Gizabelle
Crowing
Hi everyone,
So I'm new to the forum, but have been using it as a resource since I brought home our first chicks almost two years ago.
I found myself with only one chicken earlier this month. We've had a free ranging RIR and turkey pair that have done splendidly for the past year. They were all that was left of our original 6 hatchery chicks and 2 turkey pullets. Problems with neighborhood dogs claimed most of our flock in the first 6 months, but we resolved that and hadn't had a problem in over a year. Well, we lost our turkey hen Moe to a terrible accident earlier this month and I was really worried about Red, our poor lonesome hen. So I went out and got two new chickens. Good intentions, amiright?
They were sold to me by a "good ole boy" type as "first year layers" not yet laying. A (mutt) barred rock and buff orphington. The BO looks much younger. I knew the sellers set-up was FAR from ideal, and his birds didn't look as healthy as mine but as it felt like one of those too-late-to-back-out moments I just went with it. BIG MISTAKE.
Well, got them home and had a good look at them, and things were much worse than I thought.
I got them into a quarantine/recovery coop with pine shavings, and have done my best to keep it as clean as possible.
First Night:
BR: Underweight, pale comb, horrible diarrhea
BO: Severely underweight, pale (really suspicious looking) comb, diarrhea, sneezing, raspy breathing. Found her lying on her side on the floor of the coop. Didn't think she'd make it through the night.
Next Day:
Somehow BO pulled through. Got them started on electrolytes, served up some yogurt. Standard layer pellets (thats what I had)
Ran to my local feed store and hit up "chicken lady" for advice. She recommended steps already taken plus treat for coccidia.
Next 5 days:
Gave them 5 day run of Corid. (10 ml/gal of 9.6% liquid) Diarrhea improved for BO, but no change to BR (still horrible smelly diarrhea that seemed to have even gotten worse) My next thought was intestinal parasites...
Then:
Fenbendazole 3 day run. (3ml/gal of 10% suspension liquid goat wormer)
Finally saw a normal poop!! Presumably from BO (now called Daisy)
BR (now called Nay Nay) still has awful smelly diarrhea.
I learn about Gleet!
Next Day:
Nay Nay gets her first "spa day" warm soak of the bum for about 15 minutes. (Half wild bird, did NOT appreciate my efforts) Got a closer look at vent afterwards... OMG what a mess! Yellowish membrane looking substance surrounding vent opening. Tried to remove what I could. No open sores, so I applied anti-fungal topical (Nystatin) as per feed store lady recommendation.
A few days later:
Nay Nay still straining to poop, only managing runny diarrhea, but smell has improved. Now using probiotic supplements in water. Second spa day goes better (I think she's starting to trust me) Vent improved but still looks rough. Noted small pucker/bulge directly above vent, worried about some sort of internal blockage. Reapplied anti-fungal and trimmed butt-fluff.
Starting to worry that I'm doing more harm than good keeping them confined so I move them to the big coop and run. Outdoor run is about 180sqft and I think its doing them good to be able to move around in the fresh air. After move Daisy's respiratory issues seem to get worse again, but she still looks/sounds much better than day 1.
So that brings us up to present:
They have been in the big coop/run since yesterday. Still very sluggish, but taking dust baths and doing some unenthusiastic scratching/ foraging. Eating and drinking ok.
My healthy hen is still separated from them, but the "quarantine" is far from air tight. I guess I figure were kind of "all in" at this point, and if she gets sick too then we'll just deal with that also.
(BTW, Thank you to anyone who has read this far)
I'm attaching some pics from today. I still don't know exactly what to look for as far as signs of other problems, so if anything jumps out please let me know.
Really worried about the state of Daisy's comb. Nay Nay doesn't have any lesions on hers, and since they have been in such close quarters for a month, I hope that means its old pecking injury/poor health and not fowl pox. The color has much improved since day 1, really wish I had taken pics then.
Anyways, here are some pics of Daisy and her suspicious comb and one of Nay Nay looking much better after her second spa day:
Any observations or thoughts on where I should go from here would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you!!
So I'm new to the forum, but have been using it as a resource since I brought home our first chicks almost two years ago.
I found myself with only one chicken earlier this month. We've had a free ranging RIR and turkey pair that have done splendidly for the past year. They were all that was left of our original 6 hatchery chicks and 2 turkey pullets. Problems with neighborhood dogs claimed most of our flock in the first 6 months, but we resolved that and hadn't had a problem in over a year. Well, we lost our turkey hen Moe to a terrible accident earlier this month and I was really worried about Red, our poor lonesome hen. So I went out and got two new chickens. Good intentions, amiright?
They were sold to me by a "good ole boy" type as "first year layers" not yet laying. A (mutt) barred rock and buff orphington. The BO looks much younger. I knew the sellers set-up was FAR from ideal, and his birds didn't look as healthy as mine but as it felt like one of those too-late-to-back-out moments I just went with it. BIG MISTAKE.
Well, got them home and had a good look at them, and things were much worse than I thought.
I got them into a quarantine/recovery coop with pine shavings, and have done my best to keep it as clean as possible.
First Night:
BR: Underweight, pale comb, horrible diarrhea
BO: Severely underweight, pale (really suspicious looking) comb, diarrhea, sneezing, raspy breathing. Found her lying on her side on the floor of the coop. Didn't think she'd make it through the night.
Next Day:
Somehow BO pulled through. Got them started on electrolytes, served up some yogurt. Standard layer pellets (thats what I had)
Ran to my local feed store and hit up "chicken lady" for advice. She recommended steps already taken plus treat for coccidia.
Next 5 days:
Gave them 5 day run of Corid. (10 ml/gal of 9.6% liquid) Diarrhea improved for BO, but no change to BR (still horrible smelly diarrhea that seemed to have even gotten worse) My next thought was intestinal parasites...
Then:
Fenbendazole 3 day run. (3ml/gal of 10% suspension liquid goat wormer)
Finally saw a normal poop!! Presumably from BO (now called Daisy)
BR (now called Nay Nay) still has awful smelly diarrhea.
I learn about Gleet!
Next Day:
Nay Nay gets her first "spa day" warm soak of the bum for about 15 minutes. (Half wild bird, did NOT appreciate my efforts) Got a closer look at vent afterwards... OMG what a mess! Yellowish membrane looking substance surrounding vent opening. Tried to remove what I could. No open sores, so I applied anti-fungal topical (Nystatin) as per feed store lady recommendation.
A few days later:
Nay Nay still straining to poop, only managing runny diarrhea, but smell has improved. Now using probiotic supplements in water. Second spa day goes better (I think she's starting to trust me) Vent improved but still looks rough. Noted small pucker/bulge directly above vent, worried about some sort of internal blockage. Reapplied anti-fungal and trimmed butt-fluff.
Starting to worry that I'm doing more harm than good keeping them confined so I move them to the big coop and run. Outdoor run is about 180sqft and I think its doing them good to be able to move around in the fresh air. After move Daisy's respiratory issues seem to get worse again, but she still looks/sounds much better than day 1.
So that brings us up to present:
They have been in the big coop/run since yesterday. Still very sluggish, but taking dust baths and doing some unenthusiastic scratching/ foraging. Eating and drinking ok.
My healthy hen is still separated from them, but the "quarantine" is far from air tight. I guess I figure were kind of "all in" at this point, and if she gets sick too then we'll just deal with that also.
(BTW, Thank you to anyone who has read this far)
I'm attaching some pics from today. I still don't know exactly what to look for as far as signs of other problems, so if anything jumps out please let me know.
Really worried about the state of Daisy's comb. Nay Nay doesn't have any lesions on hers, and since they have been in such close quarters for a month, I hope that means its old pecking injury/poor health and not fowl pox. The color has much improved since day 1, really wish I had taken pics then.
Anyways, here are some pics of Daisy and her suspicious comb and one of Nay Nay looking much better after her second spa day:
Any observations or thoughts on where I should go from here would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you!!