Help, Sick 6 old month Roo

[Deblett]

I've seen birds 'mope' when molting.

Is he pooping good?
When I have a bird that is 'off', I like to check their input and output....
I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Hi Aart, yep he is pooping good. I only have 3 birds so I Know which poop is his because of the way they roost at night, He's always in the middle so I have been checking his poop every morning. I gave him a thorough once over last night before from top to tail and everything looked and felt normal.

On a completely differnt note, whilst you are all checking in with me: Oyster shell is quite hard and expensive to get where I am, but I can get an abundance of clam and scallop shells, if i smash those up to grit size will that be ok for the girls?

 

[aart]

On a completely differnt note, whilst you are all checking in with me: Oyster shell is quite hard and expensive to get where I am, but I can get an abundance of clam and scallop shells, if i smash those up to grit size will that be ok for the girls?

Not sure about that...might depend on how thick they are.
I'd be concerned about razor sharp edges and salt content.

 

[Deblett]

Yes you are right Aart, they will be too sharp. I just put a couple in a sack and bashed them up with a hammer and they are razor sharp!! I hadn't considered salt content, why would that be any different from Oysters unless the grit is only from fresh water oysters (is there such a thing?)

 

[aart]

I hadn't considered salt content, why would that be any different from Oysters unless the grit is only from fresh water oysters (is there such a thing?)

Not sure...have often wondered what exactly is the source and process is for the oyster shell I buy for my birds. Am guessing that they are 'washed', crushed, and tumbled.

 

[Helloworld]

Horse flies or yellow flies?

 

[Deblett]

Ok, update on Kanga (Roo)! Last night I put Lavendar & Rosemary branches in the coop and scattered a Citriodiol powder I had read about that repels mosquitos all around the outside of the coop. Now Kanga is choosing to roost in their during the day even though he has always roosted outdoors during the day, so conclusion: He's seriously pissed off with being bitten by mossies/biting flies I guess, because he is certainly no worse today, he's eaten some tuna and pellets etc. So either he did have some form of fowl pox and the insects were attracted to the sores and made it worse, hence his swollen face or he has just been badly bitten generally by insects, along with his new feathers coming in has just got run down. Hopefully now the weather is changing, rain due this week he will get a chance to heal!