ready to hang in the towel

[DanLeaAnn7]

Thank you all for your help, this is what i have done so far..... dusted the chickens with Sevin dust, and their nesting boxes. Did not see any evidence of mites or lice but not really sure what looks like either. I cleaned out their coop and run. I had been told good quality cat food will help with the protein issue due to molting and me giving them so much garden overage (melons, cucumbers, etc.) so i have been giving them some with their BOSS. They all seem to have perked up - it is just so hot here, and the flies are terrible. I need to look into the the fowl pox, about 4 of the chickens have some kind of weirdness of their combs. Thank you so much for your help ! Will keep everybody posted - Lea

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

thank you for asking, we all learn something with each question.

I had red sexlinks for three years, and then black sexlinks for three years (above poster is right, they aren't really a long lived bird) and they never looked like that. They didn't all molt at the same time and only one ever molted enough to look like that.

Chickens can't help themselves, they like to pick at red skin, now that you've dusted and done for them, you might consider spraying all the bare spots with bluekote. They won't see the bare delectable skin anymore...

please let us know how it goes.

 

[Whispering_Raven]

Just curious about the DE....Are you using food grade? Diatomite is dehydrating that's why it works on fleas, parasites, etc., robbing them of water...Although it is a natural element, there are different grades and some of the more abrasive DE is used in Metal Polish and Toothpaste, like Baking Soda. I wonder if you're using too much of it in their area.

Poor babies....We are also experiencing early 100 degree weeks in Tennessee. Water, water, water!!! Depending on your watering system throw in a bottle or two of frozen water to keep the water cool. It looks pretty dry where they are, meaning not much grass or ground cover. If you can, collect grass clippings and pine needles and use that as nesting materials. Also, the eggshells look like a calcium deficiency. If you don't have a very large flock, I would try giving them some cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. Mix in some of the good eggshells you have and adding ground Flax and that should help with a potential nutrient deficiency.


Hope the chooks get better soon!

Tracy

 

[DanLeaAnn7]

Thanks Tracy, and En Plein, I am using food grade DE powder, I dust their coop floor (I am using sand in the coop) about every 2 weeks. I hope the Sevin dust works... It is dry here, but humid, we haven't had rain in a long time. I will give them some cottage cheese, I have 20 chickens. Thanks again everyone ! Lea

 

[crchickens]

What about giving them plain yogurt? Mine love it, and it would give them so protein and some probiotics, which may help their immunity systems?