Infirmary is getting full and I need some help! picture heavy

[Pinenot]

WARNING TO YOU!!!!

Bumble foot is a staph infection and very contagious. I noticed your thumb in the picture and your skin is really cracked. That is a perfect place for it to grow. You need to always have gloves on when dealing with sick chickens. Don't want you to get staph. It is hard to get rid of and can take lives. Be careful

 

[BlueMoon]

PineNut! Thank you so much - that is my husband's thumb (mine is safely under latex gloves). He already has an infection (cellulitis into staph) that we spent the past ten days keeping out of his blood stream. Yikes!

Diana - i haven't tried the eprinex yet - will do so for all the chickens. Can we still consume the eggs whilst we use it?

How do I find Peter Brown?

thank you all so much. bathing Button was a bad idea - her breathing became so horrifically rattled and raspy. She's calmed now, but not smart. It was very stressful for her.

Can i sprinkle crushed baby aspirin on their food?

 

[HenHaven]

Here is the link to FeatherFanciers. Peter Brown is the "Doc". Just click on the forum button. HTH

http://www.featherfanciers.com/index.html

 

[sammi]

and here is the link about Eprinex/Ivermectin:

http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

it includes info on withholding time.

 

[BlueMoon]

A few updates for ten days later:
Button the Nankin Bantam has been on the Duramycin and doing much better. I pulled another NB and four month old Silkie, Lemondrop, out of the big guys coop and they've been the meds as well. Lemondrop got a nasal flush (that was fun!) and is doing much better. So there's a success story!

The girls with Scaly Leg Mites had their scales come off and pretty pink legs underneath - the mineral oil and nail clipping really helped. They've been put back with the rest and are doing well.

Anna Nicole, the balding Cochin, is still losing feathers, BUT good news is her back is finally growing in. She looks like a porcupine! She doesn't like to put weight on her foot.

When we look at the Orloff with ruptured air sac and the gashed Amerucana tonight, I'll get her foot in too.

It's been challenging, having at one point 8 infirmed chickens, two new ones slowly being introduced and then one die at the feeder - but totally worth it and I do wish the 4H would offer classes for adults on chicken maintenance!

 

[PurpleChicken]

You are really going through a lot with those birds. My compliments to the
doctor (you).

How are your noninfected birds doing? Have you dewormed the flock yet?
Are you using DE on their bedding and food? It seems like you are dealing with
at least 3 different conditions. Any idea how your flock was infected?

Best of luck and please keep us posted. This is an educational post, sorry it's
at your expense.

Don

 

[BlueMoon]

Thanks!

I've dealt with the rest of the flock by removing any chicken who doesn't seem healthy, as fast as possible. I'm at the coop easily three times a day - even with 85 chickens, you have an idea if someone isn't right.

When it gets warmer, I'll clean the coop, with DE or something else. I hate using chemicals. There is a lice or mite problem, but it's freezing, I've got three hens sitting on eggs and there's no chance of my doing this in the next few weeks. What I want to do this afternoon is clip a few beaks, as they're interfering with birds eating!

The coop is a year old and we keep it clean. The ammonia doesn't get bad and I think that's really helpful. The chickens free range and are fed organically, as well as lots of human treats. I think that helps too - especially the treats. We lost a few to hawks and a few to dogs (ours, sadly) and some just disappeared. We also are rarely away from the house for more than 8 hours, so we can monitor things quite prudently.

I dewormed a few months ago and will do so again in the spring. Someone had suggested alternating dewormers and I like that idea. Any suggestions?

As for how, I'm relatively new to this and did exactly what the books say not to do: I've got birds of different ages and breeds, all living together, from no fewer than seven sources. We also have many wild turkeys here, as well as other birds, and rodents, including deer, and I'm sure some are carriers of things we don't want.

I'm also lucky that my Mom lives close by and is a nurse practioner, who spent many years on the rescue squad, ER and simply doesn't get grossed out by anything. We don't want to see birds die, but also can't rationalize large vet bills.

 

[PurpleChicken]

That all makes perfect sense to me. Maybe you just ran into some
bad luck. You'll get thorugh it.

I hate using chemicals too.

We couldn't rationalize vets either. I would have culled already if I
was in your place. I'm not saying that would be the right thing, just the
easier thing.

Don

 

[BlueMoon]

Well - just checked on the Amerucana and am waiting for Mom to cover. Good thing I eat meat (or used to, because this is so revolting) as this looks like an exposed chicken breast. I don't think I can post pics of this one, let alone take them.
We're thinking we'll need to graft. Haven't a clue how to handle this.

 

[countryentertainment]

I use Eprinex, but only on the back of the neck. I found way to many warnings about it being taken internally. It isn't suppose to get in the eggs or meat but who knows, I ate the eggs DH refused. I finally did find a page that told how they used it on humans, which made me feel better. It worked really good on the leg mites and what ever else was in the coop that I kept seeing. I was feeling things move under my skin for a long time but after I gave the chickens the Eprinex I haven't been feeling it anymore. I did not try to clean the coop till a few days after I treated them all, hoping the bugs would bite the chickens (sorry chickens)and die. If I had cleaned it they would have been moved outside only to come back in later. I didn't think it worked that good on internal worms, a few weeks after I used the Eprinex I used Safe Guard and there were a lot of worms . Safeguard is for horses, and chemical name Fenbendazole which is what they use in other countries. It has no egg withdrawl time normally but anyone who is considered organic is suppose to add one week to all withdrawal times. I can not use pyrethrin or permethrin because I am allergic to them, can't use anything with sulfur either, just cutting a garlic triggers an asthma attack. Have you given Anna Nichole a little cat food to help her grow back those feathers, I didn't think it would work but gave in one day and it really made a difference, just that extra boost of protein.

My pullet has exposed meat also washed it put neosporin on a sanitary pad and masking tape on the sticky side and taped it to her feathers.


Good luck,

Cindy