Hi all,
Something’s going on with my small mixed flock, health-wise, that I can’t seem to pinpoint. If anyone could offer any suggestions, I’d appreciate it!
• I have two elderly Easter egged hens (10+ years old), a 3-4 year old copper marans hen, and two adult silkie mix roosters. They all share the same space together- in an 8x10’ wooden coop with good ventilation, pine shaving bedding, and a large enclosed run (8x12’). They free range a few times a week, but spend most of their time in the enclosed run because we have lots of hawks around.
• Their diet: fresh water always available, all-flock pellets, table scraps (only fruits/veggies that I know are safe for chickens), and whatever plants/bugs they eat in the yard when they free range.
• Symptoms:
1. Drop in egg production. All 3 of the hens stopped laying eggs about a month ago. The older ones stopped laying first and I didn’t think much of it because their egg production has been decreasing over time anyways as they’ve aged…so I chocked it up to “henopause,” as we call it. At first the copper marans hen seemed to stop laying but she (and/or the others) was actually just eating her eggs. I could tell because there’d be shells in the nest box, and I had to change the bedding frequently because of the yolky mess. Then I stopped seeing any evidence of shells in the nest boxes, so it seems that the copper marans has stopped laying too. It has been a few weeks now and I haven’t seen a single egg, or any trace of one.
The copper marans has a history of laying thin-shelled eggs and also had a couple lash eggs (Salpingitis) with a drop in egg production at the beginning of the year. We treated her and the others with Corid, and she started laying again and seemed back to normal.
2. Poopy butts. All the hens have poop that gets stuck in their feathers and around their vent. I try to wash them and trim the feathers back, but it keeps coming back. I’ve checked their poop for worms and found nothing. I’ve had to treat them with Wazine for roundworms in the past. Is it possible they have roundworms again that are just not showing up in their poop yet?
3. Lack of appetite, weight loss, and only wanting to eat cracked corn or table scraps. This symptom is the strangest to me. All the hens, especially the two older ones, don’t seem to want to eat the all-flock pellets. The pellet feeder is always readily available. They’ve eaten these pellets in the past with no issues. The pellets are still being eaten by someone (I can tell because the amount in the feeder goes down every day), but I can’t tell if that’s mostly the two roosters eating them or if the hens are contributing to it at all.
On the other hand, whenever I give them cracked corn as a treat, they go absolutely nuts, as if they’re starving. Their crops seem to be always empty. They will also eat table scraps (melon and strawberries are favorites). So it’s not that they won’t eat in general, they just don’t want to eat the pellets for some reason, to the point that they’re losing weight. I suspect a little weight loss with the elderly hens, but even the copper marans is starting to look a little skimpy. That combined with her drop in egg production concerns me.
• I’ve checked for lice/mites. Nothing. I dust them with permethrin a couple times a year, or as needed.
So my main concerns are the poopy butts, drop in egg production (especially for the copper marans), and lack of appetite for their usual pellets (leading to weight loss). I worry that Salpingitis may be the culprit again, or possibly coccidiosis, so I’ve begun Corid treatment for the whole flock again. I’ve heard Baytril might be a good idea?
Something’s going on with my small mixed flock, health-wise, that I can’t seem to pinpoint. If anyone could offer any suggestions, I’d appreciate it!
• I have two elderly Easter egged hens (10+ years old), a 3-4 year old copper marans hen, and two adult silkie mix roosters. They all share the same space together- in an 8x10’ wooden coop with good ventilation, pine shaving bedding, and a large enclosed run (8x12’). They free range a few times a week, but spend most of their time in the enclosed run because we have lots of hawks around.
• Their diet: fresh water always available, all-flock pellets, table scraps (only fruits/veggies that I know are safe for chickens), and whatever plants/bugs they eat in the yard when they free range.
• Symptoms:
1. Drop in egg production. All 3 of the hens stopped laying eggs about a month ago. The older ones stopped laying first and I didn’t think much of it because their egg production has been decreasing over time anyways as they’ve aged…so I chocked it up to “henopause,” as we call it. At first the copper marans hen seemed to stop laying but she (and/or the others) was actually just eating her eggs. I could tell because there’d be shells in the nest box, and I had to change the bedding frequently because of the yolky mess. Then I stopped seeing any evidence of shells in the nest boxes, so it seems that the copper marans has stopped laying too. It has been a few weeks now and I haven’t seen a single egg, or any trace of one.
The copper marans has a history of laying thin-shelled eggs and also had a couple lash eggs (Salpingitis) with a drop in egg production at the beginning of the year. We treated her and the others with Corid, and she started laying again and seemed back to normal.
2. Poopy butts. All the hens have poop that gets stuck in their feathers and around their vent. I try to wash them and trim the feathers back, but it keeps coming back. I’ve checked their poop for worms and found nothing. I’ve had to treat them with Wazine for roundworms in the past. Is it possible they have roundworms again that are just not showing up in their poop yet?
3. Lack of appetite, weight loss, and only wanting to eat cracked corn or table scraps. This symptom is the strangest to me. All the hens, especially the two older ones, don’t seem to want to eat the all-flock pellets. The pellet feeder is always readily available. They’ve eaten these pellets in the past with no issues. The pellets are still being eaten by someone (I can tell because the amount in the feeder goes down every day), but I can’t tell if that’s mostly the two roosters eating them or if the hens are contributing to it at all.
On the other hand, whenever I give them cracked corn as a treat, they go absolutely nuts, as if they’re starving. Their crops seem to be always empty. They will also eat table scraps (melon and strawberries are favorites). So it’s not that they won’t eat in general, they just don’t want to eat the pellets for some reason, to the point that they’re losing weight. I suspect a little weight loss with the elderly hens, but even the copper marans is starting to look a little skimpy. That combined with her drop in egg production concerns me.
• I’ve checked for lice/mites. Nothing. I dust them with permethrin a couple times a year, or as needed.
So my main concerns are the poopy butts, drop in egg production (especially for the copper marans), and lack of appetite for their usual pellets (leading to weight loss). I worry that Salpingitis may be the culprit again, or possibly coccidiosis, so I’ve begun Corid treatment for the whole flock again. I’ve heard Baytril might be a good idea?
