I just cannot tell what's going on with my girls.
I don't think it's good though; definitely not in the latest.
Bear with me, a fair amount to relay.
Flock of 6, 2 don't lay (one of these is blind, they're rescues; 1 has produced a handful of eggs over a couple years, the other none).
7yo buff orpington. Started with her. Several weeks back her tail feathers were just kind of sheared off. Crest ick, no eggs (she produces very little anyway though). Feathers came back sort of slowly but she clearly wasn't feeling well, droopy, hunched, mopey. Isolating. Eventually, a few weeks back now I noticed her gaping during the day sporadically and figured worms. I wrote about this in someone else's thread, course of 5d goat deworming fenbendazole. In the middle of the night, after giving the medicine, she started whooping with her gaping too. I do have a video; pia to upload. But she's not doing that anymore so... She's actually seemingly feeling quite a lot better now 2d-post 5d course of fenbendazole. Evidence: she's yelling up a storm. And while not super-super perky, her tail and tail feathers are pretty well back to normal, I think. She's more alert, complains about stuff, just more herself, at last. However....
Another 7yo Austrolorpe maybe? (I forget) - she's a really hardy work horse of a chicken, and is now definitely unwell. Her feathers are not smooth, there are bumps all along them. There was one huge bump that I isolated and could break off from the feathers, it was almost like a seed pod, crustry, hard, hollow - what on earth???? I totally don't get this. She is feeling really badly, has been going downhill for a couple days. Usually the feistiest, she does into the yard, finds the nastiest water and drinks it. Mind you, there's plenty of good, fresh water about. I changed it and she doesn't want it anymore. (@@). But I have to pick her up and move her. She's getting weaker. The other chickens started screaming up a storm just now, I went out and found her sitting down in the middle of the day, but she did arise when I called her name. Added some roosterbooster to yogurt, everyone loved that. finger-fed her some of that. Then put her next to some clean water. Into which I also put some roosterbooster. She doesn't seem to be drinking much of it. But she did just have a ton of fresh water eventually. I remembered about the crop which I was instructed to inspect in the morning. In the buff orpington, that crop is empty; she's the one doing much better now. In the australorpe (don't think that's right), her crop has lots of that water she just drank in it. I massaged that around - I have found they all really love having their crops massaged? Then placed her near the fresh, vitamin-water. And left to write this. This chicken's broken feathers are not localized to the tail the way the buff orpington's were, they're all over. And her crest which was beautiful a week ago is very nasty now - wilted and dark-colored. She's not in a good way. She has suffered very odd wrinkly giant-sized eggs for over a year now.
There are two more chickens but they're ok I think.
So.... is there a problem here? I think yes, certainly with the lethargic one now. Beyond vitamins what should/could I do? Oh yes, gave the two ailing ones a calcium pill two nights ago. That might have really pushed the buff orpington back into a better space. Not the other though. Should I isolate the now-ailing one? Pretty sure she's happier among her mates.
Lots of diarrhea among them all, as well as lots of tight small poops in the whole flock for a long while. I have a picture of the ailing-one's very watery poop just now. But they're all quite watery -- even while at night what's produced are quite small lumps.
The black and white one is who I'm calling "australorpe" though I think that's wrong. You can kind of make out bigger white flecks which I think are the hard bits -- honestly, maybe all of this is just molting??? The buff orpington, you can still see her tail feathers are kind of ... clipped, anemic, dirty. And then there's the watery poop. Which, maybe was kinda green? But... also is maybe not bad?
Going to check on them now....
Thanks for considering. Still got that vitamin water out there but I'll change it out for plain in the evening.
I don't think it's good though; definitely not in the latest.
Bear with me, a fair amount to relay.
Flock of 6, 2 don't lay (one of these is blind, they're rescues; 1 has produced a handful of eggs over a couple years, the other none).
7yo buff orpington. Started with her. Several weeks back her tail feathers were just kind of sheared off. Crest ick, no eggs (she produces very little anyway though). Feathers came back sort of slowly but she clearly wasn't feeling well, droopy, hunched, mopey. Isolating. Eventually, a few weeks back now I noticed her gaping during the day sporadically and figured worms. I wrote about this in someone else's thread, course of 5d goat deworming fenbendazole. In the middle of the night, after giving the medicine, she started whooping with her gaping too. I do have a video; pia to upload. But she's not doing that anymore so... She's actually seemingly feeling quite a lot better now 2d-post 5d course of fenbendazole. Evidence: she's yelling up a storm. And while not super-super perky, her tail and tail feathers are pretty well back to normal, I think. She's more alert, complains about stuff, just more herself, at last. However....
Another 7yo Austrolorpe maybe? (I forget) - she's a really hardy work horse of a chicken, and is now definitely unwell. Her feathers are not smooth, there are bumps all along them. There was one huge bump that I isolated and could break off from the feathers, it was almost like a seed pod, crustry, hard, hollow - what on earth???? I totally don't get this. She is feeling really badly, has been going downhill for a couple days. Usually the feistiest, she does into the yard, finds the nastiest water and drinks it. Mind you, there's plenty of good, fresh water about. I changed it and she doesn't want it anymore. (@@). But I have to pick her up and move her. She's getting weaker. The other chickens started screaming up a storm just now, I went out and found her sitting down in the middle of the day, but she did arise when I called her name. Added some roosterbooster to yogurt, everyone loved that. finger-fed her some of that. Then put her next to some clean water. Into which I also put some roosterbooster. She doesn't seem to be drinking much of it. But she did just have a ton of fresh water eventually. I remembered about the crop which I was instructed to inspect in the morning. In the buff orpington, that crop is empty; she's the one doing much better now. In the australorpe (don't think that's right), her crop has lots of that water she just drank in it. I massaged that around - I have found they all really love having their crops massaged? Then placed her near the fresh, vitamin-water. And left to write this. This chicken's broken feathers are not localized to the tail the way the buff orpington's were, they're all over. And her crest which was beautiful a week ago is very nasty now - wilted and dark-colored. She's not in a good way. She has suffered very odd wrinkly giant-sized eggs for over a year now.
There are two more chickens but they're ok I think.
So.... is there a problem here? I think yes, certainly with the lethargic one now. Beyond vitamins what should/could I do? Oh yes, gave the two ailing ones a calcium pill two nights ago. That might have really pushed the buff orpington back into a better space. Not the other though. Should I isolate the now-ailing one? Pretty sure she's happier among her mates.
Lots of diarrhea among them all, as well as lots of tight small poops in the whole flock for a long while. I have a picture of the ailing-one's very watery poop just now. But they're all quite watery -- even while at night what's produced are quite small lumps.
The black and white one is who I'm calling "australorpe" though I think that's wrong. You can kind of make out bigger white flecks which I think are the hard bits -- honestly, maybe all of this is just molting??? The buff orpington, you can still see her tail feathers are kind of ... clipped, anemic, dirty. And then there's the watery poop. Which, maybe was kinda green? But... also is maybe not bad?
Going to check on them now....
Thanks for considering. Still got that vitamin water out there but I'll change it out for plain in the evening.
