Depressed chicken??? or something else?

[Oven Ready]

Sorry - I meant to add...

Yes - Wild birds will transmit all sorts of diseases to your flock - worms and mites being the most likely. If you free range there not much you can do about it except get into the routine of worming them on regular basis and spraying them and their coop with flea/mite killer. Your chickens will scratch up wild bird poop (and eat it) - you can't avoid that. Mites/fleas/ticks drop off wild birds and wait on grass, in trees or on the ground for another bird to come along then they wake up and catch a ride on the new victim.

You don't need many reasons to hate feral pigeons - we have them too.
We now have one juvenile with canker, which is a disgusting and potentially fatal condition that is spread by pigeons. We are treating it and hopefully all will be well. If only we could get rid of the pigeons.

 

[PoultryPedia]

I am sorry you lost your first hen

I'm glad was able to give you help in diagnosing cause and that you've collected other info to help here on BYC.

To help control tapeworms (as well as MANY kinds of other internal and external parasites such as mite), you can buy a bag of "diamataceous earth" at a garden store. It is a white powder. You MUST be sure it is a kind that says on the label that it is food-grade.

Sprinkle some of the powder on the ground in the run, in bedding in the coop, and on the perches. It will help kill "bugs" and worms in those places. When a chicken dust-bathes on the ground that has been sprinkled with powder, some of the powder will also get in their feathers and help kill mites & lice that are already on the chickens. You're chickens will LOVE that benefit!

Best wishes!

***Added Note: When force-feeding, be sure chicken is getting enough fluids, too. You can feed moistened food (Unflavored yogurt is another good high-protein food chickens love to eat). If the chicken isn't also drinking on its own, you can use an eyedropper to carefully drip water a few drops at a time along the outer edge of its beak (This is safer than pouring right into the beak because the chicken is less likely to choke.)

 

[epitidios]

What i did so far is to use some medicine that you mix with the food they eat which kills the internal parasites (tapeworms etc). I sprayed inside the coop with an anti-parasite agent and i grabbed them one by one and put some anti-parasite powder on them. I also cleaned outside the coop as much as possible from food left overs and droppings and placed loads of earth around it.

I went to see them now and they were not really happy to see me, after grabbing them one by one.... I hope it won't take that long to return to our usual relation.


SpeckledHills this earth you are mentioning i don't understand what it is actually. The main problem is that i cannot find the word in my language.... I found a link in wikipedia but still i am not clear

. Is this the same kind of earth that you put in a cat's box?


I guess raising animals is much more complicated than i thought. And to be honest i found it as (if not more) difficult than my current job.

Once again i would like to thank you all for your tips. You are all big help.

 

[epitidios]

Like i mentioned i still have one chick that it is still ill. I checked it today for parasites in the feathers and she is clean. She seems to eat almost properly but she is still very weak. She cannot run like the other chicks on her age (she cannot run at all actually) and she stays still for most of the day. I leave her around the garden for a while every day but she still moves slowly.

Also she stands with her eyes closed for quite some time. Any clues? Is this sign of weakness (closed eyes)? or she is a unhappy because she doesnt see the other birds?'I will give the medicine for one more day and then there will be a small gap for a few days as the vet told me.

 

[PoultryPedia]

What country do you live in and what is your primary language? I can maybe try to help find a translation for the term "diamataceous earth" and a supplier you can buy from.

It is not what goes in a box for a cat. That is what is called "kitty litter" or "cat box litter."

 

[pixie74943]

Quote:
bread isnt the best for sick hens. Its a good treat but it doesnt contain much of the essential nutrients they need. Backyard Poultry has a Rickets diet http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7975135&sid=d00f72e97e74d22b68fb9a33f5df56fe which is designed to give the birds all their essential nutriets as quickly as possible.

If you cant make it, or need something quick, eggs are fantastic food for chickens. I scrambled an egg a day for my new chickens, trying to combat a stress-related icky they picked up when I brought them home

 

[PoultryPedia]

Sorry--I misspelled "diatomaceous earth."
There is info on it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth and http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDiatomaceous_earth&sl=en&tl=el&hl=&ie=UTF-8
I don't know if those would be the links you already looked at??
Also can try http://www.tradeaegea.com/default.c...erm/diatomaceous+earth/searchtermcondition/1/ and http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=en&tl=el&u=http://www.tradeaegea.com/default.cgi/action/viewproducts/allproducts/1/searchterm/diatomaceous%2Bearth/searchtermcondition/1/&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhgJn6nuz3n0UCOvwZeF-u0SIebR-g
Diatomaceous earth is not a commonly known substance in the U.S. though it is easy to find and buy once you know about it. It may not be commonly known there either.

p.s. Your English is VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!

 

[seminolewind]

I would still treat for coccidiosis. It lives in the ground. A few of mine have gotten it here and there, only 1 had bloody stool, the rest did not. Once on meds, they got better within hours.

 

[epitidios]

Quote:
I live in Greece. I went to buy some medicine from the veterinary shop and i asked for this. He had no clue that such a thing exist. I will give them some parasite killer next week so i guess they will be fine. In the mean while my super concern now is a turkey related disease. I found one of my turkeys with her head swollen. The vet told me it is a turkey related disease that can spread to the chicken too. He called it indian colpitis. I got some antibiotics for it. I hope that the majority of the birds will be ok and also save the ill turkey. My patient is isolated and i hope that she will eat and drink water. The medicine is diluted in water.
The image on the link shows a much worse case than my bird.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/genuinesqueak/turks.jpg

 

[PoultryPedia]

epitidios--Could it maybe be Swollen Head Syndrome?? You can find info on that at:
http://www.thecrazychickenlady.com/crazy_033.htm
or use the Search feature here on BYC to find out more.
Best wishes!