How to be sure my hen is 100% healthy

[TinyRaptorDodos]

local feed, fermented feed, mealworms, beef fat and kitchen scraps

Oh and supplements in water, flock fixer and layer booster

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

You say one of your hens has a respiratory infection. You want to be sure your hen doesn't pass this on to Brian. How are you treating the sick hen? Has the wobbly hen been around the sick hen at all?

she’s the hens best friend yes. I haven’t been able to find the treatments yet so for now it’s just been stuff like vetrx (which I know is basically Vix vapor rub but it’s all we have) she isn’t showing any symptoms of having the infection but she’s also really good at hiding her symptoms… I might be able to go get the medicine but it’s a very long drive on very bad roads

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh and supplements in water, flock fixer and layer booster

And you have oyster shell and grit available to free feed, I assume?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

And you have oyster shell and grit available to free feed, I assume?

Yes oyster shells but no on the grit. I keep forgetting about that… they filled up their dish with dirt from the coop and I haven’t cleaned it out and refilled it yet

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm going to invite @NatJ to this conversation, she's very knowledgeable. Myself, not an expert, I would not introduce this hen to Brian just yet though.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I'm going to invite @NatJ to this conversation, she's very knowledgeable. Myself, not an expert, I would not introduce this hen to Brian just yet though.

Yeah I told the person she might be sick so I’ll give her a week indoors of watching her and if she’s definitely healthy she will be good to go but if not she will have to stay longer.

Thank you!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes oyster shells but no on the grit. I keep forgetting about that… they filled up their dish with dirt from the coop and I haven’t cleaned it out and refilled it yet

They need, not just common dirt, but like crushed granite, for digestion. It goes into their gizzard to crush their food since they don't have teeth. It's like teeny tiny gravel.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

They need, not just common dirt, but like crushed granite, for digestion. It goes into their gizzard to crush their food since they don't have teeth. It's like teeny tiny gravel.

I’ll get some out as soon as I get home. Do I mix it in their feed? They never ate it in a separate dish

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If I may ask, how many birds do you have, and how old are they? I think it's very sweet of you to be willing to part with one of your hens so Brian won't be lonely.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’ll get some out as soon as I get home. Do I mix it in their feed? They never ate it in a separate dish

No, they'll take what they need. They don't need much so it may not seem like they're eating it, but they do.