Last Ditch Effort

[Aunt Angus]

Update:

Poppy is hanging on. She is in full hard molt now. I've been trying to flush her and give her extra healthy treats. I haven't noticed much of a change in her energy level or her weight, but that could be either the molt or the heat.

However, I was looking her over the other day, and I saw that her feathers are coming in weirdly. Some of them are ingrown. Not like an impacted feather shaft, but the feather is coming out of her skin in one area, then it's looping over and it looks like the other end is also coming out of her skin. Like looped carpet. It's the weirdest thing. I clipped the ones I found and tried to pull them to see if I could find an end of the feather, where it was pushing out of her skin. I really don't know how to describe it. She had several feather loops on her back and chest. If I find more, I'll try to get pics.

And, also weird, her tail feathers are coming in now... and they have black leakage. What is this???? She's 4. Why is this happening now?

They get Nutrena all flock mixed with Nutrena layer. No treats. Flaked oyster and baked egg shells on the side. Fresh water every day.

 

[NanaK]

Did you worm with safeguard? I've read it can cause problems with feather regrowth if given during/prior to molt. I do not have experience with it myself but have read in many places. Sorry I don't have more information.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Did you worm with safeguard? I've read it can cause problems with feather regrowth if given during/prior to molt. I do not have experience with it myself but have read in many places. Sorry I don't have more information.

I didn't, actually. I used Ivermectin.

It's the weirdest thing.

 

[NanaK]

I didn't, actually. I used Ivermectin.

It's the weirdest thing.

Yeah, that's odd. Maybe it will correct itself.

 

[azygous]

Have you had chickens die mysteriously or had mysterious illness in your flock? I have lymphoid leucosis in my flock and occasionally an older chicken will have strange feather regrowth at molt in the months preceding death. The virus can sometimes do strange things. You might want to get a necropsy if Poppy dies.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Have you had chickens die mysteriously or had mysterious illness in your flock? I have lymphoid leucosis in my flock and occasionally an older chicken will have strange feather regrowth at molt in the months preceding death. The virus can sometimes do strange things. You might want to get a necropsy if Poppy dies.

I lost 1 recently that was kind of unexpected. She passed some lash material, so I thought it was salpingitis or something similar. But I will do that.

 

[azygous]

Lymphoid leucosis feathers following molt. Alice was not pretty. You can't tell from her feathers she was once a gorgeous Silver-laced Wyandotte. She died a couple months after this photo.

 

[Cynthia12]

Don't have the chance to read through..not sure if you decided to worm or not. You asked about a good one. Valbazen...it's great!

 

[Aunt Angus]

View attachment 3230256Lymphoid leucosis feathers following molt. Alice was not pretty.

Poor girl looks miserable.

I looked over Poppy today, and I could find no looped feathers today. I may have gotten them all. Her other incoming feathers look normal. I will get pics of the black leakage in her new tail feathers tomorrow.

On the plus side, she had a very full crop at bedtime tonight. More like her old self! I wonder if those ingrowing feathers were causing her enough pain to cause her symptoms? She got shrimp tonight.

 

[Cynthia12]

Sounds like she's in good hands.