Do chickens nap?

[Birdielee]

Yeah, you said he was really sweet. I'm not much of a farmer, myself. In that case, i hope surgery goes well! Sounds like you're pretty well equipped.

 

[Hidrainja4]

Wow people, really go to worse case scenarios. These chickens are run down and neglected but not the worse. All your chickens would benefit from Apple cider vinegar in there water (ACV)
Crushed raw garlic in there water or wet mash. Easy, go to you local farm store and talk to someone about diarrhea most common cause internal parasite. They have medicine for that under $20 a bottle. The bumble foot can be soaked for several day before you get to surgery land. Warm Epsom salts water fifteen twenty minutes at a time slap some anti biotic ointment on it the people kind, just for fun. Learn to pick up and hold a chicken. The bumblefoot guy might even like being held and have his foot soaked and can give him some relief. It might need opening to drain, keep soaking it afterwards and fill the hole with anti biotic ointment. It may be worse than that but do what you can today. Commercial / vets see chickens as units they just let them expire or put them down no profit in anything else. And chickens nap but this one is sick. My napping chickens tuck there head under their wing. All this is common chicken problems we all learn to handle and you will to.

 

[frostic]

Wow people, really go to worse case scenarios. These chickens are run down and neglected but not the worse. All your chickens would benefit from Apple cider vinegar in there water (ACV)
Crushed raw garlic in there water or wet mash. Easy, go to you local farm store and talk to someone about diarrhea most common cause internal parasite. They have medicine for that under $20 a bottle. The bumble foot can be soaked for several day before you get to surgery land. Warm Epsom salts water fifteen twenty minutes at a time slap some anti biotic ointment on it the people kind, just for fun. Learn to pick up and hold a chicken. The bumblefoot guy might even like being held and have his foot soaked and can give him some relief. It might need opening to drain, keep soaking it afterwards and fill the hole with anti biotic ointment. It may be worse than that but do what you can today. Commercial / vets see chickens as units they just let them expire or put them down no profit in anything else. And chickens nap but this one is sick. My napping chickens tuck there head under their wing. All this is common chicken problems we all learn to handle and you will to.

Garlic is toxic to chickens i learned this tonight....

 

[WyncoopFlockMom]

She looks sick to me—that hunched over posture isn't a sign of a healthy hen, especially with the ongoing diarrhea. I've had girls behave that way for quite a long time before they got too sick to get better. She may be eating, but if you can feel her breastbone poking out at all, that's not a good sign, either. Couldn't find a comment here that said whether she was coughing or had a runny nose or eyes.....

She may well have internal issues, as mentioned—reproductive problems or even cancer. It happens, sadly, and not much you can do. External parasites are also a possibility—mites or lice will suck the life out of a hen. (There are a number of excellent articles on this site that will help you find, identify, and treat for these bugs.)

I would like to offer another (random) possibility. This poor hen may well be suffering the (possibly fatal) ill-effects of being a solitary hen in the company of TWO roosters. One, she was probably very lonely for female company and inspiration, and two, she was probably the object of the alpha roo's attentions multiple times a day. I get the feeling the previous owners might have given up on caring for their chickens, as there is really no need to have ANY roosters, much less two; bumblefoot (and parasites) is easily preventable with good habitat maintenance; and a single hen is simply a sad and terrible mistake. It's good that you got more hens. If she is still alive, I would keep her with the other hens. Unless she is failing badly, she might actually be at the top of the pecking order. Good luck—it sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a great chicken keeper.

I don’t think Glorias breastbone is sticking out...you say it’s not a good sign, what kinda sign is it? She isn’t coughing or have runny nose or eyes, she “talks” but is the strong silent type. Likes to observe. Although when I was hand feeding 2 other girls she did peck them. I think she’s one of the Queen bees but I’m not totally sure of their pecking order just yet.

I will have to look for the external parasite articles. I haven’t ruled it out but I haven’t researched it extensively yet. I have seen Gloria do a few dust baths and I treated the coop with DE and Lime. Although I just read Lime does the opposite affect when trying to neutralize Ammonia and DE is better at that.

I was also researching about putting DE food grade in their food to treat for internal parasites. Maybe that would help. I was looking at how much to put in the continuous feeder. 1 tablespoon per bird but I couldn’t find how much food to Mix it with.

Your point of her being with 2 roosters and having the attention of the alpha......I have actually seen him trying do his dance around the other girls and mate with them, specifically in the morning when I let them out of the coop. He waits for them to pop out and then he chases after them. But if it’s Gloria who pops out, he will stop and turn away from her! Like oh Hey Gloria, sorry Bout that, I really don’t want to have sex with you, and finds himself another girl. What does that mean? Definitely confirming that she’s sick? Do roosters mate with hens that are beyond their laying years? Does he sense something is wrong with her? He does seem like he’s protecting her while she naps or they are always near each other.


My husband did take out the thorn bushes that are in the pen. Through his research he suspects that’s what caused Pimps bumblefoot. Their pen is a mixture of rock (under and around the coop) and grass (from the front of the coop to the gate) Grass is the majority of the pen with some rocks mixed in. I plan on removing the random rocks as the grass dies and we get into winter.

 

[WyncoopFlockMom]

2 comments about the overall pimp situation. Since he has bumblefoot and he's lived there on your property, his feet got cuts there. It would be good to look around and try to eliminate whatever he got cut on before your new hens get cut feet.

Also, as you know, some people eat chickens. They taste good. I hear roos are good when cooked with wine. Happily, their feet don't hurt anymore at that point. It's another option.

My husband took out the thorn bushes in the pen. He thinks that’s how Pimp got bumblefoot. We’re going to pick up the random rocks that are in the grassy parts.
I have read that older Roos are good in stews. I’m just not there yet.

 

[WyncoopFlockMom]

Wow people, really go to worse case scenarios. These chickens are run down and neglected but not the worse. All your chickens would benefit from Apple cider vinegar in there water (ACV)
Crushed raw garlic in there water or wet mash. Easy, go to you local farm store and talk to someone about diarrhea most common cause internal parasite. They have medicine for that under $20 a bottle. The bumble foot can be soaked for several day before you get to surgery land. Warm Epsom salts water fifteen twenty minutes at a time slap some anti biotic ointment on it the people kind, just for fun. Learn to pick up and hold a chicken. The bumblefoot guy might even like being held and have his foot soaked and can give him some relief. It might need opening to drain, keep soaking it afterwards and fill the hole with anti biotic ointment. It may be worse than that but do what you can today. Commercial / vets see chickens as units they just let them expire or put them down no profit in anything else. And chickens nap but this one is sick. My napping chickens tuck there head under their wing. All this is common chicken problems we all learn to handle and you will to.

I bought ACV with mother and Lemon. I didn’t put it into their water. I just ordered another ACV with mother and took a second glance to make sure it didn’t have lemon. I pick up my order tomorrow afternoon. Will put it in the water when I get home.

Mash isn’t sold in my area, only pellets. I’ve gone to TSC, and 2 local chain stores and the employees don’t really know anything about chickens. They know what aisle the products are And that’s about it, I found out today there is a chicken co-op in the next town so I will be visiting them in the next few days.

Pimp is getting used to us and it is a little easier every time I pick him up. I’ve never held a rooster and never messed with an injury like this and with bad weather rolling in, I don’t want infection to set in. I’m sure once I deal with this a few more times my confidence will be way stronger and I won’t wait for good weather to fix a bumblefoot.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I’m so sorry to hear about your girl. I put some Braggs ACV with Mother in my Walmart pick up order for tomorrow. Going to put some in as soon as I get home. I’m totally fine if she doesn’t lay eggs and she loves out her days with us. Even my rooster with the bumblefoot is now considered a pet.

You can also give her cooked scrambled eggs with cayenne pepper and oregano. That seems to knock any sickness out of chickens also. The chickens cant taste the heat from the pepper.

 

[Stino12]

Gertie and Nan are the nap queens What predators

 

[aart]

ACV an garlic are not going to help anything,
they can make things worse at worst or confuse symptoms.
ACV may keep them from drinking enough.
Garlic cause cause anemia.

A good chicken ration, plain water, and maybe some poultry vitamins for a boost, is all that is needed.

When I have a bird that is acting 'off' I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling. Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[WyncoopFlockMom]

You can also give her cooked scrambled eggs with cayenne pepper and oregano. That seems to knock any sickness out of chickens also. The chickens cant taste the heat from the pepper.

That’s very interesting! What ratio do you put on the eggs? A dash or pinch?