a wet cloth to wipe their hands. I tried to explain that a little dirt helps prevent allergies (there are studies!) but she thought I was crazy. Well, we kept the peace, but my guys got to be little piggies when Grandma wasn't around!

And they're still alive and pretty darned healthy!

 

[MoonAngel12]

This has got to be the most useful thread I have ever read on BYC! Awesome! I'm only on page 4 or 5 so I have a LONG way to go to catch up

.

That being said, I do need some advice for those willing to give it (oh what I wouldn't give for DH's great gma to still be around). I just lost almost my entire flock of RIR chicks. They were 14 weeks and severely stunted in growth and feathering. It was weird. All of a sudden they started dying off (thought it was a snake at first) and now I have two left). How/when do I prep for a new set of chicks? I don't want to lose all of them, too. I'm learning a lot more about diet to prevent certain illnesses (fermenting feed, ACV in the water, etc.). It's too late I'm afraid for the current batch (thinking I need to cull at this point??) but I want better success the next go 'round. Also, I have 4 older hens (3 years old) that have been exposed to the chicks and I'm not sure how to handle that. I posted in the Illness area and told to start Corid ASAP but would like to avoid meds for the future as much as possible. I'm frustrated and confused at this point. I assume I am dealing with Cocci, but not 100% sure. I would love to revamp his great gmas old chicken house in the back field with a larger flock (not huge or anything), but I need to get my smaller scale stuff figured out first.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

I have a light Brahma rooster, about 1 year old. Went to the coop last night and he was on the floor head down. Normally I cannot touch him as he is kinda stand offish.

A few days ago I think he was very close to being killed by a coon. He was limping, had a scrape on his leg an like a blister or swelling on his foot.

I figure it might be infected and he is sick from it. I won't take him to the vet, but was wondering if I should lance the swelling, give him an antibiotic and maybe use neosporin, peroxide, etc... and quarantine him to a cage for a few days. Thoughts anyone?

He would have been soup except for if he is sick I won't eat him and he is one of the kids birds.... besides, he has created some beautiful babies.

If a valuable bird here shows signs of an infection, we give an appropriate amount of Tylan 50, injected in the breast area. You would have to determine the correct amount for your bird's weight. It is not labeled for poultry in the USA, but is labeled in other countries.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Moonangel, failure to thrive could be any number of things....go ahead and revamp the old coop first, sweep it out, plug up predator holes, etc. Get some more chickens and get them out there. Have any pic of the coop?

 

[wgidir]

Okay, here is a question for all of you "experienced" people. We have 17 chicks that we got all within a day of each other. They were all brooded in the same box until they started pecking on each other. I moved 4 of them to another brooder while they healed and to prevent overcrowding. The 4 stayed in their brooder box until we put them in the coop where they have been for about 3 weeks. I know that chickens flock but being together should have them all being "one family" by now, shouldn't they? The 4 still hang out together in the run - we call them "the gang" - but last night we noticed that they are also sleeping in the opposite corner from the other 13. Normal?

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

yes, they will form their own little cliques.....just like people.

 

[plantcityhomestead]

I have had chickens off and on since the '80's, but this is only my second summer with chickens in Florida. I have heard from several OT's here to mix layer with sweet feed during the summer. Do any of you make changes to your feed during the summer months? I am not talking frozen water bottles or misters, just good old fashioned ideas.

 

[wgidir]

Wow! I fight cliques at school all day long, now I have to worry about cliques with my girls at home? hahaha