healing approach for any chicken illness

[BlackGiantMerlin]

I know it's only natural to treat our chickens based on an accurate diagnosis but sometimes we don't have the luxury of knowing exactly what is causing their issue and when they can crash fast, time is everything and can make a difference between life and death.

Was on here recently for one of my sick hens and while I still don't know what was wrong with her I'm happy to say she is cured, happy healthy and thriving.

Knew we had a leg mite issue which had been resolved. She became listless, had an impacted crop (yes I know there can be many reasons - actual blockage, infection, worms, tumors, etc...). The turning point was giving her that cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and lemon concoction every day, two or three times a day for about four days. Whoever shared that here THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I also added colloidal silver to it.

When she started feeling better I changed the way I feed completely. I also make sure there is a boxed off area (using 2"x 4"s on the ground to create a two feet by two feet wood frame) full of clean dry sand, DE (food grade), and wood ash which they love for their dirt baths.

For daily feeding I start with a tumbler (approx 24 oz size) half full of very warm but not hot water. Add a tablespoon of DE, a big spoon of coconut oil, and five drops of oregano oil. Mix so that all dissolves together. Then I add their dry crumble so it's almost the consistency of warm oatmeal. It absorbs the water and they love it and are doing great. This is only for two hens so if you have more obviously make more. We usually feed crushed oyster shell separately too but haven't done it daily.

We also got rid of all wood hutches and use Eco Flex which makes dog houses and also coops (to use with or without a larger run). I know they are pricey but if you intend to have chickens for many years to come it's well worth the investment easy care and maintenance and pest free.

We have lived green for about 15 years and have always maintained twice daily mucking, feeding and watering for our flock. Also completely stripping out and cleaning the coop, adding DE and fresh bedding at least monthly yet we still have had to battle trying to save our chickens many times. It's awful when they are sick and you feel so helpless trying to get them better.

My hope is that with these types of keeping and feeding routines I will at least eliminate pest issues and any kind of infection which is yuge!

Hope some of you find this helpful -

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I use the Ecoflex coops for duck grow-outs - the ability to hose them out is invaluable.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Did you say "yuge" on purpose?

I know you did.

MrsB

 

[ladyearth]

which brand of oregano oil do you use?
oh also how did you give the concotion of lemon, cinmmon etc?
thanks

 

[BlackGiantMerlin]

Have used Natural Factors, Purity or Now - there are so many out there nowadays, just want to make sure its at least 80% carvacrol. Starting to do a lot more with oils in our home -for human and animal -and going to start ordering from Mountain Rose Herbs.

 

[BlackGiantMerlin]

lol doesn't he say 'bigly'?
I was thinking of Bernie actually

 

[BlackGiantMerlin]

Amen on the Eco Flex - I found that Overstock.com had some of the best pricing on it too, in case anyone starts shopping around.

 

[BlackGiantMerlin]

Hey ladyearth - the recipe I used for that concoction is 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp lemon juice and about a tbsp of water - mix to dissolve and use a small syringe to give your chicken between half to one milliliter at a time, allowing them to swallow and breathe - if you've done this for anything before you know the drill

 

[ladyearth]

i watched some youtubes on oregano oil... lady mentioned to use oil of oregano for teeth etc. but she said not to usr essential oil. I clicked on Mt Herb and only the oregano ESENTIAL OIL came up..
when" Goldie "had the impacted crop we did the dulolax or whatever its called , route like suggested on here and defintely the MASSAGE .it took a while but she came thru after just getting over FLYSTRIKE
Now if I can just find something to help two of my hens so far who have explosive watery all over the place poo... plus they are losing so many feathersI assume from molting. It seems" Silver" has lost so much weifght too.
we are giving Safeguard .. Hubby gave the third dose tonight. Darn it, hate giving them anything... That dang paste tube doesnt go far. will have to buy one or two more tubes of it to finish them for the five day dosage...
I wish I could persuade Hubby or someone to help me do fecals. As I have bought the expensive microscope ,etc....
Tried Baytril for 4 days for Baby Girl but did not good..... tried Cillidal silver in their water..... tried ACV....
I am really concerned for "Silver" now the most cause she is "my just wanna be loved girl"
Absolutely loves to be cuddled and petted and rocked...she whines for me to hold her for months now.. She likes sticking her head and resting it on my arm while holding her...
I keep hoping they can forage their own cure when I let them out of their giant fieldrun...like some weed or herb etc....
thanks

 

[BlackGiantMerlin]

There is something to be said for an animal's innate knowing of consuming what will help them in nature. In fact there's a holistic vet who did a recent study on this -- if I can find it I will post the link. Hope your girls are okay -- the feather loss does sound like molting but this is the time of year (northern hemisphere) where they usually start growing more feathers and filling out -- ours have.

I think there is much confusion out there regarding plant oils - and the term 'essential' which is simply taken from 'essence' of the plant. Many essential oils can be used safely internally and externally but one must exercise caution and respect the fact that plant oils are extremely powerful - i.e. one drop of peppermint oil is equal to 20 cups of mint tea. And when it comes to using them on our animal friends, even more caution is needed. There is an immediate effect when applied topically because it is absorbed by the skin and then directly into the blood stream. Taken orally, the body metabolizes and breaks it down first.

Not all oils are produced the same - quality ones are expensive because they use more plant material and take longer to produce. A quality one will also last longer because you don't need as much of it for any application. When you factor in marketing and (packaging) labels it's easy to be misled. As for oregano oil, based on my experience, whether it's sold as oil of oregano or essential oregano oil, what matters is whats on the (ingredients) label. If it's pure plant based even with some carrier oil, i.e. olive oil you can't go wrong using it orally or topically. If you question anything on a label, do your research.

I've read many comments about those who swear by putting ACV, silver, garlic, even oregano leaves in their water tubs. I'm sure it's another great maintenance measure. The only reason I haven't tried that is I've wanted to make sure my chickens consume enough of what I'm trying to give them and we scrub out our water tubs with vinegar once or twice a day so we would be dumping a lot of what we put in there anyway.

If your girls are having this explosive watery poo, it sounds like infection. You could give them c. silver directly with a dropper -- and try the feed thing that I do - which seems to have done wonders for my girls (and will address viral, bacterial, fungal, and any parasitic infection). The one that was ill had runny poo too but those days are over.

Keep me posted!