Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

It's taken me a while but I've got the basics for a medical kit together finally.
Flubenvet 1% not the mixed in feed sort so I can dose direct and know just what dose I'm giving.
Coxiod. Never used this before but it's what you can get here for coccidia.
Harkers 4 in one. I'm told its good.
Vaseline.
Waiting for Betadine. It's expensive here.
Panacur. Effective but not officially sanctioned and not suiitable for moulting chickens.
A proper full bale of straw. Reasonably cheap and beetr quality than the stuff I got in Spain. They've been buying little bags of straw type stuff for rabbits. What this has meant is the coop hasn't been cleaned out often enough. I can clean daily now.
I brought syringes and stiching stuff with me.
Looking for Metacam still.

Just keeping a tab on these so I can look into all mentioned.

 

[Marie2020]

I think your experience, knowledge and basic wisdom in these things is invaluable, so please continue to offer them. I agree with your opinions on a lot of things actually, and you do a good job of explaining why, what & where your thoughts come from, giving the context for your observations and instructions. Thank you for your bit.

 

[Marie2020]

I'm concerned that Pepper was not self motivating to eat, drink and bathe so I blocked off the nesting boxes this afternoon.

Pepper spent a good ten minutes trying to go over the barrier or pull it down, then hopping out of the coop and staring at the nest boxes to see if she could get in from outside.
She stalked around the backyard for a bit but if any human went near the run she would hurry after them obviously hoping they would unblock the boxes.

Later, when I hadn't seen her for a bit I checked the coop.

View attachment 2868662

Have you ever seen a crosser expression on a chooks face? It totally says
"If you won't let me use the nesting box I'm going to sit in here and sulk. So there!"
It was only just after 4pm!

Meanwhile, Alice and Edwina are just outside the window keeping me company while they preen.
View attachment 2868665

I love that sulking face

 

[BY Bob]

So strange! Maybe these shredded feathers were just revealed when other tail feathers fell out?

Maybe that is so as well. Obviously I feel like I missed something here. I wish I knew the real answer.

 

[BY Bob]

Could she have caught them in something? A closing door for instance?

Good thought but the automated door will not close if a hen is in the way. That would leave me to do it with a manual door which is very unlikely. I think I would remember that.

 

[BY Bob]

I'm concerned that Pepper was not self motivating to eat, drink and bathe so I blocked off the nesting boxes this afternoon.

Pepper spent a good ten minutes trying to go over the barrier or pull it down, then hopping out of the coop and staring at the nest boxes to see if she could get in from outside.
She stalked around the backyard for a bit but if any human went near the run she would hurry after them obviously hoping they would unblock the boxes.

Later, when I hadn't seen her for a bit I checked the coop.

View attachment 2868662

Have you ever seen a crosser expression on a chooks face? It totally says
"If you won't let me use the nesting box I'm going to sit in here and sulk. So there!"
It was only just after 4pm!

Meanwhile, Alice and Edwina are just outside the window keeping me company while they preen.
View attachment 2868665

Oh she was cross with you but this might be an easy break. Especially because she roosted and did not try to make a nest elsewhere. She is mad though.

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you Afi. She is eating. I posted last night that she went to bed with a very full crop. And she is drinking maybe more than usual - which could be the cause of the diarrhea, or just be replenishing fluid lost to diarrhea.
I just checked her this morning before it gets light and her crop did empty over night.
So that is one possible issue ruled out.
However, she did not poop a lot overnight and it was liquid.

So where did the food go? It has to come out. Does anyone know how long it takes for food to travel the length of their digestive system? Is the watery poo maybe from Friday's crop?

 

[BY Bob]

I don't think that is quite right is it? I thought the crop was supposed to empty overnight which is why I got up before light to check it before she eats anything.
It was full last night and empty first thing in the morning. I thought that was normal?

But how long does it take to travel through the digestive system and become poo? 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours? I don't know.

 

[BY Bob]

Flash seems worried that you might try to take it off her. They haven't seen you eating other lizards have they Michelle?

I was yelling at the video. Use the zoom and quit trying to get close to her.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't remember who thought they had mites and I said they were too big to be mites. I found one today on a discarded feather.
See that speck on my thumbnail?
View attachment 2868492
Circled:
View attachment 2868498

Mites come in different sizes. They also have prefered habitats.
That looks like it could well be a mite. Now you need to work out which sort.
Northern Fowl mite are large enough to see reasonnably easily with the naked eye and they live on the chicken.
You can't afford to mess about with Northern Fowl mite. If a chicken is going to get seriously sick from a mite infestation the chances are Northern Fowl mite will be the culprit.
Red mite are the most common, at least in the regions I've lived in. They do not live on the chicken. They live in the coop. They are, if your coop doesn't have too many nooks and crannies (coop builders take note. Simple flat surfaces for build and removable everything for ease of cleaning) fairlly easy to eradicate. I use a blow torch but the are chemicals such as Permethrin that work well. Even washing down the inside of a coop with warm water and a mild detergent will rid a coop of red mite.
What you may have in the picture is feather mite. These are relatives of the Red Mite but they live on the feathher shafts of the chicken. Easy check is to lift the feathers and look at the base of the feather quill. If the base of the quill is rough and looks like stuff has built up around it then you've got, or rather your chicken has, feather mite.
Permethrin works well and I am told Ivermectin does as well.
Scaly Leg Mite are tiny and I cant see them without a magnifying glass. They live under the scales on a chickens leg.
All the above mite treatments work for SLM but just as effective is to slather the leg in Vaseline. This suffocates the mites. BUT, the scales do not return to normal once the mite is dead. The chicken has to shed the old scales and regrow new befor it looks as if the problem is taken care of.

For all treaments, beit lice or mites you need to treat more than once. Mites and lice lay eggs and the chemicals do not kill the eggs. The blow torch does but obviously this can't be used on the chicken.
The eggs hatch and the infestaion rolls on.
I treat for SLM 3 days in a row, wait two weeks and go again.

NOTE. There is no known natural remedy that will rid a chicken of a seriouus mite or lice infestation.