Feed for weight gain

[JacksonPearce]

Thanks so much! This is all very helpful. Some more info:

-She has been sneezing and sounds croupy, and also has nasal discharge. One of her pen mates is currently in quarantine with a bad URI— swollen eyes, sounds awful, stopped up nose, etc.

-We got her about a month and a half ago, when the seasons were changing; she hasn’t laid for us, but the breeder said he believed she had started laying already. None of my slackers are currently laying, though, so it’s hard to know if she isn’t because of the weather or because of her age.

-She’s being given 1/2ml of Tylan once daily.

-The grower feed is fresh, so I’ll give her some of that along with some canned fish and corn.

-We have an awful problem with coccidiosis here, despite a clean coop and cared for chickens; I’ve lost three babies this year to it and pulled another two back from the brink. My local chicken keeping community seems to have similar problems, so I suspect it’s just our region/weather. Right after we got her, she began to fluff and get lethargic, so I treated her with corid. She’s appeared fine as far as the coccidiosis symptoms go for about three weeks.

-She also has a messy vent, and, weirdly enough, seems to have some sticky areas under her wings. Those areas didn’t look like notes or pests to me— I didn’t see the eggs around the feather roots— but I’m going to go take another look shortly. We typically don’t have big problems with mites this time of year (or ever, honestly), so it would be odd.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She’s being given 1/2ml of Tylan once daily.

O.K. Can you weigh her (you may want to weigh the other one you are treating/quarantining as well). Injectable Tylan50 dosage is .10ml (cc) per 1pound of weight given 2-3times per day (given orally or by injection) for 5days in a row. If you are going to treat with antibiotics you may as well administer the proper dosage. Sometimes the antibiotics won't help with Respiratory illness - a lot depends on what you have, but since they are exhibiting these symptoms, it won't hurt to see if they improve.

We have an awful problem with coccidiosis here, despite a clean coop and cared for chickens; I’ve lost three babies this year to it and pulled another two back from the brink.

Some people do seem to have more problems with Coccidiosis than others. Corid is very good, but if you continue to have difficulties, then you may need to have a fecal float to find out which strain you are dealing with. You may need to you a sulfa drug instead.

She also has a messy vent, and, weirdly enough, seems to have some sticky areas under her wings. Those areas didn’t look like notes or pests to me— I didn’t see the eggs around the feather roots— but I’m going to go take another look shortly.

Messy vent could be from a lot of things - if she is not eating well, has worms, is still struggling with Coccidiosis or even medication can be some causes. If you have her inside where she can be kept warm, cleaning her up may be a good idea - but only if she can be dried well and kept warm.

If you have some photos of the sticky areas under the wings, that would be good. I'm not sure what that could be - does it seem to be some type of oozing lesions/scabs? Look through her feathers closely for lice - around the vent, back of the neck and under the wings. For mites, generally those come out at night, you would want to look through her feathers after dark.

 

[Jay E.]

We recently lost one of our EE to something, not for sure what. Found all sorts of different things and ideas here on BYC. A lot of people use Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. Helps w/worms and several other issues. Alfalfa is high in protein. Which we actually stuck alfalfa hay in coop before we knew they liked it. Our chicken's have even started laying again. They went on strike when it snowed here. Good luck with your flock.