Idaho?

[Birdrain92]

Can anyone recommend a good veterinarian in the Treasure Valley that will see chickens? Or is there someone local to the Treasure Valley who is very knowledgeable about poultry health issues? We are having a mysterious health problem in our flock and I'd like to get it figured out.

Idaho Veterinarian Hospital, is in Nampa on the Midland Blvd. There was a vet that came into my Vet Tech class in High school and in her slide show they had parrots, peafowl, and they also had some birds of prey that the vet clinic has treated. What symptoms are you seeing with the bird?

 

[pawtraitart]

Can anyone recommend a good veterinarian in the Treasure Valley that will see chickens? Or is there someone local to the Treasure Valley who is very knowledgeable about poultry health issues? We are having a mysterious health problem in our flock and I'd like to get it figured out.

What are the symptoms?

 

[BoiseChik]

Well, we have a group of 10 hens that were 2 in May, and some chicks being raised by one of the hens. They share a smallish coop and free range a large fenced yard every day.
So, I've had 3 hens now start to slowly fade...weight loss, stop laying, diarrhea, listlessness, pale colored combs. It took each one a few months to die. There was also one hen that declined much quicker, like a week and she was dead. So, a total of 4 hens that have died within the last 6 months, at about 2 years old. I'm concerned that this may continue through the rest of the flock. Could it be a disease? Worms? I have no idea. Or is this coincidence and natural ageing?

 

[pawtraitart]

Well, we have a group of 10 hens that were 2 in May, and some chicks being raised by one of the hens. They share a smallish coop and free range a large fenced yard every day.
So, I've had 3 hens now start to slowly fade...weight loss, stop laying, diarrhea, listlessness, pale colored combs. It took each one a few months to die. There was also one hen that declined much quicker, like a week and she was dead. So, a total of 4 hens that have died within the last 6 months, at about 2 years old. I'm concerned that this may continue through the rest of the flock. Could it be a disease? Worms? I have no idea. Or is this coincidence and natural ageing?

I'd first check for lice/mites.

 

[BoiseChik]

How do I check for lice/mites? Do u really think the symptoms I described could be caused by that?

 

[pawtraitart]

How do I check for lice/mites? Do u really think the symptoms I described could be caused by that?

Look for chewed up/dirty looking feather shafts and creepy crawlies near the vent and tail area. Yes, birds can get drained until death by those.

 

[BoiseChik]

Ok, and if I do find those signs, what would you recommend for treatment?

 

[BoiseChik]

My other question, is what routine health practices and procedures do other local chicken owners do to keep their flocks healthy?

 

[Birdrain92]

My other question, is what routine health practices and procedures do other local chicken owners do to keep their flocks healthy?

Ok, and if I do find those signs, what would you recommend for treatment?

I know of 4 different kinds of treatment. You can go to D&B and buy the Poultry Seven Dust. I know Seven Dust can work but I just don't like how it sometimes takes so long for it to work. I believe they also sell Poultry Protector. I've used Poultry Protector, it worked immediately but you have to continue the dose for a week spraying every other day since it doesn't work on eggs. Citric Acid (Lemon, Lime, and Orange juice) Has to be Lemon juice not Lemonade. You can buy some bottles of Lemon juice at the Dollar Store. Poultry Protector by the way is mainly Citric Acid if you read the back. You can put the Citric Acid in their water so when they dip their beaks in the water citric acid gets on it and when they preen it will kill the bugs on the body but not the face so spray the vent too. You can also use Sulfur on the birds. It works instantly. Can't remember where to get Sulfur though but I've seen people show me how fast it works on bugs.

 

[MeAndTheBoyz]

My other question, is what routine health practices and procedures do other local chicken owners do to keep their flocks healthy?

I am in Caldwell, and have 2 different flocks of chickens: an assorted large fowl laying flock, and my son's Seramas that he uses for 4H. We have had chickens for about 3-4 years, also raised them as a kid, many years ago.

I start with the basics - plenty of clean water, appropriate feed mix, limit the "candy" (scratch) and offer fresh kitchen scraps when available, especially since my birds no longer free-range. they have plenty of room to stretch their legs and I provide perches of different heights and dimensions to give them exercise. I no longer provide heat lamps, pawtraitart did a great job of explaining why. I even have some crazy hens that REFUSE to sleep in the coop - no matter what the weather is- and they did fine through last winter. Our coop is lightly insulated, with plenty of ventilation. We also do not provide artificial light. I personally feel that it is better for the hens to go through their natural egg laying cycles, and allow their bodies to rest during the winter season.

Yes, parasites can severely affect the health of your flock. I check our flocks frequently for signs of lice and mites, around the vents, on the skin at the base of the tail and under their wings. I also examine their legs for raised scales that could indicate scaly leg mites. I sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the coop bedding and all over their run. as they dust bathe, the DE gets all over them and helps to control the parasites (dust does this naturally, adding the DE, i think, takes it up a notch in effectiveness). Where your birds free-range, it would be easy for them to pick up parasites from the wild birds.

It is always easier to fight parasites by prevention and early detection. severe infestations are difficult to get under control - not impossible, but difficult.

I used to let my hens free range on the weekends, otherwise housed in their coop and chain link run ( a large (10' x 17') dog run). We had a terrible time of lice and mites. I have since draped the entire run in fruit-tree netting and severely limit the free-range time. Doing that, and using the DE every time i clean the coop, we have not had any issues this year. DE works because it dries out the parasites. Some people don't like to use it because it is a fine powder that can affect the flock's sensitive lungs. I kick all of the birds out of the area that I am cleaning, until everything settles down. In my experience, DE is more of a preventative. I agree that something like seven dust, or other treatments, would be more effective in fighting a full blown infestation.

It is good to have several treatment options that you can rotate through when problems do crop up so that we are not creating resistant parasites.

Aside from parasites, we have also had hens go lethargic & die from coccidiocis (worms) - confirmed by a vet testing a stool sample. We purchased some over the counter worming powder, ampromed (amprolium), (not sure exactly which store we bought it from, but it was local... hmmm.. my first guess would be Dunlap Hatchery) added to the flocks drinking water for 10 days. Since they were full grown hens, they most likely picked the worms up from the wild ducks that frequent the irrigation ditch (sorry, FEDERAL DRAIN) located at the edge of our back yard. (another reason for limiting the free ranging at my house...).

there are so many helpful threads here, couldn't tell you how many hours we have spent educating ourselves on this site!