Background: I got six little yellow straight run peeps at TSC at the end of April. This is my first ever experience with chickens, though I've had parrots for years (I have since gotten other breeds of chickens-very different experiences with them). I did not know what breed they were but now I suspect they are Cornish X. They grew incredibly fast. Their feathers never seemed to fully come in. Their bellies were bald and their butts were messy, even though I kept their areas clean and wiped their butts. The 2 roos died around 2-3 months of age: when I spotted maggots on the first one's butt (after getting a warning to look out for it just the day before from a neighbor) I immediately took him to the vet. The vet thought (without testing) it was coccidiosis, too far gone and Roo 1 had to be euthanized. I put all my other chickens on medicated feed for several weeks, and also gave sulmet for about 10 days. Several weeks later Roo 2 got maggots and was euthanized. By then I figured it wasn't cocci as my impression of that disease was that it was much more fast moving and the symptoms were different.
So the four remaining hens have seemed healthy enough since then, if horribly obese and messy feathered. I call them the "Plops" as they always like to plop down somewhere and eat. It was comical to watch them run. I feed them layer crumbles and a bit of scratch in the morning, plus grapes as treats and other scraps. They have been allowed to free range during the day, but I finished my giant predator proof pen a few weeks ago, so they haven't gotten out as much. They have been laying yummy eggs that are really pointy shaped. My roos are so enamored of them I had to get Hensavers. I even had to separate my Muscovy duck from them. But every evening I have to carry them into the coop. Two of them would go in and out to lay, but the other two took forever to come down the ramp and would never go up by themselves. All four would stay together outside the coop until I carried them in. None of them roost, not even on the roost I made inches off the ground. So they sleep on the bottom of the coop and I have to make sure they're not getting pooped on by others.
I showed a judge at a poultry show the pictures of the hen with the Hensaver. She said they were just called "capons", no particular breed (I thought capons were neutered roos) and that's just how they look. I know from a friend who had taken a chicken to a sanctuary that meat birds were bred to be fast growing, huge and top heavy with breast meat, and die young because of it. The judge told me the life expectancy was 2 or 3 years.
Yesterday morning when I let everyone out of the coop, Sweet Pea was slower than usual coming out. She's always the last to go get food, though nobody ever bullies her. She's just laid back. She's had a bit of a limp for awhile, but it didn't seem to seriously affect her quality of life. Last night when I went to put the Plops back in, I had to crawl under a truck cap and pull her out, after asking the head roo Pantaloons, a silkie, to kindly dismount her. She was so lethargic, and her comb was deep red, not quite purple, I thought because she was the weakest one that she was more sensitive to the cold (about 30 degree high yesterday). I kept her inside my house since, gave her a warm bath and cleaned her up. I put vaseline on her comb and wattles, in case of frostbite. She is not eating or drinking. She moved a bit during the night, maybe a foot or two, but that's it. She hasn't budged all morning.
The other Plops are fine; indeed two of them are quite assertive when there's food around. One is a little weaker; I'll keep an eye on her. But what should I do about Sweet Pea? Is she at the end of the line? I don't her any respiratory distress (like the rattling breathing her brothers had) but her tail is pointed down and kind of bobbing when she breathes.
I don't want her to suffer. Does Pantaloons the head roo know something I don't? Pantaloons went into the coop without her and he ALWAYS waits until his girls are in place.I do have a veterinary friend who can humanely euthanize her, but the friend is not so well versed in chickens as in wildlife.
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give the full picture. Any advice is greatly appreciated! My birds are all my beloved pets. I have not even eaten a bird in ten years after hearing how they were factory raised. (Free range is available to me now but I just can't imagine eating my friends)
So the four remaining hens have seemed healthy enough since then, if horribly obese and messy feathered. I call them the "Plops" as they always like to plop down somewhere and eat. It was comical to watch them run. I feed them layer crumbles and a bit of scratch in the morning, plus grapes as treats and other scraps. They have been allowed to free range during the day, but I finished my giant predator proof pen a few weeks ago, so they haven't gotten out as much. They have been laying yummy eggs that are really pointy shaped. My roos are so enamored of them I had to get Hensavers. I even had to separate my Muscovy duck from them. But every evening I have to carry them into the coop. Two of them would go in and out to lay, but the other two took forever to come down the ramp and would never go up by themselves. All four would stay together outside the coop until I carried them in. None of them roost, not even on the roost I made inches off the ground. So they sleep on the bottom of the coop and I have to make sure they're not getting pooped on by others.
I showed a judge at a poultry show the pictures of the hen with the Hensaver. She said they were just called "capons", no particular breed (I thought capons were neutered roos) and that's just how they look. I know from a friend who had taken a chicken to a sanctuary that meat birds were bred to be fast growing, huge and top heavy with breast meat, and die young because of it. The judge told me the life expectancy was 2 or 3 years.
Yesterday morning when I let everyone out of the coop, Sweet Pea was slower than usual coming out. She's always the last to go get food, though nobody ever bullies her. She's just laid back. She's had a bit of a limp for awhile, but it didn't seem to seriously affect her quality of life. Last night when I went to put the Plops back in, I had to crawl under a truck cap and pull her out, after asking the head roo Pantaloons, a silkie, to kindly dismount her. She was so lethargic, and her comb was deep red, not quite purple, I thought because she was the weakest one that she was more sensitive to the cold (about 30 degree high yesterday). I kept her inside my house since, gave her a warm bath and cleaned her up. I put vaseline on her comb and wattles, in case of frostbite. She is not eating or drinking. She moved a bit during the night, maybe a foot or two, but that's it. She hasn't budged all morning.
The other Plops are fine; indeed two of them are quite assertive when there's food around. One is a little weaker; I'll keep an eye on her. But what should I do about Sweet Pea? Is she at the end of the line? I don't her any respiratory distress (like the rattling breathing her brothers had) but her tail is pointed down and kind of bobbing when she breathes.
I don't want her to suffer. Does Pantaloons the head roo know something I don't? Pantaloons went into the coop without her and he ALWAYS waits until his girls are in place.I do have a veterinary friend who can humanely euthanize her, but the friend is not so well versed in chickens as in wildlife.
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give the full picture. Any advice is greatly appreciated! My birds are all my beloved pets. I have not even eaten a bird in ten years after hearing how they were factory raised. (Free range is available to me now but I just can't imagine eating my friends)
