Not sure if this is the right place, but need to ask...... I recently rescued a small flock of Millie Fluer D'uucles (1 roo & 4 hens), the owner had them in a 3 x 3 rabbit cage, where she kept her "Breeding birds". They are adult birds and very rough looking with plucked areas, the hens are missing feathers on their necks, saddle area, and one is missing her tail. And she was feeding them Old Roy dog food! I've got them in a 4 x 8, 5 ft tall holding pen at the moment and they act like they have never seen dirt, and when not eatting tend to huddle. I know this is not normal behavior, but will they come out of it? I've checked them over for open wounds (none that I can see), and will get wormer for them when the feed store opens Monday ( should I get vitamins too?) I have them on a equal mix of chick starter and chops, and they are getting fresh greens from the garden. Is there anything else I need to be doing for them? Thank you in advance for any and all advice.
It sure is nice that you came to their rescue. Poor things! I think you are giving them exactly what they need. Care.
It didn't start out as a rescue, I was looking for Millies to add to my flock, but once I saw them and the horrible conditions, I just couldn't leave them...............
Some organic apple cider vinegar in their water to fix GI flora and fauna. They may need it after who-knows-what they've been fed. Vitamins can't hurt. Maybe some Rescue Remedy for calming purposes if they seem very stressed. A body check for bugs. A month long quarantine from any other birds you have. And then enjoy...
report the person to animal control if they have others. that is aweful! poor things! when i got new birds, 2 of them, they huddled togeather, kinda like they were scared of me, it stopped in about a week. they were free ranging where i got them and i think werent used to ppl, so they were scared. i still have yet to hold them but theyve learned I bring FOOD, so they do run up Near me, lol. good luck!
Glenda Heywood has posted on several threads some excellent recipes for perking birds up and correcting everything from worms and lice to proper digestion. Here is a link to a previous thread where she lists how to make a probiotic mash. Give it a quick read, it was very informative. You couled look up some of her other posts as well as she has covered a lot of different topics for restoring health. Good luck! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=225042
What I used to do with bad-off not-tame birds was sit by them for awhile, with a tasty treat (usually fruit) and use my hand to attract their attention to the treat, while making chicken "I have food, you want it?" noises. Silly I know... but it sure tamed them down fast, so that they didn't go into fear mode every time I had to change the water, feed, or clean. I wanted them to have as little stress as possible, and my presence was stressing them out. So, I spent about an hour at a time with them, getting them used to me, feeding them good stuff, and they came around to accepting the food from my hand. Then they quit huddling in the corner, quit squawking in panic when they heard the door open, quit looking scared when I was working in their quarentine cage. When they turned "happy" was about when quarentine was done, so they were able to join the rest of the flock in a confident way. These were Golden Seabrights, rescued out of a flea market parking lot, sold in the cage they were kept in... filthy, no water, missing feathers, mites, out in full sun on black top. I beat the guy up on price, telling him everything I'd have to do with those birds, why no one would pay what he was asking, and took them home. I had to "buy" the cage and basically got the birds free. I chucked it into a dumpster in the flea market parking lot. The flea market has since banned the sale of animals. They were having issues with puppy mistreatment too. What's wrong with people, putting animals out in full sun with no water on baking hot blacktop??
people who do that are not thinking of the animals welfare, but only of the money they can get for them. yes, they do panic when I get in the cage with them, so I try to add to that stress as little as possible. As for the huddling, it doesn't appear to be out of fear, I think it may be insecurity, as far as I know they were kept in that small cage from the time she got them. I've only had them since saturday afternoon, so they may still be trying to get accustomed to the new surroundings.
