Not Sure What's Goin on with My Hen

[Beekissed]

Bee, your chickens look AMAZING!! They're so fat and shiny! And the picture of the poor hen with the swollen feet was so sad to look at. They must feel wonderful now. Thank God you took them back and gave them a new life. I'm really hoping that Oprah will look like that one day. Maybe if I can get her completely healthy she'll even start laying again. I won't count my chickens before they hatch, but that would be wonderful. I'm not sure if I mentioned it here before but her sister Whoopie has also stopped laying. I haven't gotten an egg from her in a couple of months. BUT, she did molt so maybe these two FBCM's just take forever to finish. She looks like your chickens, fat and shiny, so I would have thought she'd have started laying again. Oh well. My focus is on getting Oprah healthy. I'm anxious to see how she does on the fermented feed and hoping she really likes it. No matter how much she eats she doesn't seem to be putting any weight on.

She hasn't been on the upswing for very long...it's only been a week since you started treating her? I'd give her some time on the FF and the free range...she was pretty bad, so it might be a little longer to see some results.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Could be she just needs some time? Sounds like she is active and eating well, so it may just be a matter of time before she is correcting herself. Especially after starting the fermented feeds...it truly does wonders for sick birds. Take a look about half way down this page and see the difference in just 7 wks for these birds...and many of them were looking great in less than a month:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ors-anyone-want-to-follow-their-progress/2950

Are those the Cornish X / Orpington blends? I was curious if mortality rates decreased when they were bred away from true.

Also ... it doesn't get much better than this: "...some irresponsible old coot who gave you chicken poop as advice..." ~'-)

 

[chicknmania]

Another nice warm day today, I think it hit 70! That's the end of it for us here in Michigan though, I do believe. Ms. Oprah got dunked in the DE dust bath this morning when I took her outside. I kind of pushed her down into it and then rubbed it good into her feathers all over. After I let go of her she just stayed there for several minutes looking around like "what the???" Then she jumped out and shook herself off and ran to join the flock. I tried warm oatmeal this morning and she ate maybe a teaspoon or so, but that's all. Tonight her crop is full again so I didn't offer her anything. I have set up a kind of mini fermented feed bucket that I'm going to try on Oprah to see if I can get her to eat it. It's the same idea as the 5 gal. buckets suggested by Beekissed, but this one is a large cottage cheese container suspended inside a peanut butter bucket, so on a much smaller scale. I'm kind of afraid to do the larger buckets because I'm afraid they won't eat it and it will be wasted. I suppose that won't happen because they eat almost anything, but I'd rather try a smaller batch first to see how it goes. Can I also mix grains with the feed or is that not a good idea?

You know Michigan State has an excellent vet college where I've taken my dogs before. I think someone on the MI Thread has a number for a poultry vet there that I could check with on Oprah's condition. Good idea, don't know why I didn't think of that. Duh. Thanks for hitting me with a 2x4 chickmania, I needed that!!! I'm thinking I put too much ACV in her water the first time so I'll try again with much less.

Another great idea for getting some wood ashes cowcreekgeek. I'll start noticing where the smoke is coming from and take some eggs with me. I can also ask at church if anyone heats with wood.

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Ms Oprah is tucked in for the night. I'll be so excited if and when she finally puts on some weight and her feathers start coming in nice and glossy black instead of all chewed up looking and falling out. They just fall out and break off everytime I touch her. In the morning the carrier is full of broken feathers and little new feathers that have fallen out. I still do not see any lice or mites at all. I think I'll try calling MSU tomorrow.

That's so weird...

 

[Chickmate]

Yesterday morning Oprah wouldn't eat or drink at all. I was so bummed and afraid to put her out with the flock because it was cold and raining but I reasoned that when she's out she does pick at things and eats something, so better that than sitting in the carrrier not eating at all. She was out all day but they all spent most of it inside the coop or in the covered and tarped run out of the rain and wind. Her crop had food in it when I brought her in but was not even half full, so even though I knew it wasn't ready yet, I tried feeding her some FF. She LIKED it and ate about 2/3 of the small bowl I gave her! Woo Hoo! Yay Bee!!!

This morning when I checked the FF it was nice and bubbly and had that nutty pleasant smell. I presented her with another bowl and she again ate about 1/2 of it before she went out with the flock. This is awesome. I just pray she keeps eating it and I start to feel some weight on her. Should I be supplementing with something else as well? As she was eating this morning I was trying again to see lice or mites. Still nothing. The little pin feathers just fall out before they are even an inch long. Her skin is all flakey and dry and the feathers are so dull and broken. I'm considering giving her a bath tonight even though I don't have the Adam's flea shampoo yet, just to get her cleaned up a bit. It would have to make her feel better, don't you think? I'll blow her dry gently and she'll dry off completely overnight. I wish I had a little sweater to put on her when she goes out tomorrow.

So now for the FF and feeding the whole flock. I have a large feeder that holds about 25 lbs. of feed. It's in the run and full all the time so I never really figured out how much they were eating. How do I calculate how much 15 chickens eat in one day and how do I feed the FF to them? Do you just feed them once or twice a day from a big bowl? How do I know they're all getting enough if I don't free feed?

 

[Beekissed]

You'll know...you need to build you a trough feeder. It is easier and can be simply done with just cheap rain guttering from Lowe's. Until then, a big bowl will do...think plastic instead of metal. Just put out some feed and check back by the end of the day. Is there any left? If not, put out more the next day. Keep adjusting until there is only a little left in the bottom of the container..not too much but just a smidge. Just right!

This will be an ongoing adjustment with the seasons and available forage. In the winter I feed in the mornings and enough so they get a good meal and can still pick at it throughout the day. In the good foraging months I'd feed in the evening to encourage more foraging and less dependency on the grain based feeds..and it saves you money. They get a good meal before they go to bed and there is a little left over, just a little, to get their day started in the morning.

I wouldn't bathe this bird. The natural oils are depleted and will only be more so and create more flaky, dry skin. Not good. You might also think about feeding her some suet cake like you can buy for wild birds. She obviously needs the oils and fats for good feather regrowth. Sprinkle a little garlic powder in to her food ration...you might be surprised by what results from it. Good things!

You might also invest in some Nustock..a little miracle substance known for good hair and feather regrowth that is simple and not full of harsh chemicals...just sulfur, pine oil and mineral oils. You will thank yourself for the day you got some of this and kept it in your medicine cabinet for the animals. Folks on the Road Less Traveled thread are seeing some amazing results with this stuff and I have also...can't say enough good about it. You'll see..your little baldy will be lush and glowing with this regimen before you know it!

From bald....



To beautiful, in 6 wks time...and this is an old 6 yr old gal. She had lice, mites, scale mites, worms, gleet. Now she has nothing but good health.





Here's a link to buying some online..it's worth every penny and more:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...r=8-1&keywords=nustock+ointment&condition=new

 

[Chickmate]

I was going to bathe Oprah tonight when I brought her in but for some reason the power went out at around 4:20 p.m. and didn't come back on till almost 6:00 p.m. I didn't want to bathe her if I couldn't blow her dry. Glad now that I didn't after seeing your post, Bee. I'm not able to buy suet or anything else until payday, but I do have some used cooking oil and bacon grease in the fridge. I was thinking of making my own suet with that, some scratch grains mixed with BOSS and a little oatmeal and peanut butter. I'll see if I can get her to peck around at that. I'll also sprinkle some garlic power on her FF. She didn't want to eat tonight when she came in but her crop was pretty full.

I actually tried to get some Nu-stock from TSC the last time I was there but they didn't have it. I'll order on line. I haven't used Nu-stock before so not sure how to use it on chickens, but I'll skip over to the Road Less Traveled thread and start reading up. I keep looking at her legs and am thinking she may have some scaley leg mites. The scales on her legs are nice and smooth and not lifted up, but some of her toes seem to have dry slightly lifted scales. I was going to rub them down with vaseline after I bathed her. I'll do that tomorrow before I put her to bed, but skip the bath.

Thanks so much for checking in here Bee and giving me a little one-on-one advice, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

 

[Beekissed]

YW and I hope to see your bird back to normal in short order! It will be amazing to share the before and after pics over on the RLT thread~ if you will~ when it all comes together?

 

[Chickmate]

I will absolutely share pictures! I am hoping she will end up looking as beautiful as your girls do. She ate some FF this morning before going out, but not as much as I would have liked her to. She does seem to enjoy it though. I took the leftovers out to see if the rest of the flock would like it as much as she seems to. They devoured it! Looks like I need to get a bigger batch cooking. Tonight I'm going to rub her legs down with bag balm before I put her to bed and will also present her with a few crumbles of home-made suet to get some oil into her. I'm thinking I'll add a bit of garlic to it as well. One thing I worry about is that she is now not drinking like she did. I offer her water all the time and it does have a bit of ACV in it but she does not want it. Her poops seem to be very dry. I can pick them up easily with a kleenex. Not sure how to force her to drink.

 

[Beekissed]

She is getting more fluid in the FF...many report less drinking of water needed after starting on it. No worries! That dry poop is a good thing...means she is digesting better and her kidneys are functioning well.

If you are not already doing a deep litter system, it would also be a good thing to start. Just one of those little things that really help prevent problems as time goes along. The next time you need to dust her or another chicken, using wood ashes is proving to really work for a lot of other members here...myself included.

They also are reporting the birds have to eat less after starting the FF and there is a plausible explanation for it..they are absorbing more of the nutrients in the feed, so less actual and overall intake is needed to get the same amounts of nutrition than when fed dry. So don't worry too much if she is eating less than she used to do since starting on the FF..it is satisfying her hunger and thirst needs better than her previous diet.

It should be interesting to see how this chicken goes along and it will be quite a tale to tell if she recovers well...will be waiting to hear it!

 

[Chickmate]

Well trying to get Ms. Oprah through this sure is a rollercoaster ride. So many ups and downs. She is very alert, always makes her little chicken noises and we have a greeting that is a kind of 'brrr brrr brrr?' Always the little question mark at the end like "how are you?" Eyes and nose clear, and thanks to Bee for the tip on dry poops being a good thing. I thought it meant she was getting dehydrated. I slathered her legs and feet with bag balm last night and rubbed it in really good. She seemed to enjoy her feet being massaged, kind of like getting a pedi at the chicken spa. She did not like the bag balm getting in her feathers on her tummy though and spent quite a while trying to preen it out. This morning was a down. Before when I gave her food she would grab beaks full of it, now she just takes tiny little pecks with the tip of her beak. I offered her FF and a scrambled egg this morning. She picked the eggs out and dropped them outside the bowl and took a few bites of FF. I went and got a bowl with just the FF in it and she ate a bit more, but all total only about a tablespoon or less. She went out with an empty crop today. It's a kind of mild day and the sun is shining and when I looked out to check on her a minute ago she was pecking around the yard with the flock. I usually throw out a scoop of scratch on the grass after I let them out and she always spends a few minutes eating that. I really never see her eating out of the dry crumbles feeder in the run, so all she is living on is what she free ranges and whatever I can get her to eat. Her breastbone is very pronounced still. I'm concerned that if I don't bathe her I'm leaving the lice (that I don't see) on her, which is not helping her get better. The only thing I have her to treat her with is Ivomec which I could give her orally but I'm afraid she's too thin to handle it. Could her feathers look all chewed up and dull from a hard molt? I mean, they LOOK like she has lice. Could she really be this sick and skinny only from molting and can a molt last six or eight months?? If only I would see some little improvement in her I would feel so much better. Oh, Bee, if I put the FF in the microwave for 5 or 10 seconds to warm it up am I killing all the good stuff? She seems to eat better if it's warm. Oh, and I am doing deep litter. I was picking up the poop that dropped from the night before and trying to keep as much poop out of the pine shavings as possible, but then I read where you said to mix the poop in and let it work so that's what I'm doing now.