Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[bgmathteach]

Question: how accurate is the kippenjungle chicken genetics calculator? According to it, a gold penciled Hamburg crossed with a mottled Houdan results in a black split to mottled 100% of the time. 50% with rose combs, 50% with split rose combs (guessing fat v-vombs). I have 1 chick that has identical markings to Cheetah at the same age, but has cheek puffs and we know hatched out of a white egg (only white eggs came from my birds). Only cheeks in my birds are on Thing, making this chick an anomaly. However, I was just sent this pic
View attachment 3129839
This one hatched with chipmunk stripes and there are ZERO birds in MIL tribes with crests. None of Storms eggs made it out of the shell. The 2 pips but not make it were her eggs). 2 anomalies out of the same hatch make me seriously question the accuracy of the calculator. any ideas? (BTW, this makes 4 crests for her lot)

Are your's purebreds? Maybe a recessive gene somewhere gives the crest? Also, ocassionally a pale brown egg layer will lay a nearly white egg....? (Not sure what color Thing usually lays....) Adorable chick, regardless of heritage!

 

[bgmathteach]

I don’t feel anything. She’s right here on my chest. She’s acting like she’s giving up. She would be six years old tomorrow (her hatch day) my favorite, friendliest one I have, she’s not fighting this. She usually fights hard to survive over the years. Today is different somehow. I don’t know what the problem is? Very sudden.

Probably much more likely that she was hiding it, not that it was a 180 degree turn.

 

[bgmathteach]

Posting this from my kindle fire, Nevi soaking her feet. She is being a very good girl.

I have found that chickens, once settled, like a good warm foot soak!!

 

[featherhead007]

Can you get her to eat a bit of mash (moistened feed) with a bit of kefir and ACV in it? Maybe also a small amount of grit...in case she hasn't been getting enough? If it is doughy, it sounds like a slow versus impacted crop. ACV will help prevent a yeast infection, kefir will give her some healthy probiotics, and of course good nutrition in teh feed mash. Maybe add a bit of coconut oil, too, in the mash...to assist with the movement of food through her crop and proventriculum.

If you can get her to eat small amounts throughout the day....

She’s not interested in eating anything now.

 

[bgmathteach]

She has a bumblefoot. Only our second day soaking, I have not gotten anything out yet.

Frequently, it is a hard ball/blob that you have to grab with fingers or tweezers (depending on size), it doesn't come out on it's own.

Are you also treating with something like blu-kote or similar? Something to keep infection from spreading?

 

[micstrachan]

Please explain anyway. I can always turn liquid into paste with some feed powder. But 1cc is quite a lot!
Also, I could get fenbendazole equine paste if that were easier.

Ok. Just do whatever you did when syringing as far as securing bird and opening beak. Here’s my method for that: Keep dominant hand free for administering meds. Secure towel wrapped bird on lap with opposite arm, holding head with same hand. Use fingernail of dominant hand to pry open beak. Keep beak open with same hand that is holding head. Syringe the measured cream/paste onto a finger on your dominant hand (in advance) and swipe it into the beak. The chicken will naturally swallow. That volume might require a couple swipes instead of all at once.

 

[featherhead007]

She’s not interested in eating anything now.

Feels like her crop/abdomen is full of fluid? I have nothing to drain it out with. The feed store is closed today (holiday) they sell syringes.

 

[micstrachan]

Rocks-Anne isn’t well. Crop puffy and has breathing problems. No energy, and moving very slow. Clear discharge from her beak! I’m scared for her. She was fine yesterday.

Oh no! Not Rocks-Anne! It sounds like her GI tract may have stopped moving. Ugh. Is she still with us?

 

[micstrachan]

I have read and would tend to believe that when chickens are healthy and strong they can handle a small presence of worms in their organism, but that any weakness or imbalance makes them an issue.
I have used all kind of natural preventives and they didn't stop Vanille and Caramel from getting really sick (garlic, oregano, apple vinegar, verm-X, I tried pumpkin seeds but almost none will eat them.)
I'm not planning on deworming my whole flock every year especially as dewormers are very hard to come by here without being prescribed by a vet. I used a flubendazole medication meant for human babies. However I don't think using the same molecule everytime will prove effective, so I'm planning to get some goat or horse safeguard through my neighbors and use them individually when the need arise.

I have the same belief. They can handle a small worm load when healthy, but a weakness or imbalance get lead to a bloom in the worm load.

 

[featherhead007]

Oh no! Not Rocks-Anne! It sounds like her GI tract may have stopped moving. Ugh. Is she still with us?

Barely. She’s on my chest right now. Having trouble breathing