Is Miss Chook sick??

[d.k]

Hi- new to byc & a little lost,yet. I only have 1 chicken: a feral stray who came to stay in Aug/07, when the drought hit. She's just started to lay (3 eggs so far). I worry because she gets a short bout of diarrhea each time she lays. Is this usual?? Could it be parasites? I have heard you can use cayenne seed for worms, but *how much* for *how long?* Any/all help is appreciated. I hadn't even seen a live chicken since I was 8 ys/o before Chook came along and good info & chicken supplies are hard to come by in the city. The closest feed store I've found is 40+ miles away! Thanks, All!

 

[silkiechicken]

If you could get your hands on a bag of layer feed, that will make sure her nutrition is balanced for egg laying. As for short bouts of diahrea, if she is new to laying, she might not be used to it yet so a few "splorts" as some call them are fine. Now if ALL her poo is wattery, or bubbly, or yellow, then might want to get a fecal float test done at any vet to see if she does have a substantial worm infestatoin, and treat according to the type the vet finds. However, if you treat with wormers, don't eat eggs for the withdrawl time as you don't want to eat the wormer eather! Welcome aboard and hope you have fun.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Without proper nutrition (a layer ration) your bird will not thrive. This is of paramount importance. Cayenne pepper is not going to worm your bird... there are special worm medications for that. Take a sample (poos) to a vet and get a faecal if you suspect worms. It should not be very expensive and is well worth the cost as not all wormers will treat all worms (most will treat only a particularr type)