Hens in the hall

[Abriana]

Welcome to byc!
The cream could be irritating their sensitive skin. Could you find something more natural like vitamin E to rub on the wounds and their rear ends? It promotes healing of skin and it’s also very soothing.

 

[staceyj]

Just throwing this out there because of the antibiotic use wiping out normal flora...
It's possible that the butt scalding may be yeast overgrowth. Perhaps you could call the temporary vet to consult on this.

 

[SW31]

Thanks all. I have posted pics of them under the coop construction folder just now.

 

[rebrascora]

I agree it is possible that the inflamed skin could be due to a yeast infection (vent gleet).
I would also like to add that it is important for hens to have a healthy diet just like any other animals and they can get obese or suffer other health issues if they are fed too many treats routinely. Those feathers hide a lot and most chicken owners would not realise that their hens were carrying too much fat.
I would be very wary of giving them cheese and ham on a regular basis .....processed foods high in salt are not good much as they love them. If you give them some tinned fish, it is probably better in oil than brine but some raw liver occasionally might be a better option to up their protein levels along with the odd egg.
It is also important to limit the grains you give them as they will eat these in preference to their layer pellets and dilute the protein and calcium levels which again can cause reproductive issues. Soft shelled eggs, eggs getting stuck and causing the bird to prolapse, internal laying and liver haemorrhaging can all be associated with an inappropriate diet. Formulated feed is manufactured to provide hens with all the nutrients they need in a balanced ration. Once you start adding extras the balance is lost and problems can occur. The "Emergency and Diseases" section of the forum is full of birds with such problems and much of it is because we as back yard owners, love our chickens too much and are tempted to treat them too often. Treats should make up no more than 10% of their daily food intake but less is better and not every day. Meal worms are probably a much better treat than grains or cheese and ham, but again, don't over do it.

Regards

Barbara

PS. You are absolutely right.... your husband deserves a medal! He is an absolute star!

 

[SW31]

I must be honest I’m a bit confused. I’ve recently read an article that mentioned that pellets are best only for birds who are laying but for non laying birds, such as my injured hens, these birds need more protein as pellets contain only approx. 16%. My current pellets are 16%. My neighbours recommended the cheese. I have been reducing the cheese by adding in some museli thinned out with porridge.

For the laying birds, I normally leave giving any treats until the afternoon to give them time to eat the pellets first, which they do.

I’ve just given the injured birds some cooked beef mincemeat with a little chopped ham, museli mixture and a very small amount of cheese. They’ve gone berserk for the mincemeat and couldn’t care less about the rest. I also cut some fresh grass and dandelion leaves which they’ve enjoyed. I’ll get some fish in oil as we have a very good selection here.
I’m taking them back to our original vet tomorrow so will mention the possibility of a yeast infection. She may contact a specialist vet in Toulouse for more advice again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad that you have vet care!
Please let us know what the they say tomorrow.

Can you post some photos of the red bottoms and poop. We may have some suggestions, but if not - photos along with comments from your vet as to the cause would be informative and give us an opportunity to learn.

I think you have done well taking care of them. I hope all goes well for you.

 

[SW31]

Thank you, they’re just going to bed so I will take the pictures tomorrow. We will visit the vet at 2pm so will report back then.

 

[SW31]

Just back from the vet. She’s very pleased with their progress and has taken out all the stitches and staples. She noted that in several places the stitches/staples never properly healed back together again; instead it provided a protection for the new skin to grow underneath. Obviously the new skin is very delicate. Grizzi’s broken wing has now healed. We discussed the red bums, see pictures. She agreed with BYC members it could be a yeast issue as the cream had some antibiotics properties that would have destroyed the natural bacteria on the skin. They may also be overheating a little as we had been asked to put a lot of cream over the wounds during the last two weeks. This would have inhibited the skin breathing properly. Now, she has asked us to only put a tiny bit of cream just on the wounds.

She has asked us to use a gently antibacterial hand wash to gently clean the cream from the feathers and the skin. I have some excellent L’Occitane hand wash which I use t9 clean my hands after we have been applying the cream treatment.

Poos are still a bit wet at the moment, see picture, but ve5 thinks this is to be expected given they’ve had approx 18 days of antibiotic injections.

They hoovered up some chopped beef so appetite is not a problem. We talked about when they could be returned to the garden. The vet had thought in a couple of weeks time but then agreed it was too cold at the moment as they lacked sufficient feathers. We will need to wait until th3 feathers start to regrow before putting them in the garden. That’s probably a good thing as the skin should then be stronger and reduce risk of damage from the other two!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad to hear your vet is pleased with their progress.

Hopefully once they are finished with the antibiotics, the poop will return to normal. After antibiotic treatment you may want to give them some probiotics or plain yogurt to help restore the gut, this may help with the loose stool as well. They don't need much a day - only about 1teaspoon of yogurt each day.

Thank you for the update, I hope they continue to recover.

 

[SW31]

The vet asked us to bathe the chickens to remove the excess cream. I’d like some advice please on how to go about this.
At the moment we figuring on putting each one in the car carrier ( they’re used to this from trips to the vet) to get them upstairs, using lukewarm water and an antibacterial hand wash on the feathers and skin ( that was vets recommendation) using a plastic jug to rinse the soap off. Finally wrapping them in a soft towel to take some of the water off and for transportation back downstairs. We think husband will need to carefully hold chicken in place in the bath while I do the soap and rinse bit. We will have to be very carefully as wounds and new skin is still very delicate. We will lock our cat in another bedroom( with food, water and litter tray) and let the birds shake themselves in the hall and kitchen. Does this make sense.