OK. My mind is totally blown! What is this!?!?

[Ascholten]

Please do NOT listen to idiots at tractor supply, the co-op or anyone else who's job is to sell you %$t.
I don't want to be too critical of these places but ive been to several and more times than not, it's kids, who you have to damned near kick in the shin to get to look up from their phones to get a half assed reply to what you need, and the reply is NOT what you need.

Ive seen local 'feed stores' who were dirty sob's too who'd lie through their teeth to sell you their overpriced stuff. We had one of those here, it's gone now thankfully. Unfortunately, the very people you think you can trust, are the most untrustworthy at times.

At least here, on this forum, the people giving you advice, for the most part, know what they are talking about, and more important do NOT have a vested interest in it, ie they are not trying to sell your their product, their book, etc. so would not have any real reason to lie to you like these other places apparently are doing.

Antibiotics generally are not available without a prescription, because of abuse. There are ways to get some general ones but they are NOT going to put them in food and if the grains were treated with them to prevent some 'grain issue' they'd generally not go out of their way to advertise that fact because the organic crowd would eat them alive for it.

If you did manage to get some antibiotic food, or ANY medication period, it should only be used for the length of the illness, NOT fed continually, as that would destroy any medicinal properties it may have.

Aaron

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

I think it might be the "shell" of a softshell egg. That would be a thick membrane with maybe a tiny bit of calcium on the outside to make it stiffer. It would have originally been all around the egg, but got ripped open and the chickens ate the egg. The membrane is a pretty consistent thickness all over.

If the thing you found has lumps or thick parts, then it is something else and I don't know what to say.

But if it is the "shell" (membrane) of a softshell egg, and if it only happens once, you don't need to worry.
If it happens regularly, then you will need to make sure the chicken who produced it gets plenty of calcium, and that may or may not fix it. Apparently some hens have trouble absorbing calcium, but that is less common than hens that just don't get enough calcium in their diet.




That sounds fine to me, as long as they also have oyster shell or eggshell or another source of calcium.

Chick starter should be fine for them all.
If they are almost ready to lay, then layer feed would also be fine for them all.
Allowing them to choose chick starter or layer food should also be fine.



If they are having problems, I would stop all of those other things for now.
If they are healthy with NO problems, then feel free to continue whatever you've been doing that works.

In hot weather, you can get some of their chicken food wet with cool water, and most chickens seem to really like it. (No need to limit the amount of wet food they eat, just don't let it sit around and spoil.)



Some people have very strong opinions about feeding ONLY the appropriate kind of commercial feed, and some other people are much more relaxed about it, and some people feel strongly that they MUST feed a selection of other things. Ultimately, you have to be the one who makes the decision for your chickens. But no matter what you decide, someone is sure to tell you that you're doing it wrong.

I can never get her to eat the baked crushed egg shells that I give her. She is so disinterested. She wont eat the oyster shell I bought her and I suspect its because she is so pick and the pieces are HUGE. I don't know what they were thinking when they didnt make the oyster shell pieces smaller. Is there more calcium in layer feed? I just assumed chickens were like humans and dogs. The more the diet is varied the better the health is. I am not someone that believes dogs should only get "dog food" and nothing else because dog food wasnt even around 161 years ago. I think thats nonsense that people including vets use to make money. Of course fresh meat and vegetables and even grains are better than cooked to death food that isnt regulated by the food and drug administration or anyone else for that matter. I give my dogs real food and also high quality "dog food". They just have to get used to real food a little at a time. Sorry about the rant. See, I really do try to take csre of my animals to the best of my ability.
"Businessman James Spratt introduced the first commercially-prepared pet food in England in approximately 1860. After seeing dogs being fed leftover biscuits from a ship, Spratt formulated the first dog biscuit: a mix of wheat meals, vegetables, beetroot and beef blood."

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

DE and apple cider vinegar won’t kill any worms if they have worms.

Any info on when or what to use to deworm that isn't harsh chemicals? Especially since the uninformed people at the co-op said the stuff they sell to deworm will take paint off something. Is that even true?

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

I havent responded to every single thing that has been said but know I am all ears and so thankful for the help!!!

 

[Ascholten]

Without knowing what the stuff was they were trying to sell you, one can not say with certainty that their claim is true or not. Id move past them if I were you.

If you do get some dewormer, some things to keep in mind, get something thats easier to dose. I was sold a dewormer, it was half a pound of pellets, all they said was, read the directions and gladly sold it to me. After taking it home, I read the instructions and it said that half pound of pellets would treat roughly 1200 lbs of feed or some ungodly number. Ok so picture a bag of your chicken pellets. ONE of those pellets would treat 4 lbs of food. How in the world am I supposed to dose that to 4 birds, it's not like you can tell chickens to nibble a corner off this one pellet. Get something that is usable, and also keep in mind, some de wormers only work for certain types of worms. If your chicken has round worms, then the pin worm dewormer may not work for it.

Aaron

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

LOL Funny. ok.
OMG why does everything have to be so complicated? LOL
Since this thread has gotten so long and people might stop responding. I'm going to take a picture of all the dewormers at the co-op and see if anyone can suggest one. There is only one other place I can buy chicken stuff and it's pretty far away. If I can't get any info from the co-op I will go there and take pictures of what they have too. I'll ask if some can be found cheap online. I will also ask how often to do it because I heard they can come back after a period of time and you have to dose them at least twice. And I'll ask how do you even know if you should deworm your chickens or should you always deworm? Ugh. ha ha. Another thread another time. Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.

 

[Ribh]

RIBH - I am so saddened to hear that. I have an old post (April 17 shortly after I bought her) that has info you might be interested in if you are trying to help me. What do you mean they can lay some weird things? What age does she look like? If you read the post here is some updated info: She has been laying as I explained. Her feces doesn't smell like poison anymore but she always has corn and seeds in it when she gets that for treats. She gets plenty of grit from the yard and Ive even supplemented and it might not be as bad but its still there and the other chickens feces isnt like that. She now squats and lets me pick her up. She is very interested in me. Didn't take much to get there with her.

I've got no idea what age she looks like. It's why I asked. Farms tend to cull ISAs after about 18 months as egg production drops off & they tend to get reproductive issues. I started with rescue ISAs & the whole flock of about a dozen birds only lasted 6 months. I don't recommend anyone gets hybrid birds like this if they are after pets as it is heartbreaking.

That said, heat, stress, hiccups in the egg laying process, old age, dehydration or any number of things can cause egg abnormalities: wrinkled shells, egg discolouration, soft shells, fart eggs. If you think she is skinny I would treat for both worms & lice/mites. That will definitely impact egg laying, especially if your weather is hot.

Do you have access to a vet? On~line help can only do so much & is no substitute for an avian specialist.

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

this might be crazy too. The stuff they were trying to sell me was actually for horses but they said I would save money and have a lot of it if i bought the horse dewormer. That is the stuff they said would take paint off of stuff. lol

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

I've got no idea what age she looks like. It's why I asked. Farms tend to cull ISAs after about 18 months as egg production drops off & they tend to get reproductive issues. I started with rescue ISAs & the whole flock of about a dozen birds only lasted 6 months. I don't recommend anyone gets hybrid birds like this if they are after pets as it is heartbreaking.

That said, heat, stress, hiccups in the egg laying process, old age, dehydration or any number of things can cause egg abnormalities: wrinkled shells, egg discolouration, soft shells, fart eggs. If you think she is skinny I would treat for both worms & lice/mites. That will definitely impact egg laying, especially if your weather is hot.

Do you have access to a vet? On~line help can only do so much & is no substitute for an avian specialist.

That info is good to know. She doesn't seem to have mites. I don't see any on my birds when I look really good and Ive seen them on an aquaintance's birds so I know what they look like. I keep her coop sprinkled with D.E., I periodically dust the birds with D.E. and I have a big dust bath. I also clean the coop and roost very well, once a week with soap or bleach and dust it.

Can some people tell how old they are by looking? I could start a new thread and take close up pics of her feet? Or not? Ribh, that makes me so sad. I was hoping to have her 4-10 years. Do they have painful deaths? Do they go pretty fast after seaming to be sick or is it a long dragged out painful guessing game?

I googled hybrid and it said they are crossbred through pure breeds. So I guess chickens arent like dogs in that muts are usually healthier or hardier because they arent inbred? No offense. Ive owned both. Pure breeds are best? What chickens live the longest? Do you know if any of my other chickens are hybrids?
Coronation Sussex
California White
Barred Rock
Silver Laced Wyandotte
God Laced Wyandotte
Lavendar Orpington
Ameraucana
Australorp
Blue Copper Maran (She actually doesnt look like one. Maybe they sold me the wrong breed.)
I explained in a little more in detail than I would like why I unfortunately cant afford to take her to the vet.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Okay, now that I read through the thread.

Since you have birds of different breeds, & aren't laying yet, I'd suggest putting them on a high protein diet with oyster shells free choice on the side for anyone who is laying. 20% is the maximum I see in chicken feed. I keep birds of mixed ages, so this is what I do.


I also agree that all the continuous treats are messing with her egg Production. So cut out the treats completely until she's back to normal. You may give treats a couple times a week after that, but no more often then that.