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

[Ascholten]

Chickens are not trees, you can't cut them in half and count the rings to see how old they are. Looking and being able to say yep that one is 3 years 2 moths and 5 hours old would be a guess at best, and not very helpful. You should concentrate on keeping them healthy first, and worry about how old they will live to be after you get them eating right.

 

[MysteryChicken]

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.

Hybrid refers to high Production cross breed, such as Leghorn X RIR for example. Cross breeds are Mutts.

California White is a Hybrid.

Heritage, non production breeds live longer then high Production breeds, since they're not putting so much strain on their reproductive system, by laying eggs early, & every single day.

 

[MysteryChicken]

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.

DE, does nothing for treating mites, or lice. I'd suggest getting some Permethrin Dust to get rid of mites?There's no egg withdrawal period.

 

[MysteryChicken]

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.

High Production breeds/Hybrids have a shorter lifespan, averaging about 2-3 years.

Non Production breeds can live 10+ years.

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

I'm googling and I cannot believe how hard it is to find out if my chickens are hybrid or heritage. If I do see it, it is only one reference. You need more than one to know its true. Annoying.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have a hen that has trouble occasionally with egg shell quality. The soft shelled eggs and shell less eggs are very fragile and will break easily. The flock will eat the contents if they find it, leaving only the membrane behind. My hen laid 2 eggs from her roost last night, one was a soft shell that broke on impact and the other one was normal. Today, she gets to have a human calcium citrate tablet (generic Citracal) to give her a calcium boost. She'll get 1 tab a day until her Shells are nice and normal. She doesn't like it, but I wouldn't like her to have an egg break inside of her and be fatal, so she gets the tablet. She's not a fan of Oyster shell but she will eat egg Shells occasionally. I've tried her on an all flock feed and a layer feed and I don't see a huge difference in her egg shell quality. Right now, I'm trying a new brand of layer feed. We've had some really hot days and I feel like that's messing with her, plus I needed to round them up quickly and offered scratch to herd them in. The scratch more than likely played a significant role, but its not a normal thing at all. I only buy scratch to feed the 20+ wild Canada Geese that visit me to eat and I couldn't afford to continue feeding them my ducks feed, so now I have scratch for them and used it as a last resort for herding my hens. Some hens just require more calcium than others. As long as you're not giving a calcium boost to all of them and only do it whenever it's necessary, I feel like it's perfectly acceptable and far better than the possible alternative. I'd stop treats. My girls get a bowl of mash (their feed made mushy with water) every night and they LOVE it. That's their treat. They've come to expect it now

 

[BReeder!]

Not sure if this was answered already, but that's a "lash egg". It is not an egg at all, although it may contain an egg our parts of an egg. It often results from an infection or foreign matter (bits of egg that broke inside, blood, tissue, etc.) somewhere in the egg production organs. Think if it as a chicken pearl (but not valuable and squishy instead of hard and shiny) - there's something that doesn't belong so the body quarantines it in a fleshy casing and eventually spits it out.

As some others did mention, get them on strictly feed with no treats for a bit. I would also add some organic apple cider vinegar (make sure it's the kind with active culture in it - it should have residue in the bottom and get a bit cloudy when shaken) to their water and oregano to their feed or as a supplement on the side (not the same as a treat). The ACV will help clean them out and provide healthy gut bacteria. The oregano is full of nutrients and has antibiotic properties. Neither ACV nor oregano will require egg withdraw, but if you can identify who the lash egg came from I would toss that hens eggs for a few weeks to ensure no infection spreadd to humans should the eggs get infected.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Lots of opinions here. Here's mine, for what it's worth. I agree with @NatJ in post #30 when she identified that "thing" as the exterior membrane of a shell-less egg. Either the hen that laid it, or she and the other hens, ate the contents. I don't advise worming your hen with over-the-counter products. Wormers are poisons and you shouldn't poison your hen for no reason. Most worms and worm eggs are microscopic. If you're going to worm, treat for what worms your hen has. Find out what your vet charges for a fecal float test, it shouldn't be much. You can test all your flock at once and then you'll know whether they need wormed and what kind of wormer to use.

I don't know if worms cause soft shells but I doubt it. More likely, it was caused by your hen's age and general condition. Good luck with her! ❤

 

[Ribh]

I also clean the coop and roost very well, once a week with soap or bleach and dust it.

Please don't use bleach to clean the coop! The ammonia fumes aren't good for your chickens. Use vinegar or I think there is a lime thingy that you can use.

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?

How painful their death is depends on what kills them. Some go quickly from a heart attack. Some get infections or a prolapse ~ nastier & messier. I try to choose chickens least likely to have these sort of issues. Hasn't always worked but that's my strategy.

Coronation Sussex
California White
Barred Rock
Silver Laced Wyandotte
God Laced Wyandotte
Lavendar Orpington
Ameraucana
Australorp
Blue Copper

Ok, your Sussex, BRs & Wyandottes are all dual purpose heritage breeds. I consider the BRs & Wyandottes [I have both] pretty hardy. Orpingtons are heritage but I've never kept them. Australorps are heritage & are supposed to be hardy. I'd have to see a picture of your Armeraucana to know what we are talking about as they're not always what they're sold as. Any Marans in America are unlike their French ancestors according to a European keeper I know so I couldn't say. I suspect the others are Hybrids going by the names.

 

[Ascholten]

Bleach will let loose Chlorine fumes, or if it gets in contact with urine, Chloramine's. Neither is good. The ammonia would come from the urine / poop itself. So yes, make sure the fumes are gone before you let the birds back in and the perches are dry.

Soap, be careful what soap you use, residue could cause issues with your birds too. Just because one may be ok to use on rare occasion like dawn dish soap, does not necessarily mean it's good to use it constantly.

Aaron