Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BeastBaby]

That's the typical poo from not eating enough.
If it's possible for you, since you said she does eat scrambled eggs, you could try to bring her an extra small bowl with a choice of support confort food daily, ideally before roosting, for a few days to make sure she gets enough energy . Either as a choice, or you can make a mash with their usual food and add stuff in. Some ideas on top of scrambled egg, of things you may have in your cupboards : sardines, tuna or mackerel, crushed walnuts or almonds, cooked whole grain rice or wheat or small pasta, a tiny amount of peanut butter, tiny amount of shredded hard cheese, small pieces of apples or bananas. Everything needs to be smaller pieces than a healthy chicken could eat.
White rice isn't very healthy, but it's something most sick chickens will eat.
And if you have bread that isn't loaded with sugar and additives a small amount can also do the job.
Of course it's best that they eat their usual food...but it's better to eat something than nothing.

If you can catch her easily, I would also weigh her, and do it again in a few days. It's more useful if you know what her healthy weight is, but it will allow to see if she is loosing too much.

I hope the fecal float helps you find out what's going on. It happened to me to find a sick chicken when I came home from vacation and the house sitter hadn't even noticed .

And tiny Chipie...it's a long story ! She has ruling ambitions that are far too ambitious considering her size, and this tends to backfire against her as soon as the younger chickens realise it's all a bluff.

Ay ya yay, you’ve come home to sick chickens as well? Man, was it far along in the illness? Did you use the same petsitter for the next trip?

So far I’ve thought to take her egg, apple, and bread (hearty, seedy, organic stuff). I should definitely see if she’ll take nuts! I have leftover chicken meat… would that be a bad idea, if it’s the only thing she eats all day?
She shows interest in their morning mash (which I make using an unprocessed layer feed, so there are whole grains in it) but she then gingerly picks out a dozen grains and calls it good. Not even a thimble full of food.
Huh, that’s a good point about going out before bedtime to fill her crop- I’ll have to make more of an effort at that time.

 

[BeastBaby]

@BeastBaby the bright green is bile, she is producing that whether she is eating or not and when there's no food the green is concentrated. If you can afford an X-ray that may show the reason. Frankly I suspect internal laying or cancer or both, a blockage of some kind unfortunately, because she was laying and then suddenly stopped, right? Which doesn't make any sense at eight months old and the days getting longer. Feed her whatever she'll eat, but low-bulk foods like the scrambled eggs are best, and see if she improves. You can try baby bird formula also, that's very low bulk and full of good nutrition. Sending good thoughts your way

Exactly, she did suddenly stop laying. I guess cancer would be the easiest catch-all for what this is, if she doesn’t improve. Inexplicably, there are no vets who will see chickens in the area, even though we are awash with backyard flocks.

I did some quick research on internal layers once you mentioned it (the possibility hadn’t occurred to me), and I can’t rule it out. Fortunately, she is still walking and scratching with normal posture. Which only tells me that she doesn’t have the penguin walk associated with peritonitis or lots of accumulated internal yolks.

Low bulk foods… well I guess that nixes bread as an option. I was going to try some nuts on Manue’s suggestion- hopefully she’ll take them, since she often turns her nose up at sunflower seeds.

 

[BeastBaby]

I'm really curious...

What does everyone feed (commercial feed), and how clean are your chickens' butts? Are they laying?

Once my pullets started laying, the clean floof went bye-bye.

I feed Kalmbach 20% Flock Maker. Some butts are cleaner than others.

I feed Scratch and Peck’s line. Regular layer pellets in the treadle feeder, and in the mornings they get the S&P unprocessed mash which has soaked overnight.

One out of seven hens requires a brazilian to keep the poo from accumulating- the rest of their bums range from very clean to just an embarrassing smidge. Ah Becky She is also a laying machine, if that ends up being a factor for bum cleanliness.

 

[BeastBaby]

It was white the collision, seems the pickup drive through the intersection but the Audi was going so fast it T-bones the driver side of the pickup .

Both vehicles ended up in the ditch in front of Peavey Mart. The driver of he pickup had left side body injuries and his leg. His passenger was fine.

The driver of the Audi the gentleman I tended to had an obvious displaced fracture of his femur just above his knee, he stated he wasn’t in any other pain anywhere else. But he was very much distressed and in shock. It was difficult to get him to stay still so I just hugged him to me and gently chatted him up, I was very relieved when the medics arrived.

The Audi’s whole front was crushed in, the hood and panels missing. It was a horrific collision. I checked the News for any information but I didn’t see anything posted. I sure hope he is ok.

I tell you I was never so glad to get home and just hang out with the chooks and horses.

Marty and Curly
View attachment 3762066

Oh gosh that sounds horrific. It doesn’t even seem like he was in an about-to-die sort of condition when he was with you.
Im sorry , thank goodness for the grounding nature of a barnyard.

 

[featherhead007]

Deaths are tough to get over. It becomes very personal, I understand this. I have experienced many deaths from various causes including active duty. Instead of facing the horrors of the issue, I make silly statements and jokes to cover up what my mind is racing through. I would give a therapist a reason to seek therapy!
Sorry, that’s just me.

 

[featherhead007]

Finally. My biggest release from my anxiety is to fly. Lately I’ve not been able to because of the weather and lack of destination. I’m hoping spring and summer will broaden my horizons in this endeavor. Until then I’ll settle for driving the car with my rooster by my side.

 

[BeastBaby]

Finally. My biggest release from my anxiety is to fly. Lately I’ve not been able to because of the weather and lack of destination. I’m hoping spring and summer will broaden my horizons in this endeavor. Until then I’ll settle for driving the car with my rooster by my side.

Has he ever been on a flight with you?

 

[featherhead007]

Has he ever been on a flight with you?

Officially i can or cannot say. There are stringent standards the FAA requires for the transportation of animals in private aircraft. Maybe you should ask Sir Jaffar if he had a good time with me that day?
Let’s just say this: my roo can fly up to the sky!

 

[featherhead007]

Officially i can or cannot say. There are stringent standards the FAA requires for the transportation of animals in private aircraft. Maybe you should ask Sir Jaffar if he had a good time with me that day?
Let’s just say this: my roo can fly up to the sky!

For anyone who wants to keep their pilot’s license, take note: securing your cargo is extremely important and stupid mistakes can easily be avoided!

 

[featherhead007]

Here’s a picture to distract us from this prior conversation: