Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Had a great day yesterday. Karen met me and we went to Franks to get my Bourbon red turkey Tom. That man knows too much. I could learn so much about turkeys from him. You would think you can just breed a breed of turkey to one just like it and you would be good but that isn't the case at all. You have to breed in others to keep size and color correct. I won't be breeding groups of hundreds like he does to maintain color so I won't have perfect birds. But he said my boy came from the best bourbon red breeder in the country. He is gorgeous. Makes the girls look bleached. He is also huge.
My blue slate boy was not at all happy with his new friend in the pen next to him, especially when I took the two red girls away from him. The boys had quite a yelling match through the fence for awhile. Hopefully they will settle down and get used to each other and just concentrate on breeding girls now.
I had him hold me a couple of Barred rock pullets and a roo from the last group that went to butcher. It amazes me how much more fine and defined the lines on these barred rocks are than those on my other girls. And I thought my other girls were top quality. I figure I will put the current girls with him and these girls and still produce some excellent quality birds. The chicks that Hawkeye, Hechicken, and Deerfield picked up for me a couple weeks ago will become breeding stock as well when they are months older. I may use one of my extra boys from the chicks to define lines on the blue barred rocks as well.
I had him also hold another New Hamp cockerel to use to breed for red stars. The New Hamps are gorgeous and I have those babies from the last group. I really have to resist trying to breed them as a separate breed. I have to remind myself they are only here to produce sex linked layers. I had to separate the New Hamp to a separate cage for now. He has been picked on quite a bit. So he needs to get some feathers back and be able to stand on his own.
By the time I got home and got the birds fed it was after 8:00 PM. I plan to stay home today and just do what I have to.
We haven't gotten any snow yet. They were predicting 2 inches for here by this morning. No snow would suit me just fine. I'd much rather have rain later and through out the year.
I looked for some powdered tylan yesterday in Bluestem on my way back. I can't seem to find any. All I have is liquid injectable and I'd sure like to be able to mix some in water when I need it.

 

[michelleml]

Hechicken thanks for reply. Went out to check on everyone I didn't hear any sneezing noise everyone is eating & drinking. I think I will keep an eye on everyone for another day. He doesn't have any other symptoms so I'll wait

 

[mrsdanamiller]

Ok guys! So sorry it's taken so long. I have been suuuuuper busy. And I couldn't find the cord for the camcorder on which I took pictures. :0 Found it today hehe. So here are the pictures of the coop and chickens.



This chicken was curious and wanted to see if I had any more blueberry bagels like yesterday They loooooved the bagel. hehe

The doors have the nesting boxes and storage space. Both doors are identical for a total of four boxes.



Pic of the roost:

Sorry it's sideways, but this pic shows their ramp. I love watching them go down it. They are so careful and sometimes two or three will get into a traffic jam. hehe

The whole thing showing the run. The run has a lid that slides off easily so I can clean/get in/get the chickens.

There ya have it folks! I am pretty grateful to the Lord for this blessing. My dad built the coop and my husband, myself, and some friends worked on the run. I am still pretty excited!! Still haven't eaten an egg, gotta wait til tomorrow since the five that are laying were on deworming meds.


And to finish with a question: One of the quarantined chickens has been sneezing since Sunday. Also has what appears to be crusty stuff on beak. Wondering if it's discharge of some kind. What is causing it?

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye - Ginger, the hen that had blood coming out of her mouth seems to be moving around quite well. She came out of the coop this morning and was pecking away at the scratch I tossed on the ground. So far all of my hens are back outside, but sticking close to the coop. My broody is still in there. I will need to think of something to get her out of there.

Whew, that's great! I kept worrying about her because of the blood.

Good evening everyone

I noticed today my Roo is making this sneezing noise. He is still eating, roosting, running around after girls and what not. I don't notice any runny nose or eyes and he is he only one doin git. I should i do anything? Any help is apprciated. Looks like we are due to get some snow/sleet tomorrow and this weekend so everyone stay warm


Michelle

Very scary symptoms right now! Whatever we are dealing with is dangerous. I still have a sick silkie and she's been on antibiotics for over a week now. Going to switch her to something else. She's doing a lot better, but still has a tiny bit of drainage from her nose. Most of the time, it's dry. But then she'll shake her head and it will come out a bit. I keep a close eye on everyone, so I look them over a few times a day to be sure. All of the drugs that HEchicken recommended is what I would try first. I have been using Denagard, but will be switching to TetraOxy next. (tetracycline) I also have Duramycin, Baytril and a couple of other drugs. I started her out on Baytril which knocked out the main infection, but now there's something lingering that I have yet to knock out. It's a matter of figuring out which drugs works best.

Michelle, treat them & treat them all. Whatever is going around right now is serious. I just lost two hens & two roosters. Today I lost my pretty big lavender Orp roo, That's my two main roosters for my laying flock in the last two days. the rest of the flock is looking better tonight I think. The sickest ones have already died. I just hated losing those two roosters, they both were pretty boys. Anyway, this stuff moved through my flock fast & the ones that have died went down hill really fast.
Karen, I haven't tried a vaporizer, but I don't think I even know where one is if I still have one. I don't have kids in the house, so I don't think of those things any more. I do however have Oxine & made up a spray bottle of it & went out as the birds were all going to roost & sprayed everything including the birds. I just sprayed it all over the coop & they were in there. I didn't think it would hurt anything. Maybe that along with the Tylan will kick it. I made them all stay in all day today so they would drink the medicated water. I will see how they are in the morning & decide whether to let them out or not. They weren't happy with me at all, but I would rather have them unhappy at me than dead if that could make a difference making them stay in there. I knew if I let them out they would go out & drink the water I have up by the hydrant & not drink the stuff they need to. I had one little barred rock hen get out this morning & boy did I have fun trying to get her back in, she is a young one I got from Eileen a few months ago & she is close to lay now if she is not already laying. I would hate to lose her now.

I went & picked up those Welsummer eggs today & that lady had some big Narragansett turkeys, a bunch of them it looked like. She said they remind her of the wild ones. Those were some big boys in there! She had chicks in her house too, so it looks like that's pretty universal for us chicken lovers. Anyway, I hope some of these eggs hatch for me because I was wanting a couple more hens & now I need a new rooster as well. I did go by Atwood's in Andover while I was there & didn't see anything really interesting except they did have brown leghorn chicks & I was a little tempted to get a couple, but didn't. I then stopped at TSC & ended up coming home with 6 golden sex links. I really didn't want that many, but they were marked half price & they had a minimum purchase of 6 at that price, so I got them. With what I plan to go get tomorrow evening at Orschelyn's I should have enough chicks for a whole new flock in a few months. It won't help replace the ones I lost right now that were laying, but will help later.

I just put some more Wheaten Ameraucana eggs & Salmon Faverolles in the incubator with the Welsummer eggs. I also got an egg from my black split Ameraucana hen for the first time today. Now if my lavender girls would get with it I would be happier. I haven't seen an egg from them in months & months. Lay girls lay!

Oh no!! More dead birds! I'm soooo sorry!!! I have my little silkie in the garage again. I had put her back out for a few days with the flock when she looked better, but then she started back into the head shaking. So I think I withdrew the meds too soon. Ugh. It's a real PITA. I'm pretty sure if I had not been really babying her with being in the garage in the kennel and the injections, drugs, etc she would likely be dead also. Whatever she has is lingering on. I'm so freakin' ready for warm weather!! I think the cold/damp/ and all is just keeping this crap going.

We got the new nest boxes up yesterday and I was happy to see the hens using them already. As far as the 2 that I suspect are laying in the tree row, I will have to keep an eye on them and see what happens. At least I know where they are laying so I am thankful for that at least

My little chicks all hatched (17 out of 20) and they all went to their new home yesterday. I was going to collect eggs to put in the incubator but have someone wanting to buy a few dozen of mixed hatching eggs - so... I will take care of her first

That's great you have new nest boxes! Sounds like you've been busy! Congrats on the hatch!

Had a great day yesterday. Karen met me and we went to Franks to get my Bourbon red turkey Tom. That man knows too much. I could learn so much about turkeys from him. You would think you can just breed a breed of turkey to one just like it and you would be good but that isn't the case at all. You have to breed in others to keep size and color correct. I won't be breeding groups of hundreds like he does to maintain color so I won't have perfect birds. But he said my boy came from the best bourbon red breeder in the country. He is gorgeous. Makes the girls look bleached. He is also huge.
My blue slate boy was not at all happy with his new friend in the pen next to him, especially when I took the two red girls away from him. The boys had quite a yelling match through the fence for awhile. Hopefully they will settle down and get used to each other and just concentrate on breeding girls now.
I had him hold me a couple of Barred rock pullets and a roo from the last group that went to butcher. It amazes me how much more fine and defined the lines on these barred rocks are than those on my other girls. And I thought my other girls were top quality. I figure I will put the current girls with him and these girls and still produce some excellent quality birds. The chicks that Hawkeye, Hechicken, and Deerfield picked up for me a couple weeks ago will become breeding stock as well when they are months older. I may use one of my extra boys from the chicks to define lines on the blue barred rocks as well.
I had him also hold another New Hamp cockerel to use to breed for red stars. The New Hamps are gorgeous and I have those babies from the last group. I really have to resist trying to breed them as a separate breed. I have to remind myself they are only here to produce sex linked layers. I had to separate the New Hamp to a separate cage for now. He has been picked on quite a bit. So he needs to get some feathers back and be able to stand on his own.
By the time I got home and got the birds fed it was after 8:00 PM. I plan to stay home today and just do what I have to.
We haven't gotten any snow yet. They were predicting 2 inches for here by this morning. No snow would suit me just fine. I'd much rather have rain later and through out the year.
I looked for some powdered tylan yesterday in Bluestem on my way back. I can't seem to find any. All I have is liquid injectable and I'd sure like to be able to mix some in water when I need it.

Isn't his place just amazing?!?!? His barred rocks are just insanely beautiful. I'm not going to let my hatchery barred rocks mix with the ones I got from him. I think I will just start a barred rock laying group started from his birds and keep them separate so I don't screw up all his hard work on the bloodlines. I'm so impressed! Sounds like you got a lot of fun new birds from him! Pics of the turkey must come next! I hope we don't get snow either, they are forecasting it for tomorrow I hear and I swear I will scream!

Ok guys! So sorry it's taken so long. I have been suuuuuper busy. And I couldn't find the cord for the camcorder on which I took pictures. :0 Found it today hehe. So here are the pictures of the coop and chickens.



This chicken was curious and wanted to see if I had any more blueberry bagels like yesterday They loooooved the bagel. hehe

The doors have the nesting boxes and storage space. Both doors are identical for a total of four boxes.



Pic of the roost:

Sorry it's sideways, but this pic shows their ramp. I love watching them go down it. They are so careful and sometimes two or three will get into a traffic jam. hehe

The whole thing showing the run. The run has a lid that slides off easily so I can clean/get in/get the chickens.

There ya have it folks! I am pretty grateful to the Lord for this blessing. My dad built the coop and my husband, myself, and some friends worked on the run. I am still pretty excited!! Still haven't eaten an egg, gotta wait til tomorrow since the five that are laying were on deworming meds.


And to finish with a question: One of the quarantined chickens has been sneezing since Sunday. Also has what appears to be crusty stuff on beak. Wondering if it's discharge of some kind. What is causing it?

LOVE your coop! That is just adorable!!! That run is really cute, too! Good job! Definitely take some pride in that, it's fantastic! As for your bird-- she's sick. I would immediately run antibiotics in the water or you could chance losing all of your birds. I would go to TSC or Atwoods and pick up Duramycin and mix it into their water. I prefer Atwoods-- they also have TetrOxy as well, and I'd buy that and use that instead if you see it. I think it works a bit better than the Duramycin... but it's all a gamble on what will work. They aren't all so broad spectrum to cover every illness you encounter. The crusty on the beak means she is having a nasal discharge/drainage and that is pretty serious.

 

[Trish44]

mrsdanmiller, as HEChicken mentioned there are several different respiratory diseases chickens can get & it's hard to pin down sometimes which one they have unless you get them tested after you lose them. So because of that we all just try one antibiotic if the symptoms are serious enough to warrant it & if that doesn't seem to be helping we try another till we find one that works. If the symptoms are mild you can try VetRX for them, rub it on their beaks & throat or it can be put in the water. I have learned to keep several antibiotics in my chicken med arsenal in case of illness. It costs some to get them, but if you can save some chickens it's worth it. You can get the VetRX usually at Atwoods & sometimes at TSC, not sure where else. Some of the antibiotics I have just had to buy online because I don't have many choices here where I live without making a 40 mile trip one-way & even then you can't find some of them in the stores.

michelleml, I would watch the one who is sneezing very carefully. That is how mine started & it got serious fast & spread. You may or may not have the same illness in your bird.

It's darned cold & windy here today, I'm not going to enjoy going out there at all. In fact I think I'm going to go carry the little goat up here to feed her because I don't think I want to sit out there in that wind & bottle feed her. Thankfully she's still small enough to pick up & carry, although she is getting bigger all the time. I'm thinking my birds need to stay in again, not that they would be thrilled about coming out in that wind anyway, but they will think they want to. They're just so used to being out every day to free range. I'm hoping if we can get through the next few days that this is our last blast of winter. We need some warmth!

 

[HEChicken]

Had a great day yesterday. Karen met me and we went to Franks to get my Bourbon red turkey Tom. That man knows too much. I could learn so much about turkeys from him.

Isn't it a fun road trip to go and see him. We are so lucky he is so close to us, as his birds are the envy of people all over the country, and for most their only option is to order hatching eggs from him and hope they don't get treated too roughly by the USPS. We are so fortunate to be able to visit and choose live, healthy birds to carry home!

Hechicken thanks for reply. Went out to check on everyone I didn't hear any sneezing noise everyone is eating & drinking. I think I will keep an eye on everyone for another day. He doesn't have any other symptoms so I'll wait

Wait and see if a valid approach, but do watch them very carefully. As others have said, whatever this is that's going around is serious. I do like to employ the "wait and see" method myself to some extent as I feel if a bird is able to throw off something by itself, it makes it constitutionally stronger. BUT - there are times when they are just not able to throw it off and I'd rather treat than lose them.

Ok guys! So sorry it's taken so long. I have been suuuuuper busy. And I couldn't find the cord for the camcorder on which I took pictures. :0 Found it today hehe. So here are the pictures of the coop and chickens.



This chicken was curious and wanted to see if I had any more blueberry bagels like yesterday They loooooved the bagel. hehe

The doors have the nesting boxes and storage space. Both doors are identical for a total of four boxes.



Pic of the roost:

Sorry it's sideways, but this pic shows their ramp. I love watching them go down it. They are so careful and sometimes two or three will get into a traffic jam. hehe

The whole thing showing the run. The run has a lid that slides off easily so I can clean/get in/get the chickens.

There ya have it folks! I am pretty grateful to the Lord for this blessing. My dad built the coop and my husband, myself, and some friends worked on the run. I am still pretty excited!! Still haven't eaten an egg, gotta wait til tomorrow since the five that are laying were on deworming meds.


And to finish with a question: One of the quarantined chickens has been sneezing since Sunday. Also has what appears to be crusty stuff on beak. Wondering if it's discharge of some kind. What is causing it?

LOVE your coop and run - what a great design. They may be taking the ramp slowly and carefully because it is quite steep for them. A simple solution would be to take a cinder block and put it under the end of the ramp with the long side on the ground. That will make the incline a lot shallower, and when they get to the end they will just jump off. That is an easy little jump for them to get back on again too. You may find that they feel more confident when the angle isn't quite so steep.

I agree with Hawkeye that your quarantined bird is sick. So glad she is in quarantine or they would likely all get it. Fortunately, most meds are pretty easy to administer since they go right in the water - just be careful working out the dosages since usually the ratio they list on the packet is for larger animals and you have to do some math to figure it up for poultry. Feel free to post the directions on here and we can help you figure out how to mix it correctly.

Isn't his place just amazing?!?!? His barred rocks are just insanely beautiful. I'm not going to let my hatchery barred rocks mix with the ones I got from him. I think I will just start a barred rock laying group started from his birds and keep them separate so I don't screw up all his hard work on the bloodlines.

So does that mean you'll be building another coop?

I have so many ideas for projects floating around in this little head of mine that I scarcely know what to do first. I love Frank's birds and am so happy with my BR cockerel and hen and two NH hens I got from him. I find myself having to hold back from getting more because I don't have the space to adequately care for too many more right now but my ultimate goal is to have a chicken yard full of really quality birds like these. Plus, I'm getting involved in the Aloha project so that is more birds coming. Then there are the turkeys and the ducks. I moved Miss Broody Duck to her own little broody quarters this morning with a couple dozen eggs. She wasn't happy with me but I'm hoping she'll settle down soon and accept the new place. She is low in the pecking order so kept getting kicked out of the nest she had chosen so the other ducks and chickens can lay in there, so it wasn't working out to let her stay in her preferred spot.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish I hope your birds are doing better. This stuff is a mess. I am still battling the sneezes with the d'uccles. It disappears and then the weather changes and they start sneezing again. Seems thought that is all that happens though.
Okay all I really need some ideas. I have been loosing chicks cause they get pasty butt. It's the ones in the house. I have the bins cleaned out and disinfected. I have been disinfecting the waterers and everything. I used an thermometer and checked the temp and it is excellent.. right on 90 degrees under the light and they can move around. I tried bird grit that Josie recommended. I am feeding purina chick starter. I even stopped feeding FF to this group because I thought it might be a problem. I am still feeding it in the outside brooder though and they are doing great.
I just can't figure out what is causing the problem. I check them as often as I can but it seems like once they get pasty even if I get them cleaned up they go downhill and die. This is a real plague and I am at a loss of what to do. I can't afford to loose more chicks. My latest victim is one of my turkey babies. That really bothers me. Anyone have any ideas whatsoever about what could be going wrong? I am brooding just like I always have. There must be something I am missing.
Hawkeye I have some great barred rocks I got from Eileen and they are the right size and body form. It's just that they don't have the fine barring that Franks do. I figured I could take Frank's roo and try to breed better bars into them. I am sure I have several boys in my chicks but I'm not wanting to wait that long for breeding. Since I only had him hold two pullets for me I don't want them to take up a special coop pen space.
I really wish I had asked him to save back more girls for me. I had planned to just use the barred rocks for egg layers but they are so awesome I have to go ahead and breed them.
Trish I may have an extra BCM roo. I have someone coming to buy a pair to show for 4H but there could be more of them out there. I just need one I think.
I just sold my extra lavender boys. I kept two of them so I had a back up or I'd sell you one of those. They are gorgeous lavenders too... not the washed out pale color a lot are.
I meant to mention I sold Mammahen a couple chicks that came from crossing the lemon cuckoo orpingtons with the lavender hens. They look like they will be lavender barred. It will be interesting to see how they turn out when they are older.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz, have you tried ACV in the water? I haven't had much issue with pasty butt so I don't know what else to advise. The only time I've seen it is when I've bought feed store chicks and they came with it. Once I get them home it seems to go away pretty fast. You might also try turning the temperature down.

 

[mrsdanamiller]

Michelle, treat them & treat them all. Whatever is going around right now is serious. I just lost two hens & two roosters. Today I lost my pretty big lavender Orp roo, That's my two main roosters for my laying flock in the last two days. the rest of the flock is looking better tonight I think. The sickest ones have already died. I just hated losing those two roosters, they both were pretty boys. Anyway, this stuff moved through my flock fast & the ones that have died went down hill really fast.
Karen, I haven't tried a vaporizer, but I don't think I even know where one is if I still have one. I don't have kids in the house, so I don't think of those things any more. I do however have Oxine & made up a spray bottle of it & went out as the birds were all going to roost & sprayed everything including the birds. I just sprayed it all over the coop & they were in there. I didn't think it would hurt anything. Maybe that along with the Tylan will kick it. I made them all stay in all day today so they would drink the medicated water. I will see how they are in the morning & decide whether to let them out or not. They weren't happy with me at all, but I would rather have them unhappy at me than dead if that could make a difference making them stay in there. I knew if I let them out they would go out & drink the water I have up by the hydrant & not drink the stuff they need to. I had one little barred rock hen get out this morning & boy did I have fun trying to get her back in, she is a young one I got from Eileen a few months ago & she is close to lay now if she is not already laying. I would hate to lose her now.

Aww, so sorry about your chickens. Did they have a respiratory thing too?

Very scary symptoms right now! Whatever we are dealing with is dangerous. I still have a sick silkie and she's been on antibiotics for over a week now. Going to switch her to something else. She's doing a lot better, but still has a tiny bit of drainage from her nose. Most of the time, it's dry. But then she'll shake her head and it will come out a bit. I keep a close eye on everyone, so I look them over a few times a day to be sure. All of the drugs that HEchicken recommended is what I would try first. I have been using Denagard, but will be switching to TetraOxy next. (tetracycline) I also have Duramycin, Baytril and a couple of other drugs. I started her out on Baytril which knocked out the main infection, but now there's something lingering that I have yet to knock out. It's a matter of figuring out which drugs works best.
Oh no!! More dead birds! I'm soooo sorry!!! I have my little silkie in the garage again. I had put her back out for a few days with the flock when she looked better, but then she started back into the head shaking. So I think I withdrew the meds too soon. Ugh. It's a real PITA. I'm pretty sure if I had not been really babying her with being in the garage in the kennel and the injections, drugs, etc she would likely be dead also. Whatever she has is lingering on. I'm so freakin' ready for warm weather!! I think the cold/damp/ and all is just keeping this crap going.
LOVE your coop! That is just adorable!!! That run is really cute, too! Good job! Definitely take some pride in that, it's fantastic! As for your bird-- she's sick. I would immediately run antibiotics in the water or you could chance losing all of your birds. I would go to TSC or Atwoods and pick up Duramycin and mix it into their water. I prefer Atwoods-- they also have TetrOxy as well, and I'd buy that and use that instead if you see it. I think it works a bit better than the Duramycin... but it's all a gamble on what will work. They aren't all so broad spectrum to cover every illness you encounter. The crusty on the beak means she is having a nasal discharge/drainage and that is pretty serious.

Thanks for the compliments. It's good to know that more experienced chicken peeps approve

Gosh I am sorry about everyone's sick birdies!! I am going to Atwoods now to get a med to try. Hopefully it's not a virus which won't be treated by the antibiotics!

mrsdanamiller, as HEChicken mentioned there are several different respiratory diseases chickens can get & it's hard to pin down sometimes which one they have unless you get them tested after you lose them. So because of that we all just try one antibiotic if the symptoms are serious enough to warrant it & if that doesn't seem to be helping we try another till we find one that works. If the symptoms are mild you can try VetRX for them, rub it on their beaks & throat or it can be put in the water. I have learned to keep several antibiotics in my chicken med arsenal in case of illness. It costs some to get them, but if you can save some chickens it's worth it. You can get the VetRX usually at Atwoods & sometimes at TSC, not sure where else. Some of the antibiotics I have just had to buy online because I don't have many choices here where I live without making a 40 mile trip one-way & even then you can't find some of them in the stores.
michelleml, I would watch the one who is sneezing very carefully. That is how mine started & it got serious fast & spread. You may or may not have the same illness in your bird.

Thanks so much for the advice! I think the symptoms are indeed fairly mild right now and haven't seemed to spread to the other two chickens in quarantine so I will try the VetRX I think. We will see what I think after reading the labels on the other meds as well. I will take your advice to michelleml as well, since that's what mine is doing.

LOVE your coop and run - what a great design. They may be taking the ramp slowly and carefully because it is quite steep for them. A simple solution would be to take a cinder block and put it under the end of the ramp with the long side on the ground. That will make the incline a lot shallower, and when they get to the end they will just jump off. That is an easy little jump for them to get back on again too. You may find that they feel more confident when the angle isn't quite so steep.

I agree with Hawkeye that your quarantined bird is sick. So glad she is in quarantine or they would likely all get it. Fortunately, most meds are pretty easy to administer since they go right in the water - just be careful working out the dosages since usually the ratio they list on the packet is for larger animals and you have to do some math to figure it up for poultry. Feel free to post the directions on here and we can help you figure out how to mix it correctly.

Thanks HEChicken! I will see what I can do about the ramp. Thanks for the advice! I will definitely take you up on the help figuring out the labels. I'm going to Atwoods now so I'll check back in later. And yeah I am SO glad they are quarantined....the other five in the coop seem to be perfectly healthy. I am super new to this and wasn't sure whether quarantining birds from different flocks was actually necessary, but decided to be on the safe side and do it. Very glad we did.

 

[JosieChick]

I swear the next time I have a big break out of sickness that kills any birds I am going to send one off to K-state for a necropsy. It may not be fast enough but it sure would be nice to be able to find out what made them sick and what drug was the right one. Sounds like a great idea! I would have a form printed off for submission and a box and cooler ready to go. It is so much easier to pack the bird up while its fresh when you have everything ready to go and the faster you get it the more info they can obtain. Gross necropsy is free but any further testing costs money so you can write to contact you prior to doing further testing to discuss cost.
I hope the tylan works for you.

My feeding buddy, a hermaphrodite chicken with a beak that grows in circles is not doing well. He is loosing weight and loosing his energy. This poor bird has all kinds of abnormal things about him and looks strange as heck. But he rides in the wheel barrow with me when I feed. I can pick him up and carry him around. He will usually come when I call him and jump in the wheel barrow or a feed barrel. I've gotten very attached to him. So along with his weird beak that has to be clipped off ever so often he has some kind of growth under his beak that makes it very hard for him to get food. I think that is what is killing him. He seems to eat non-stop but his crop is always empty. He is really loosing weight and it just breaks my heart to see him going downhill. I honestly am very hurt and upset that I can't do anything for him. I tried giving him yogurt this evening but he wouldn't taste it.
Sorry about your feeding buddy. I know he is a special boy to you. It is so hard to lose those birds who wiggle their way into your heart.

Josie, so good to see you back!! That trailer ride down sounds hilarious! I can only imagine this little pregnant lady with a trailer full of noise making animals in the back.. what they must have thought! LOL I'm sorry about your hen, I sure hope she really will be okay-- I'd be worried for sure. Did it all come out? Are you doing anything special for her?? Antibiotics or wait and see?? It was ridiculous! I flushed her with saline and gave her antibiotics for a few days. She stayed inside where it was warm and I kept an eye on her. Usually you want to keep them in darkness to prevent laying to give them time to clean out but she was stressed from the move and doesn't appear to be laying so I put her back outside after a few days because she was sick of being in the crate.
Horses are NUTS! I swear, if they can do something, they will. Of course he fell over the fencing! I mean, that's all in a day's work for a horse. Sheesh! It sounds like he didn't injure himself, so I'm really, really glad that he's okay. It would be my luck that they would pull a tendon or do something really dumb. And if they do, I recommend the Equine Surgery Center up north WIchita-- wouldn't be too far from you, I don't think. They can handle all disasters big and small. They've saved my horses countless times. They are also a 24 hour clinic-- so if you have a midnight call, they will come, thank goodness! (or meet you there)
He didn't injure himself, thank heavens. Just had Molly all flustered! She was barking her head off, should have known something was wrong. Silly horse. And I think my FIL thought I was being dramatic worrying about the horses and the fencing!

My Dh's layoff was extended until June, but nothing is cropping up here. He has tried all the "big" business that we'd expect would take him. Most companies now contract out software, so they aren't hiring for those positions anyway. Then there are a few companies that do have a department for it, but either they aren't hiring, they are unstable and thinking about downsizing or they pay so much less! And I mean like 10-20K less... not just a few thousand. The other problem we are facing is that he has been an engineer for 15 years and that pay scale is something that doesn't seem to be widely supported in the Wichita economy right now. Perhaps later... So we made the decision to go ahead and secure jobs in OKC and we're pushing forward with it. Now... if something pops up for us here, it better happen QUICK! Basically before the two of us sign contracts we can't back out of. So I'm not happy about it, but we can't keep hoping something is going to show up here and go broke waiting.
Ohhhh!! I was so excited to have someone our age around to go out to dinner with now and then! I think your DH and mine would have gotten along pretty well too! Bummer, well you better stay on here and not abandon us for some consolidated Oklahoma people!

Hawkeye, no I didn't just get that rooster, in fact I haven't gotten any new birds other than the little chicks from Eileen lately & the Cream Legbars who are out in the other coop. Since the illness started in my main coop I think it just must be some kind of virus or bacteria that the wild birds brought in or something. These birds free range all day so they're out & about all over the place in my yard & property. It seems like even if you take the very best care of your birds with good food & all the rest you still can get illness coming in from somewhere. I sure hope I can get this stopped, I have several other birds that aren't looking good out there. I wish I knew what drug is the best for this, but not knowing exactly what it is, it's hard to guess. I'm sorry you're having to move, but you have to do what's necessary. I hope you can find a place down in OKC that you like that will accommodate your animals & birds. I hope you also will keep posting on here, we all enjoy your posts & even though you won't be in Kansas you still will always be welcome here. My son lives in OKC, maybe on the rare occasions when we come down there I can stop by & see you some time. Right now he is driving a truck & isn't home much.
Hope your birds feel better soon! I hate sick birds, it is so tough to tell if you are helping or not too.

Josie, I'll bet that was comical with all of that noise coming out of the back of a U-haul. I'm glad you got your birds moved OK. Are you about moved to your new place now? I know it will be nice to only have to deal with one place. I can't even imagine doing what you have been doing & being pregnant at the same time.

Just about moved, still have a bit more stuff up at the house that is getting u hauled down then we need to list the house up there for sale and get some painting finished up!

I wanted to take a few pics but by the time I got down here it was getting pretty warm and the trailer was pretty packed with birds, I was in a big hurry to get them all unloaded. I lost a bird to heat exhaustion last time I moved them and I didn't want that to happen again! I started unloading the layers and I left the crate door open because they were stacked on top of other crates and nobody seemed brazen enough to jump down so after getting the first 4 birds out of the crate someone made the "leap" and I turned around to 10 birds loose in the yard! Oops!
Horses are about the most disastrous animals aren't they? Jackson gives me a heart attack on a regular basis.
Glad to have you back with us, and glad you got the birds moved down. You should have taken video!!! Our move last year was relatively easy as I moved the chicks and juveniles in one lot, and the laying flock, which only consisted of 12 hens, in another. If I were to move now I'd probably have to do the same as you and it wouldn't be pretty. Glad your TWH isn't badly injured. Sheesh. If there's a way for a horse to injure itself, you can be sure it will find it.

I would hold him up to your ear and listen to his chest. If he sounds gurgly or congested I would treat him with antibiotics but if it is just a dry sneeze and no nasal discharge you could try using Vet Rx for a few days to help him breath easier. Vet Rx is like vapor rub for chickens and some feed stores carry it or you can order it. If you need antibiotics you can get a couple types of powder at the feed store, tylan which is usually used as an injection but I have heard of it being given orally with a syringe or my favorite on hand is a sulfa based liquid. The sulfa is the broadest spectrum, meaning it covers the most different "types" of bugs. It is usually labeled for cattle or pigs but you can find some that are labeled for chickens too or find dosing online. Let me know if you need help with a dose.
I have one hen that dry sneezes when it is dusty (I clean or rake out the coop) or its really windy too so keep that in mind. I also have heard birds sneeze when they eat feed to fast and get some stuck in the back of their throat. Just keep a close eye on everyone. I go out if I suspect illness at dark and lean really close to birds on the perch while they are asleep and listen to their breathing. You would be amazed that birds that act totally healthy during the day may have some serious congestion that you hear when they are asleep. I think they are the ones that just kick over dead and we are shocked because they looked so normal during the day.

Good evening everyone

I noticed today my Roo is making this sneezing noise. He is still eating, roosting, running around after girls and what not. I don't notice any runny nose or eyes and he is he only one doin git. I should i do anything? Any help is apprciated. Looks like we are due to get some snow/sleet tomorrow and this weekend so everyone stay warm


Michelle

Good info! One other thing I would caution everyone against is "jumping around" using antibiotics. Pick one and stick with it. If you keep changing you not only don't know if it was going to work (because you pulled the bird off too soon) but you also risk building resistance to drugs. It is like when we get prescribed antibiotics, you should take the whole course of antibiotics even if you are feeling better so you don't breed super bugs that are the last to die due to exposure to the drug. You also need to be careful about mixing antibiotics because they work in different ways in the body and you can actually reduce the effectiveness of the drug by using another drug that "competes" with your first choice because they work in the same way or even in a different way. Some drugs may work in a day or two but have a longer administration time, for example sulfa drugs are usually given for 6 days while your mycin classes are only given for 3-4 days so give the drug time to work too.

I'm not Trish but.....treating can be a tough decision because there are multiple potential causes of the same symptoms and without testing, we are only guessing which is the cause in any particular case. That means we are guessing at meds to use. The wrong one may not hurt but won't help either, and sometimes we have to try several different drugs until we find the right one. When you give the "right" drug, you should see a reduction in the symptoms within 24-48 hours. If there is no change after that time, it might be time to move onto the next drug.

Duramycin is a widely available penicillin available at most big box farm stores - TSC, Atwoods, Orschelns etc. It is worth having on hand because it is cheap, easy to use and "you never know". Personally I've not had much luck with it but probably only because the times I've needed something, it wasn't the drug that would help. You want to get the Duramycin 10 and mix, I think it is 6.25oz to a gallon of water but don't quote me on the ratio as I haven't made any up in a long time - you will need to look at the back to get the ratio and figure it out - PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY WORD ON IT!

Tylan is also available at most big box stores. It comes in Tylan 50 and 200. You want to get the 50 because the 200 is too hard to work out a ratio to mix it for a small batch for poultry - it is normally used for larger livestock like cattle. I have 200 and it is a pain the you know what!

For respiratory symptoms, a drug that is often very effective is Denagard and that is NOT available in any of the stores. It has to be ordered online and is pretty expensive, although a bottle will last a long time.

Josie can provide better information and will correct me if anything I've given here is not accurate. I'm going by memory and haven't administered any of these for awhile so my memory is not fresh.

Have you thought about treating for coccidia? Just a random thought. It may be in your brooder bins in the house and maybe is warmer and damper in there and that is a better environment for it? Disinfecting won't necessarily kill it either. I have heard of people burning an area and still finding coccidia in its dormant phase that survived fire!

Okay all I really need some ideas. I have been loosing chicks cause they get pasty butt. It's the ones in the house. I have the bins cleaned out and disinfected. I have been disinfecting the waterers and everything. I used an thermometer and checked the temp and it is excellent.. right on 90 degrees under the light and they can move around. I tried bird grit that Josie recommended. I am feeding purina chick starter. I even stopped feeding FF to this group because I thought it might be a problem. I am still feeding it in the outside brooder though and they are doing great.
I just can't figure out what is causing the problem. I check them as often as I can but it seems like once they get pasty even if I get them cleaned up they go downhill and die. This is a real plague and I am at a loss of what to do. I can't afford to loose more chicks. My latest victim is one of my turkey babies. That really bothers me. Anyone have any ideas whatsoever about what could be going wrong? I am brooding just like I always have. There must be something I am missing.
Hawkeye I have some great barred rocks I got from Eileen and they are the right size and body form. It's just that they don't have the fine barring that Franks do. I figured I could take Frank's roo and try to breed better bars into them. I am sure I have several boys in my chicks but I'm not wanting to wait that long for breeding. Since I only had him hold two pullets for me I don't want them to take up a special coop pen space.
I really wish I had asked him to save back more girls for me. I had planned to just use the barred rocks for egg layers but they are so awesome I have to go ahead and breed them.
Trish I may have an extra BCM roo. I have someone coming to buy a pair to show for 4H but there could be more of them out there. I just need one I think.
I just sold my extra lavender boys. I kept two of them so I had a back up or I'd sell you one of those. They are gorgeous lavenders too... not the washed out pale color a lot are.
I meant to mention I sold Mammahen a couple chicks that came from crossing the lemon cuckoo orpingtons with the lavender hens. They look like they will be lavender barred. It will be interesting to see how they turn out when they are older.

I feel like I missed someone? I multied another post but can't remember who it was. Sorry!

Working on installing invisible fence for the dogs. Thought it was supposed to rain all day today but the sun is out? Burned a huge pile of brush yesterday that was in the horse pasture and have determined that my horses are terrified of my in laws! I think it is because they brought their dumb lab out with them and he chased them. He was immediately banned from visiting again unless he goes directly from the car to the fenced backyard. I have zero tolerance for horse chasing dogs. I had a mare that had been chased through barbed wire fencing as a young horse by dogs and her hind leg was always a mess and she had tendon issues.

Still have lots of work to do on chicken pens but they are working well so far. Need to build platforms for goose pools, finish installing fencing to separate birds etc. Never ending work!

We have been stripping wall paper in the nursery so it can get painted and set up. I am dying to get everything set up. We are moving the last of our stuff this weekend down to the house here and I can't wait to have our good mattress!! The one here is a full size and is getting older. It isn't terrible but I sleep soooo much better on the memory foam one. Not that either of them save me from midnight bathroom breaks!!! I am glad this little one only spent a few days last week with her head jammed into my bladder and she has moved a bit!

We did have a sonogram the other day because the Dr. was concerned because I am on the small side of normal and wanted to rule out low amniotic fluid. Everything looked great and all our measurements were right in the middle of normal! Yeah! Was so incredible to see this 4-5 pound baby in there. She stuck out her tongue and grabbed her foot during the sono. The ultrasound tech was having a grand time with us, she said she was quite the little show off baby!