Newly adopted chickens - need advice.

[TJAnonymous]

Bought a new house which came with 2 goats and about 15 chickens, all in the same large outdoor pen and chicken house. Chickens appear to be buff orpingtons (about 5 of them) and Rhode Island reds (about 9 of them) and one Silkie whom I was told was a rooster but I'm not sure about that....

Anyways, I have 6 buff orpingtons already. When we moved them, I brought my chicken house from the old house and have my chickens penned in a temporary pen located side by side to the existing pen. My chickens are using their old house to roost in currently. The goal was to get everyone acclimated to each other before mixing them together.

That leads to a couple of things I've noticed and this is where I need advice.

1. I noticed one buff orp was always sitting next to the water bowl and barely eating. Her comb on top of her head was completely missing along with many of the feathers around her face and one side of her neck. I didn't see any blood but she is sensitive to the touch around her missing comb. As I was carrying her, she seemed to be vomiting an orange bile or maybe just dirty water. I am unsure. I quarantined her in a stall in the barn. I've seen her drink a little and her pellets have been scooped out of the bowl some but I don't know if she has actually eaten anything. She lays down most of the time and doesn't make much noise but she will try to run from me if I enter the stall and go her direction. So I'm not sure really sure what to do with her? Just continue to watch her for a week or so? Thoughts?

2. My chickens have been separated from the new chickens for at least a week so I was going to mix them together when I noticed several of the buff orpingtons (not mine, the new ones) appeared to have scaly legs mites. None of the Rhode Islands seem to have this problem that I can see and no clue on the Silkie because the feathers obscure my view... My chickens are all used to be handled and will squat for you to pick them up. None of these new chickens have ever been handled so catching them will be super difficult. I figured I could try to do it at night while they are roosting... Thoughts? I have diatomaceous earth, Vaseline, tea tree oil, A&D ointment, Gasoline, and spray mite killer. What are your thoughts for treating the chickens? Treating the roost shouldn't be too hard but the pen is over a quarter of an acre. Don't think that will be possible to treat....

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. The buff orp that vomited, sounds like she may have sour crop. Check her crop in early morning at dawn before she has eaten or drunk, to see if her crop is empty. If it is full and puffy with liquid, it is probably sour, especailly if she has a bad or sour odor from her beak. An antifungal medicine, such as Nystatin (or medistatin available online) or a cream such as Monistat or clotrimazole can be given orally for sour crop. There is more info below.

I would check all of the new chickens on lower bellies under vents for lice or mites. Permethrin garden dust or spray is what I would use for lice or mites. Scaly leg mites can be treated with any thick oil applied to the legs and rubbed in well at least once a week. Coconut oil, your A&D, vaseline, vegetable shortening or oil, or mineral or castor oil are very good choices. I would also consider worming them with either Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer.

I would be very cautious about integrating the two groups for a month, to make sure there are no signs of respiratory disease. Do you have any idea how old the hens are that you have acquired?

Here is some reading about sour crop treatment:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[TJAnonymous]

Welcome to BYC. The buff orp that vomited, sounds like she may have sour crop. Check her crop in early morning at dawn before she has eaten or drunk, to see if her crop is empty. If it is full and puffy with liquid, it is probably sour, especailly if she has a bad or sour odor from her beak. An antifungal medicine, such as Nystatin (or medistatin available online) or a cream such as Monistat or clotrimazole can be given orally for sour crop. There is more info below.

I would check all of the new chickens on lower bellies under vents for lice or mites. Permethrin garden dust or spray is what I would use for lice or mites. Scaly leg mites can be treated with any thick oil applied to the legs and rubbed in well at least once a week. Coconut oil, your A&D, vaseline, vegetable shortening or oil, or mineral or castor oil are very good choices. I would also consider worming them with either Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer.

I would be very cautious about integrating the two groups for a month, to make sure there are no signs of respiratory disease. Do you have any idea how old the hens are that you have acquired?

Here is some reading about sour crop treatment:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thank you very much for the advice... I will check her crop in the morning. Honestly, I've never even looked for a chicken's crop before so this is a new experience for me! My 6 buff orps have always been healthy and extremely spoiled. In the 2 yrs I've had them, we've never had any get sick which is why I'm very hesitant to mix them into the bigger pen until I'm absolutely sure the other chickens are healthy too...

I will have to figure out a good way to catch them... There is a chain link dog kennel that is in their pen. Perhaps if I put food in there, I can trick them into going inside...

I feel confident I can treat the birds themselves (if I can catch them), but treating the pen will be more tricky... I don't know if I have enough supplies for that.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure one of the Rhode Islands has bumblefoot too. I saw it when I started taking inventory of everyone's feet tonight to figure out how many of them have mites. Never had to deal with bumblefoot before either

 

[Eggcessive]

Mites and leg mites are treated differently. Body mites are much more serious and need to be treated right away. Bumblefoot is usually not an emergency. But pictures can help. Do they have a coop to get into, and a roost to get on at night? After dark when most chickens are on the roost, is the best time to handle them, examine, and treat. I use a dorky headlamp and use the red light to sneak up on and grab them, and then do what I need to do with a brighter light, and put them back. It helps to have things ready to use or give before you go in the coop.

Many hens with other problems, especially reproductive ones or infections, may get sour crop from pressure on the abdominal organs which causes a slowdown in digestion.

 

[aart]

have my chickens penned in a temporary pen located side by side to the existing pen.

I'm very hesitant to mix them into the bigger pen until I'm absolutely sure the other chickens are healthy too...

Being right next to each other, they are already sharing 'germs'.

I use a dorky headlamp

Hey! Headlamps are not 'dorky'!!
One of the best tools in my tool box.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Mites and leg mites are treated differently. Body mites are much more serious and need to be treated right away. Bumblefoot is usually not an emergency. But pictures can help. Do they have a coop to get into, and a roost to get on at night? After dark when most chickens are on the roost, is the best time to handle them, examine, and treat. I use a dorky headlamp and use the red light to sneak up on and grab them, and then do what I need to do with a brighter light, and put them back. It helps to have things ready to use or give before you go in the coop.

Many hens with other problems, especially reproductive ones or infections, may get sour crop from pressure on the abdominal organs which causes a slowdown in digestion.

I followed your advice. I entered their coop late this evening armed with Vasoline, diatomaceous earth, Permethrin spray that is safe on chickens and the roost. I coated everyone's feet and legs with gobs of Vasoline. Discovered about 5 cases of bumblefoot. None of them appear recent... None of the chickens appear lame from the bumblefoot but several seem like they have turned into hard, blackened lumps that are almost keratinized..

Anyways, after the Vasoline, I flipped them upside down and coated their bellies and under their tails with TONS of diatomaceous earth. I was careful to keep them from inhaling it... I also sprayed their legs, belly, under tail, under wings, and back with the Permethrin spray.

I also sprayed the roost with the Permethrin spray... All of the girls felt assaulted, I think... Or at least stripped of their dignity...

So how often should I retreat them?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I agree with aart that your birds being housed next to the existing (infested) birds have been exposed.
Everyone needs treated not just the existing ones.

I wouldn't treat with DE for 2 reasons.
1. It has not been proven to be effective.
2. It is very hard on both chicken and human lungs.

Permethrin is highly recommended for treating birds and the coops for mites and lice.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Too late... I've already treated them with DE along with the spray.

Also I don't understand why my chickens would be infected? Given the size of the pens, their houses are at least 80-100 feet from each other. I'd say that the birds typically spend that far apart most of the day. Even at their closest (which isn't often because they generally ignore each other) they are still 3-5 feet apart. Every time I feed them I look for anything out of the ordinary. My girls seem like their usual clucky selves and everyone's feet look healthy. If they were infected, when would you begin to know?

 

[Eggcessive]

Let’s just hope the older chickens don’t have anything to worry about. The reason for quarantine for a month is to look for any signs of diseases. Some respiratory diseases can spread by droplet from sneezing and cough. Chickens can be carriers of respiratory diseases that lie dormant in their bodies, but they can infect others and they also can become sick themselves during a period of stress. I also think that DE is worthless, and can be harmful to both chickens and humans eyes and lungs.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You're birds have been close enough to pick up germs as well as mites from any infected/infested existing birds. It is just how it is now.

I would treat your birds preemptively to prevent a severe infestation.
Leg mites take a looooong time to get the legs looking good again.

What I am saying above about the DE is it is not proven effective and there have been many posts over the years of people trying to use it to cure infestations and finding it did not. Best to stick with proven treatments.