Multiple issues? - need wise counsel - too much!

[sloanbychoice]

Apologies in advance for the length of this... I want all info out up front... Not sure if I have several issues or something related going on...
I need some knowledgeable help here, please.

I have seventeen hens. BRs, reds, white leghorns, EEs, Welsummers, and one SLW.
1.) I have one red with, I believe, a keel cyst. I have tried at length to research this, but to no avail. How does this resolve? What do I need to do? Any articles with answers? She's had this for quite some time, as I had never heard of such a thing, and didn't really think much of what I thought was just a bump with mussed feathers.
2.) I have at least two girls that are suddenly too thin. We're talking protruding breast bone here. Scaring me badly! They are acting normally, so I didn't immediately notice, and I have no idea how long they've been dropping weight. (I feel like a schmuck!!)
3). I have BRs that are pooping liquid, like water. (First noticed two days ago, but...)
4.) I have recently battled lice and mites. And I mean battle! I used permethrin and thought I had it under control. Not sure now.
5.) I have EEs that are beginning to lose feathers on the face. Pecking? Lice?
6.) I have recently had issue with someone pooing in one box. This was never an issue before, and I didn't think much of it, but thought I'd mention it, in case it adds up with some other stuff. The poo in the box seems really normal looking with urates.

Background and general:
I feed layer feed.
They are in a coop with two enclosed runs.
I recently fortified both runs against wild birds, as I am sure that's where the lice came from.
We do have mice, and we have voles the size of Texas.
Fresh water at all times! No vitamins or additives around here. (Should I?)
They do get treats: meal worms, and once in a while veggies or fruits, and a little scratch at times.
I do sometimes boil their eggs and mash them, with the shells, for them to feast on.
They are from spring 2019, so they're over a year old. (Head hen is one year older.)
I have a squirrel that found a way in, so I am patching that now with more hardware cloth.

Combs and wattles seem fairly normal, with slight fluctuations, nothing concerning.
The exception being, one leghorn who is starting to have some darkening at times toward the back of her comb. Had me wondering about heart or oxygen. She is one who has a prominent breast bone right now.

Recently had a surgery... my head hen (another leghorn) had her enormous comb ripped almost off. It was definitely not a simple "clean and watch" type thing, so she had stitches by an avian vet. She's five days post-op now and still on antibiotics, so she's in the house until I can be sure they will not try to peck the crap out of her comb. So, with her absence, there's a shift in pecking order going on. (Which is why I'm wondering about the feathers on face and head.) I still have no idea how it happened, but I have been constantly looking for anything she could have gotten caught on.

My EEs do this thing where they pluck each other's beards... seems like they actually enjoy it, and eagerly try to get the other EEs to do it for them. They've done this before, and it scared me at first, but I heard other EE owners say that theirs do it too. Seems to be in phases. They're doing it now.

I know this is a lot!! I just feel like anything that could be going wrong, is..
I thank you for any help you have!!

 

[City Farmer Jim]

There is I believe an old hindu proverb
"Everything will be alright in the end...if everything is not alright it is not yet the end" I'm sure you will get through this with flying colors.

 

[chicknmania]

First off...worms. Have your vet do a fecal for you if you want to be sure, but I am sure. You can deworm them without the fecal, if you don't have a way to get one done. Have you ever dewormed them? You need a broad spectrum dewormer for the whole flock if you have not dewormed. Levasol, Safeguard, or Valbazen are all excellent broad spectrum dewormers for poultry. Worms can kill, especially capillary worms, and you don't see them in the droppings. They can cause darkening of the comb too...or paling, in some cases.

I don't know about the keel cyst, I have no experience with that. But I'm betting worms are the cause of everything else.

Permethrin is nasty, you have to be careful using it. I have used it, but I prefer to use Ivermectin. You can use the pour on for cattle, directions are everywhere on here, just search. You can go even gentler and just use wood ash or DE in their dust bath, if they have a dust bath. First Saturday Lime also works in a dust bath, but it has to be First Saturday lime, it's the only kind that doesn't burn. You can get it online.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Well, that didn’t quite go as planned.
In fact, I feel like an epic failure.

Went to the store after work to pick up Valbazen. Wow. Costly.
Anyway, I attempted to do the syringe orally, but I couldn’t tell for sure where exactly the trachea was vs where I needed to put medicine, so I looked online and found another option.
This lady suggested soaking a piece of bread with the dose and feeding it to them.
That worked about as well as baptizing a cat. They each would pick the outside and then leave it when they tasted the medicine. Then they started just taking it from each other and who knows if my chickens are now completely overdosed or not dosed at all.
Ugh!!!!!!!
I’ve looked at a lot of info showing the correct placement of meds in the mouth, but in my chickens mouths, I can’t see the same thing I see in the pics and videos online. I don’t want to aspirate the poor things.
I feel like giving up.

Dont give up. It's very hard to do it by yourself. Have someone hold the chicken like a football with the wings down at the side. Grab both sides of the beck gently and apply slight pressure until they open it. Be quick. You have literally half a second to insert and dose. Do not insert it all the way down the trachea. I've seen people do this and its risky. Give a small amount, let them smack their beck and then dose again. The other option is to put small dribbles on their beck to let them drink it. Sometimes when the hen is particularly stubborn I will go in from the side of their beck and put it just in their mouth. It will get easier. Hang in there and best of luck

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Its always something. God doesnt give you more than he thinks you can handle though. Just sometimes it seems like too much. I'm in a similar boat actually; my grandma passed away last week, my car blew a cylinder and it's gonna cost a grand to fix it, we still have to put on the new roof and I've got at least 7 roosters to send to the freezer. It seems like a lot but when you break it down its just a lot of time. You can do this. ❤

 

[Wyorp Rock]

1.) I have one red with, I believe, a keel cyst.

2.) I have at least two girls that are suddenly too thin.

3). I have BRs that are pooping liquid, like water.

4.) I have recently battled lice and mites. And I mean battle! I used permethrin and thought I had it under control. Not sure now.

5.) I have EEs that are beginning to lose feathers on the face. Pecking? Lice?

The exception being, one leghorn who is starting to have some darkening at times toward the back of her comb. Had me wondering about heart or oxygen.

Anyway, I attempted to do the syringe orally, but I couldn’t tell for sure where exactly the trachea was vs where I needed to put medicine, so I looked online and found another option.
This lady suggested soaking a piece of bread with the dose and feeding it to them.

Please post some photos - poop, keel cyst(?), birds, etc.

Worming is a good idea. Since you have Valbazen - dosing is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeat in 10 days.
Dose birds first thing in the morning when their crop is empty.
See this link about how to give medications orally - it's easy once you get the hang of it https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...er-construction-check-back-for-updates.73335/

Hopefully you have better luck with that. Look forward to your photos.

 

[sloanbychoice]

Aww! That’s a lot! I’m so sorry about your Grandma!! Thanks for your kindness! And you’re right!!
My Grandma used to say, “This too shall pass!”

 

[chicknmania]

All the broad spectrum dewormers are expensive but they last a while as you should only have to use it twice a year. I make Valbazen mash for our larger flock and mix it with applesauce (in the mash) which works pretty well..they will eat it.There's directions on here for how to calculate the dose to make a mash, or you can ask Cascartpony. (Kathy). For a mash, you have to calculate the entire weight of the flock, then figure the dose based on the entire weight. We deworm every five to six months. You can also make a mash with Safeguard. Neither Valbazen or Safeguard mix well with water. I like Levasol the best, because you CAN mix THAT with water, and they'll drink it. You have to get that on line, though. Firststatevetsupply.com is one source.

With any of these methods where you're dosing the whole flock, you're never sure if they're getting enough, of course, but we've found it works pretty well and our flock seems to stay healthy. For a sick bird, I've found the best way is that described above..dribble it into the side of the beak. Sometimes you have to tip their head up a bit, gently, so they'll swallow.

It's hard to overdose them on dewormer, there's a fairly broad margin for error there. If you're using Valbazen, I'd use it two days in a row, then repeat ten days later. And don't get discouraged. Once you get used to doing it, it gets easier.

 

[chicknmania]

You are so welcome, and best of luck! But do PM Castcartpony and ask her to help you figure the dose for the mash. She has done that for me and it's way beyond my math ability to figure out, lol. For this first time, if I were you I think I'd go ahead and individually dose the ones that are obviously sick, and you can give mash to the rest. But that's up to you, it might make things way complicated.

 

[FlockFromPa]

Thanks!!
I had my daughter helping. I can get the beak open without much trouble, and most of mine are fairly docile. (Except for the EEs..lol)
But I just couldn’t for the life of me see if I was putting it too close to the trachea.
I’ll try the little bit, like you said, and let them sip it down.

I’ve just been doing battle after battle lately, and I feel so defeated.

Lost my bestest dog to IVDD a couple months ago; another dog has lymphoma, the other dog is almost 16 and doesn’t have much longer.
And then my chickens, who never have any problems at all, started all this...
First lice and mites at the same time, now worms, a keel cyst, and a hen is now obsessively mounting another hen.
Just ugh. You know?

I can totally relate to you on this..nothing is going right here on my little farm I've created. I have a rooster "hopefully" healing from flystrike. Hes taking forever. I've just discovered what I expect to be bumblefoot on atleast 2 of my hens. A Turkey poult just hatched with a leg problem. A chicken randomly died a few days ago and I've just dusted everyone for mites. They also need dewormed. I have electric fence that needs put up for the cows and a friend needs me to babysit her two little boys since her babysitter quit. On top of my two little girls! My anxiety is thru the roof lol I feel like I just rambled but I needed to get that off my chest hahaha I wish you the best in battling your problems with your flock! You can do it