My stupidity has killed one chicken and I need some fast advice

[deedles]

I appreciate all the feedback.

They are in a coop with attached run.

They were doing very well before the change in feed 4 weeks ago. About 2 weeks ago I started to notice that I'd fill the feeder as usual and it was gone in a day... that is double what they were eating... they also act ravenous when I open the door, they rush it and what ever I throw in.. greens, bowl of yogurt, etc they gobble down.

They have definitely lost weight.. all six of them took up the whole roost a month ago, now their breast bones are visible and they take up about 2/3's of the roost.

Worms? How do I check for that? Where do they get worms in the middle of winter in a coop and run?

I'll check for worms tomorrow, is it like dogs when you just kinda look or is it a microscope thing for the vet?

We have grit in there now.

Why not raw meat? I had a farmer lady tell me that she gave that to her birds and they love it. Aren't the proteins more available uncooked?

I'm so at a loss here.

I'll add olive oil tomorrow to the yogurt, thanks.

Thanks for all the help so far, I really appreciate it.

Oh, the feed is 15% protein.

 

[deedles]

Plus, we have a heat light in there, but I notice a small part of the bulb on the neck isn't covered with the red, like an inch or so is like white light bulb... could that have anything to do with this? Are they staying up all night because of the light being on?

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:
As to the raw meat question, it was related to raw chicken. The reason not to feed raw chicken to chickens is that chickens would be susceptible to getting any illnesses the dead chicken had since many illnesses are species-specific. I've heard it's ok to feed a small amount of raw hamburger or raw liver or raw meat (non chicken) to poultry. I think the other reason people might balk at this is they don't perceive chickens as meat-eaters and it's a mental perception thing, but if you think about it, chickens are omnivores and eat raw meat in the form of worms and grubs every day.

Someone else on here will be more of an expert on worming than I.

I doubt the small amount of light has anything to do with it. I did see someone else mention a ceramic heater coil, that has no light, if you really want to check it out. but I wouldn't worry about that. It seems to be food/grit related. Or possibly worms.

By the way, you're doing a great job of remedying the problem. Don't be confused by all these different opinions!! I think you had great instincts, once you realized what was going on. We all are learning.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Sound like worms to me, they can get them from the ground from the feces of other animals, such as wild bird droppings. Depending on where you live most soil has grit in the soil, it is nothing more than small rocks or sand. I have a litter pan with sand in the pen but it is more for them to play in than for grit. If your soil has not sand or rocks in it then get the medium sand at Lowes or Home depot, I get the red sand.

I feed my birds cooked chicken and cooked eggs as treats it won't hurt them. But I am unsure of giving them milk, I am not sure their system can digest milk. I raised parrots and it is a no no to give them milk, yogurt and cheese is ok. This is what was related to me by my avian vet at the time. Most birds I would think have similar digestive systems.

 

[deedles]

I also posted this under the diseases thread, but I"ll ask here, also.

Could mites cause this? I just noticed black dots on their combs. Never seen it before. Are those mites? Can they kill a chicken?

Sevin dust and clean the coop?

 

[n2h20]

raw meat, beef, pork, venison, bear, coyote, rat,grubs, warms etc. i think is just fine. Now raw chicken, cooked chicken, steamed chicken, just seems wrong to me and i choose not to do so.

i say its something to do with the grit, if they are locked in a coop with no grit, sand, soil small pebbles.

supply some sort of grit and lots of tasty treat's and hopefully they will start packing on the lbs.

And de worm them with that "potioned" mentioned or a conventional type just to be safe.

good luck!!

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:
The black dots on their combs are frostbite, not mites. Mine have gotten frostbite, and recovered from it just fine once warm weather hits.

I am not a big fan of Sevin dust or any chemicals, for that matter, so you'd better ask someone else.

Mites can, over a long period of time, contribute to malnutrition, but I don't think that's your problem here.

 

[sammi]

I'm not at all convinced it's a grit problem..
unless these birds are kept in a coop, or in a very confined pen area where they can't scratch for grit in the dirt.
but..trying the grit won't hurt.

I did post in your other thread..asking for more info..and giving you info about how to know for sure about worms..
please reply..

is it possible that some animal, such as a squirrel, or rodents, is eating the feed?
if not..and the birds are eating the feed..there is something wrong with the feed, such as a bad mix lacking proper nutrients, or they need wormed, or both.

do you have poultry vitamins?
if not, try to get some for the drinking water.
in the meantime, you can use Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand if possible no iron..give 2-3 drops once a day on beak for a week..then taper down for another week.

I will post a mixture that might help them regain weight below....

as to the feed..
I would switch them gradually to a commercial feed, such as Purina or some other good quality feed with at least a 16% protein..
for now I would not give them any scratch/corn,, except some before roost, IF you are in a cold climate..
they need the higher protein and nutrients of the feed..and the scratch corn will fill them up and they won't eat enough of the feed.
cut back on any kitchen scraps, bread, veggies, or fruits.
concentrate on protein and calories.

as to the mites..
you can use Sevin dust..
or Ectiban-D poultry dust made by durvet..active ingredient: permethrin.

there are several wormers you can use.
Wazine 17 as a first wormer..this will only get rid of adult round worms, and will need retreatment in 10-14 days.
it's a one day easy treatment..instructions are on the bottle.

Ivomec/Eprinex for cattle works well as a wormer and will debug them also..
comes in injectable form which you DON'T inject, but give orally..
or, a drop on oil form, given by drops on back of neck..

I will post the Booster recipe mixture, then will keep my replies to your other thread.
good luck with the birds.

 

[sammi]

This is for 1 bird..

Feed the bird three times a day this mixture ..the amounts are for the 3 feeds for the day..
give for 3-5 days .

1 cooked egg yolk
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons plain yogurt….
3 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats…. To give substance to the feed, or use chicken crumbles or layer pellets but soften them with some boiling water first
2 to 4 table spoons of unsweetened or baby apple sauce

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny

also have regular feed available as usual.
for extra protein, you can give them a small amount (1 teaspoon per bird)of canned cat food..beef flavored. by itself, or mixed in feed.

 

[Jolyn]

Any chance rats could be getting in and eating the feed? Seems crazy that it's gone in a day after filling up the feeders. Plus if the crops are not full and they are still crazy hungry when you give snacks. Just an idea.