Samloveschicks
Songster
Hi Everyone,
Just want to mention first and foremost that I am relatively new to chickens. I adopted 2 hens from my Aunt whose flock was overcrowded. Lucille the barred rock and Scarlet the RIR had no issues for about 5 months, but I ended up rehoming Scarlet because I am in an urban environment and she screamed at rooster volume all day, every day, regardless of many attempts at enrichment and training.
After rehoming Scarlet, I knew I would have to get Lucille a friend. Turns out another local lady was trying to get rid of hers for the same reason. They were in awful conditions-overcrowding, filthy, ect. Against my better judgement I took two, a barnevelder and a buff orpington (mainly because, when I asked if they were interacted with at all, she told me "Oh no, honey, they're gonna be food" and my vegetarian heart broke a little). Treated them empirically with a wormer and coccidiostat. No ectoparasites on either chicken. I isolated them for 3-4 weeks and noticed no issues.
I began intro by building a new run next to the existing coop and allowing the new chickens to see Lucille and vice versa. I did a slow integration over 2 weeks and eventually Lucille stopped the horrendous bullying.
Now, two weeks later, some sneezing has started. The barnevelder, who also has a slight crook tail (though she can hold it normally, it is just this way when relaxed) has raspy vocalizations but rarely sneezes. She has occasional watery diarrhea that is green, but these chickens free range my urban back yard most of the day because the temperatures are 95-100F daily with 75-95% humidity. I have a mister set up for them, and they have a nice spot under a huge passionflower vine that is probably 15 degrees cooler and a chicken-made wet dust bath. I am checking her crop in the morning to ensure that it empties fully, due to the fact that it felt full of grass this afternoon.
The buff orpington really struggles with the heat, and probably sneezes 5-10 times a day, with no other symptoms. Her crop was full and soft (but not fluid-y) this afternoon. Sometimes she has a slightly pale comb when she is panting, so I have been giving electrolytes and ice water. She has some clear diarrhea today, but also has normal poop daily. I have noticed that her head occasionally smells pretty terrible, but today it did not. I did not realize that this was any indicator of crop health until today. My other two chickens are so skittish that I never get close enough to smell their feathers, but the buff orpington lives up to the breed's sweet nature and lets me hold and kiss her.
Lucille, the original barred rock, seems to have the worst of the sneezing and occasionally makes a honking noise that I am assuming is a cough? Again, no additional symptoms and maintains normal stool. She is about 1.5 years old. Her crop appeared soft and normal this afternoon.
All three girls eat Nature's Best Organic Layer Pellets, crushed oyster shell as grit, have ample room and total ventilation in their coop (it is all hardware cloth with the exception of the roof!), and get fresh ice water every day multiple times. They are all acting normal otherwise and laying regularly. The buff orpington and the barnevelder both began laying about two weeks ago and a week ago respectively. All has been good. I will be checking crops first thing in the morning.
All in all, it seems like some respiratory disease/virus that is being exacerbated by the extreme weather. I have access to many veterinary products since I work as a veterinary technician. We do not have an exotics vet around here, and my two vets I work for are not chicken savvy. I apologize in advance for the very long post! If it would be better to separate these, please do not hesitate to let me know! Because the symptoms are all upper respiratory, I am assuming they might have a similar problem. Thanks for any and all advice!
Samantha
Just want to mention first and foremost that I am relatively new to chickens. I adopted 2 hens from my Aunt whose flock was overcrowded. Lucille the barred rock and Scarlet the RIR had no issues for about 5 months, but I ended up rehoming Scarlet because I am in an urban environment and she screamed at rooster volume all day, every day, regardless of many attempts at enrichment and training.
After rehoming Scarlet, I knew I would have to get Lucille a friend. Turns out another local lady was trying to get rid of hers for the same reason. They were in awful conditions-overcrowding, filthy, ect. Against my better judgement I took two, a barnevelder and a buff orpington (mainly because, when I asked if they were interacted with at all, she told me "Oh no, honey, they're gonna be food" and my vegetarian heart broke a little). Treated them empirically with a wormer and coccidiostat. No ectoparasites on either chicken. I isolated them for 3-4 weeks and noticed no issues.
I began intro by building a new run next to the existing coop and allowing the new chickens to see Lucille and vice versa. I did a slow integration over 2 weeks and eventually Lucille stopped the horrendous bullying.
Now, two weeks later, some sneezing has started. The barnevelder, who also has a slight crook tail (though she can hold it normally, it is just this way when relaxed) has raspy vocalizations but rarely sneezes. She has occasional watery diarrhea that is green, but these chickens free range my urban back yard most of the day because the temperatures are 95-100F daily with 75-95% humidity. I have a mister set up for them, and they have a nice spot under a huge passionflower vine that is probably 15 degrees cooler and a chicken-made wet dust bath. I am checking her crop in the morning to ensure that it empties fully, due to the fact that it felt full of grass this afternoon.
The buff orpington really struggles with the heat, and probably sneezes 5-10 times a day, with no other symptoms. Her crop was full and soft (but not fluid-y) this afternoon. Sometimes she has a slightly pale comb when she is panting, so I have been giving electrolytes and ice water. She has some clear diarrhea today, but also has normal poop daily. I have noticed that her head occasionally smells pretty terrible, but today it did not. I did not realize that this was any indicator of crop health until today. My other two chickens are so skittish that I never get close enough to smell their feathers, but the buff orpington lives up to the breed's sweet nature and lets me hold and kiss her.
Lucille, the original barred rock, seems to have the worst of the sneezing and occasionally makes a honking noise that I am assuming is a cough? Again, no additional symptoms and maintains normal stool. She is about 1.5 years old. Her crop appeared soft and normal this afternoon.
All three girls eat Nature's Best Organic Layer Pellets, crushed oyster shell as grit, have ample room and total ventilation in their coop (it is all hardware cloth with the exception of the roof!), and get fresh ice water every day multiple times. They are all acting normal otherwise and laying regularly. The buff orpington and the barnevelder both began laying about two weeks ago and a week ago respectively. All has been good. I will be checking crops first thing in the morning.
All in all, it seems like some respiratory disease/virus that is being exacerbated by the extreme weather. I have access to many veterinary products since I work as a veterinary technician. We do not have an exotics vet around here, and my two vets I work for are not chicken savvy. I apologize in advance for the very long post! If it would be better to separate these, please do not hesitate to let me know! Because the symptoms are all upper respiratory, I am assuming they might have a similar problem. Thanks for any and all advice!
Samantha
