Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Thanks! I took something which will help both the restless legs but also the migraine! Last night for that though!

Well need to do chores, it’s so mild I have windows and doors open in the barn, even the Hen House window which caused some drama with roosting tonight
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What do you take? I could use a pain medication tonight

 

[RoyalChick]

Hey all - I am having issues with reacting to posts. I am not ignoring you all!

 

[BY Bob]

Perky Peanut

Peanut has been acting fine today. At first I thought they were hanging out under the lilac a lot because she was there feeling poorly (she’s lead hen) but she appeared to not be heaving at all when I closely observed her, she wasn’t hunched over, her tail was up, she’s preening, alert, and the whole group periodically sallied forth to do some foraging. Later today she acted quite feisty in fact, energetic and dominating, running at Butters, even keeping Hazel in check too. Eating, drinking, bright-eyed. It’s like night and day between how she was before and today. I am confounded.

So what does this mean? What does it mean for what was / is or might be ailing her, and how to treat or not treat? Could it be a temporary reprieve, a false improvement? Is she possibly hiding something still there, and an antibiotic course might still be a good idea? There’s no egg laid by anyone so far. Butters might have diarrhea now, she pooped nearly me and it sounded pretty wet.

The hens are supposed to get a second mites permethrin solution spray treatment and bedding clean out (first treatment was on Saturday) and I had thought of lightly spraying everyone except her, but now I’m feeling she could withstand it. Tomorrow morning while it’s still warm before the storm moves in seems like the best day to do it. I weighed everyone this afternoon in anticipation of possibly an antibiotic treatment of Peanut, and also checked three of them for mites. Didn’t see any mites hatched yet.

I forgot to give Peanut another deep belly feel for texture and looseness so will do that tomorrow.

I wanted to try to make a decision tree but I find it hard to weigh this information in any meaningful way.

1. Peanut has spent time in the nest box recently, acting like she’s going to lay an egg, but doesn’t ultimately lay anything.
2. She had diarrhea for some days prior to the mites treatment on Saturday
3. Peanut looked and acted poorly early this week, standing around hunched, appeared to be egg bound with straining, diarrhea
4. This visible ill behavior lasted about three days, each one slightly less poorly looking
5. She did still eat
6. She’s perked up incredibly today
7. Did not see her poop today, can’t speak to that.

@BY Bob

If we take the the theory that she laid a soft-shelled egg and everyone ate it then the behavior fits. She had trouble laying it but once she did expel the egg she felt better.

If she had an egg break inside her. Once she has expelled it all she will also perk up. The danger here is something remains inside and she develops an infection.

In my experience, if she had/has salpingitis once the tubes are scarred she will have good and bad days. The bad days will correspond to days where she has laid an egg internally. Once the egg absorbs into the abdomen she will perk up again. It will cycle like that until she develops ascites.

The problem with salpingitis is that there is not a lot to help you catch it early. Once there are significant symptoms it's usually too late.

So how does this all help right now? The key to this is to know whether to treat with antibiotics right now or not.

When I'm faced with a decision like this I try to look at the downside. If you treat with antibiotics this will involve handling her a lot. It also involves feeding her a liquid which if you are not comfortable with it can be traumatic and does carry some risk of aspiration. While you should not treat with antibiotics willy nilly because of resistance they are actually pretty safe.

You should make your own list and consider all positives and negatives. I can't tell you what to do. I'm just trying to talk it out here.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

@GregnLety

Will need the recipe for that one also

BUT

I won’t be able to partake in any of the good stuff till the project I am heading out to is completed i the spring!

Yep! I am heading to a new job! Yay!

Congratulations!
What a nightmare your previous manager was. So very happy for you to be moving on, and you got this new job quickly too!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

After antibiotics I'd go with the low fat live yogurt to @ChicoryBlue

They do get that already every so often, yes I think it’s good for them!

 

[Ponypoor]

What do you take? I could use a pain medication tonight

My favourite is naproxen, you can get it over the counter as Aleve, it’s the best thing I find for my migraines and my arthritis! But I can only take one or two doses and then it really bothers my gut. Have tried celebrex but it does nothing for me.

I have meloxicam here that doesn’t really do diddly for me either but the old thoroughbred can take it, and I am told chickens can take it! It’s 1-2mg/kg for poultry. Since my tablets are 15mg it would be hard to get it to 1-2mg. But I am sure a compounding pharmacy would do it for me.

For my RLS, I take lyrica along with tramacet both act to decrease the legs spasms and the fire ants crawling sensation. But will need to stop this for a few nights now…

I found a really good info site on poultry pain mngmnt.

https://bitchinchickens.com/2021/03/22/dealing-with-pain-in-chickens/

 

[Ponypoor]

Congratulations!
What a nightmare your previous manager was. So very happy for you to be moving on, and you got this new job quickly too!

Thanks! I told the CM out there it was +22C here, after he told me it was -24C out there haha.

I need to get my mum I to date with the chooks, and make sure they are ready for winter. She will be caring for them.

 

[Ponypoor]

She hatched July 28th so just turned 3 months old in October. I will start looking for eggs from her towards the end of Feb. Truthfully I hope her beard and muffs sprout a bit more, for the first 2 months she had nothing. I'm sure her wattles will get a tiny bit bigger between now and then. If I get my wish and her beard grows a bit more we will not be able to see them though. I am ok with this and 90% of my flock have large combs and wattles, my silkies and silkie mixes are the novelties and I love them.

I only have one with wattles, but they do have cheek feathers and some beards, can they have beards and wattles?

 

[BY Bob]

Back Down Again

I swear I put Hattie on the roost next to Betty.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Back Down Again

I swear I put Hattie on the roost next to Betty.

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I like how you have security cameras in the coop. I'll consider getting some so when I'm on vacation, I can watch the chickens and see how they're doing.