Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

I love you for saying that but I am feeling particularly desperate about them at the moment.
Minnie's fecal tests all came back negative for anything nasty so we have no idea what is wrong with her but she is in bad shape. She is perky in the morning and usually has a small nibble of something but then she pretty much collapses for the afternoon. She had a good drink tonight as I put her in the hospital ward for the night but her crop is empty of food and even cabbage and shrimp didn't tempt her.
Bernadette's left leg has got back to normal and now her right is giving out. It is like she only has enough 'whatever' to support developing one leg at a time! I am really, really, hoping it is just a growing thing and once she stops growing she will stabilize. All I can do is keep pushing vitamin B2 and hope for the best.
Maggie and Dotty both have diarrhea and have had for weeks and weeks now - though neither seem to be having any ill effects from it and are hale and hearty.
Diana is also hale and hearty but of course only ever lays eggs without shells so that isn't great.
So somehow everyone is a worry except for Lulu and Bella who I hope are just healthy young ladies.
Sorry, just feeling a bit down about it all right now.

 

[Ribh]

I really don't think she is in pain. Just miserable. I look at her stance for pain and I really don't see anything to suggest pain.
Good thought on new grass. The specialty vet that my vet consulted suggested a 'flock fecal' because sometimes things can be missed on one chicken - I need to talk to the vet to understand what they neex for that.

What has the vet said specifically? I'm wondering if you need a broad spectrum antibiotic because there are other things that won't show up in a fecal thingy. Sorry, what little scientific knowledge I ever had has deserted me. It sounds like an infection of some sort but I ccouldn't even hazzard a guess as to what. I hope you get an answer quickly.

 

[rural mouse]

@Kris5902 I think I'm reaching the limits of my English which does not include technical bee terminology but I'll try to answer. I hope google translate allows us both to understand each other !
First I will say that my partner is the bee keeper and the knowledgeable one of us, I only assist him. If it can help convince your aunt, I have strong reactions to bee stings : we kept that under control for years with an antibiotic onguent ( for which I need a prescription) and antihistamine medication. We always have an adrenaline shot available just in case. But a few years ago we learned that high heat applied for 10 minutes just after a sting does miracle ( blow-dryer or cigarette) and this has been a life changer for me.

Now to your questions. What happened with this particular hive we were told by a professional bee keeper is supposedly not possible, so my story should be taken with caution. We had a first swarm leave the hive at the beginning of may which we caught. Then maybe ten days later I found a second swarm from that hive and we caught it again. We thought it was a secondary swarm except that a few days later my partner opened the initial hive and it was empty. What we thought was the secondary swarm, was actually the whole hive gone. It had left behind frames full of brood and some honey and yes there were queen cups.
So we didn't leave the empty hive there because it would have been plundered very fast by other hives. We took both swarms at a friend's place where we also keep bees, 20 km away.

We torch them because of wax moth ? Or honeycomb moth, not sure what the term is ! We have varroa but I don't think torching makes any difference as it lives on the bees.

For the frames what we like to do is keep frames that have been already built by bees before, either in colonies we have lost, or in upper chambers (? Not sure google translate is correct there). We will put three of those and the rest will be empty frames. We don't like artificial starters made from wax that we don't know the ingredients of.
My partner has been keeping bees for 8 years now and has been making a lot of mistakes, we still make some regularly. It's not easy keeping bees where we live, old people who have done it for years say it was a lot easier before.

Apologies for any strange terms and for having being so long .

You did just fine. My dad was a hobby bee keeper for a number of years. At one point, we lived across the street from the school and the extractor (he built it) couldn't be removed from the house. He would put on his bee suit, fire up the smoker and take a fresh super (dunno on the spelling, but the "upper chambers") into the classrooms. The kids would get to see what the honeycomb looks like, get an education on do and don't around bees, bee vs wasp, then have a field trip across the street to our house to finish the lesson by loading the extractor and everyone getting to turn the crank and taste the honey.

 

[rural mouse]

Just imagine how bee-Sneaking works. Every bee that enters or exits the hive, must show proper identification. None of them will be using their real name. They will be sent out on secret missions to gather nectar.

They actually do "show identification". There are bees guarding the hive and "stranger" bees aren't admitted.

 

[RoyalChick]

What has the vet said specifically? I'm wondering if you need a broad spectrum antibiotic because there are other things that won't show up in a fecal thingy. Sorry, what little scientific knowledge I ever had has deserted me. It sounds like an infection of some sort but I ccouldn't even hazzard a guess as to what. I hope you get an answer quickly.

So the fecal test also looked for bacteria and came back 'normal for a chicken' so we have no evidence of infection in the gut at least.
I thought the head shaking might be an ear infection but I don't see any sign of that.
So yes, I could throw antibiotics at her (and I have some one hand) but they can make you pretty poorly in their own right so I am reluctant without something a bit more indicative of an infection.

 

[featherhead007]

They actually do "show identification". There are bees guarding the hive and "stranger" bees aren't admitted.

Okay, you mean like the castle gate guards?

 

[rural mouse]

Okay, you mean like the castle gate guards?

Exactly!

 

[featherhead007]

I am desperate for bees here, to help pollinate my fruit trees

 

[BY Bob]

It is Dotty and I have apologized to her.
She might peck you ankles too as she isn’t Dottie!

I may not be able to spell but at least I know her name!

 

[BY Bob]

Ahhh, but sounds the same, and as far as I know, they write with chicken scratch, so it looks the same.

Thank you for having my back!