Im at wits end again more I read more confused.....my life is consumed worrying about my flock

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Add some bird photos so we can get the whole picture. It really is hard to help when trying to diagnose from description only. A picture tells a thousand words as they say!
 
Although the droppings vary from bird to bird, the majority should be dry and firm, and any chicken should not continually have loose droppings. It could be coccidiosis, worms or another disease. Any vet should be able to do a fecal to check for worms, eggs, coccidiosis, or bacterial disease. If their intestinal health is not good, they will be susceptible to other problems. Have you ever given them avian probiotics in their drinking water?

I've never had a chicken molt at 8 months old. I would address the digestive issue first, so their systems are able to use the nutrition from their food, then it will be easier on them when you address the other problems, and the feathers may stop falling out.
 
Hholly said:
X2 on the quill dander. It's not unheard of that 8 month olds could molt their first year.
The scab on the foot could be bumble foot. Might need soaking and other treatment.
Click to expand...
Yeah but they aren't losing feathers in the usual places.. it on their bellies mostly.. and Hubby and I believe they are itching so bad they are pulling out their feathers....
Took off "Baby Girl's dressings last night cause the small scab is no better.... and it doesn't appear to hurt her.. Now have one of the 9 month old in house with both big toes bandaged and "columstrium perf" looking poo too.
She(Silver Girl) had to be coaxed off the roost yesterday morning Hubby said ..... two mornings this week total...
so another one sick and another one hanging back cold prob with this feathers...several more having loose poo and subdued.
I havent checked on them yet this day. Hubby let them out this morning...
thanks
 
what do you want to see photos of....? I already showed the poo trays with all the "dandruff" and runny poo....Lots of their feathers look chewed lots of them anyway, some fall out whole
.... I SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THEY ARE PULLING OUT SOME OF THEIR FEATHERS CAUSE THEY ARE ITCHING SO MUCH...
THE MORE They are defintely losing weight. I wish I would have been weighing them at least bi weekly....
I READ so much on here..... I AM CONFUSED .. COULD IT BE VITaMIN DEFIENCY? could be a fungus???
Forget vet.... I told yal they dont care and we are not traveling 100 miles or more. 3 reg. vets and no help
come on yall seasoned chicken owners.. old timers....Would there be blood spots on their skin if it microsopic mites ? also can those feathers and "dander" reveal anything under the microcpe?
how can I tell dander on their feathers from"nits?"
Now two of the 9 months old were in the extra yard shelter longer out of the wind. Saw some not solid poo. in the "shelter" mor unsid poo than ever
ROO ROO acts starved... He wont let any of the girls eat when I take some mixed grains to them later in the mornings... He used to stand back and let the girls go first...
they dont look good. They used to be always sprighty...
Hubby is dosing the 4 olders with Tylan 50 ORALLY .05 ml. at nite...and the one 9 month old cause her poo was runny and she is in house for like 4 days now cause both her big toes were swollen..they have had 2 doses so far.
the fish zole and ampro illin was supposely supposed to be here last week. I am so ticked cause the guy who took my order over phone got my cc info number wrong from last WEDneday...well at least it was entered wrong...
the lady at "wholsale Kennel" called and told me.... just today.....what a lousy way to do business.
so do I continue withthe TYlan for 5 days... If they dont do better should I start on a fungal medicine...?
pleas help yall
 
What are you feeding them, not just grains right?

I would stop all treatments and medications..

Clean out the coop

Let the birds free range

Leave them alone and see what happens.... if they get really sick you should cull them all and start again.

We need photos of your actual birds and their problems. to get a clean idea if anything is wrong.

Just loosing lots of feathers can be so many things...from moulting, parasites, disease, bad died, bad environment, or feather eating.

Loose droppings can also be many things, from diet, worms, stress, medication, temperature etc etc.

Bandaging feet may be dong more harm than good by not letting air get to it to dry out infections etc.

Chickens are very hardy in the right environment and usually recover on their own if their other needs are met (and providing they don't have some serious infections poultry disease).
 
We give them" new Country organic wheat free layer feed". I had ordered it over phone. and it cost $50 a bag with shipping. cause I hate SOY....They will only pick thru it...so much is wasted. unfortunately it is not a pellet or crumble form... I was fermenting it. but I got scared thinking fermenting might have gone wrong... So Hubby slightly wet the feed in the morning with vitamin water or just filtered water hoping they will not pick thru it...
so the feed is not pelletized or crumbled. So my thought is to give them several big tablesppons of slighly fermented grains too, like millet, buckwheat, quiona,barley, steel cut oats etc added to their "layer feed which is dry...
they already free range all day on 1/2 acre fenced in. then an hr or the rest of the property.
Baby Girl like I mentioned many times had explosive poo. she still has very loose watery poo several times a day. It hard to keep track since they roam such a big area...
That what I AM WORRIED about them having something bad... cause we had some bad rains. They were prob drinking from puddles. and they prob found old feed in their mulch.
PLUS WILD birds are abound... plus mice are getting into their "run" I see them.... also their dropping (mice)on top of some of their "scatterd" shelter. Plus Kitty is always sniffing around their "runs".. so I know he is after the mice.... There are mice tunnels under one of their shelters.. so prob the cause if they have microscopic mites
if they dont make it... then I at least tried...I wouldnt think about "culling" one unless she was extremely plainly suffering...
it will be my last chicken adventure anyway....I am not cut out for it....
. Silver Girls big toes have looked swollen for a while. She might have gotten stepped on or blackberry brambles or who know am not unbandaging Silver girls big toes cause Hubby kind of squeezed on them so they bleed some. so somewhat open wound... we will re evalute her toes tommorrow... took the bandage off ,Baby girl foot ,a week ago. she is still not her old self....
Believe me, no one hates "medicines" more than I do... was hoping to do it all naturally
 
If they just pick through their feed and don't seem to like it, I would switch to a Purina or Nutrena Flock Raiser feed (since you have a rooster) And supplement calcium using oyster shell separately, Those are high quality , well balanced feeds. You may not like soy. But your chickens might.
 
If they just pick through it I don't think they are getting a balanced diet.

Also wetting it will make they dropping more watery as they are consuming more water....

Wetting the food also has the danger of making it go mouldy or allowing bacteria to grow on it.

Just feed them the food dry.

Only give them a small amount in a bowl.. what they don't eat in 5 minutes take away. Feed them the same food in the same pot in the late afternoon. Take away after 5 mins. They will soon get hungry... and a hungry chicken will eat just about anything!

Don't refill the bowl until all the food is gone. This is so they eat all of it.. and not just the tasty bits.

Don't give them any other food.. or they won't be hungry for the proper chicken food.

PS what do you mean the food is not crumbles or pelleted? What is it made from? Is it all seeds and grains? If so that is not a balanced chicken feed.. its just like scratch and is only used as a snack.

Are you going to put a few pic of your birds on here.. maybe even the feed. I never heard of a feed like that.... what brand / company makes it... I did a search on the net but could not find anything like you describe.
 
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