Sick Chicken from Trade Days at Canton, TX

[Henny_Penny]

Well, I am SO glad that this newby read up on introducing new birds to the flock before getting more. About two weeks ago, we went to the Canton, TX trade days. I was told this was a good place to find chickens of all types and since there aren't many breeders that I know about in Central Louisiana...thought it would be a good idea.

I was too impatient to wait on chicks and pullets so went to Canton looking for Buff Orpington and Silver Laced Wyandottes. There was a guy that had a lot in cages and the birds were large. They were located in the main chicken alley and had posters to share from a hatchery but I am not sure that they were from the hatchery itself. We bought them and brought them home...isolated them...thank goodness!!! One seemed very listless and although she did not have particular symptoms that I have been told to watch for...she just wasn't right. There is the possibility that she got too hot on the way home but would she have lived this long if that were the case? The others seem okay....they don't lay at all and upon looking closer... I think they are spent hens. We have put them in the chicken tractor outside to see if they can earn their keep there for awhile but I am very disappointed. At least this time I was taken for the price of a hen instead of the price of a horse...HA!

Question...the one hen that was poorly died today. The others still have no symptoms and although they just don't seem to do what the other hens do that I have gotten from other places...like roost...stratch around alot...lay eggs, etc. They don't appear sick. Should I medicate them anyway?

 

[dlhunicorn]

Stress can be REALLY hard on birds... add to that extra stress from being caged and such...
I would put electrolytes/vit in their waterer and a supplement through their feed and offer free choice yogurt... mix just enough cooked-in-water human oatmeal thru their feed to make it clump together and see if that doesnt get them eating.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I would worm them. I would use 1.87% ivermectin paste. Do 0.05 ml of paste down their throat, and then reworm them 2 weeks later. During those 2 weeks give them vitamins and electrolytes in their water.

 

[BFeathered]

I live in the DFW area, not far from Canton. So sorry to hear of your experience. If you can possibly do it, get your $ back! I'm sure there are some fine animal sellers at Canton, but I have yet to hear of one. Every single person who has personally told me they bought an animal (any kind) there has had problems -- disease, death, improper care. I used to work at a vet's, and have worked with several dog breed rescue groups. The number of problems we see coming from Canton is disgusting. If my experience is any indication, you could very well have been sold "spent" hens, or chronically diseased.

Hope you have better luck with your next batch. The chicks are worth the wait, and it's such fun to watch them feather out, develop attitudes and in general be ridiculously cute!

 

[mypicklebird]

Don't give up on them laying yet. They very well may be 'spent'- meaning past their prime laying time- which is around 6mo to 1 or 2 years... BUT if you have an orp and a wyandotte- these are good dual purpose birds, with a long laying life if otherwise healthy. A briefly stressed bird that is other wise healthy (heat, travel, new faces, new coop, new food, handled by a bunch of people, ect ) will probably not lay for a week or two. One she gets used to the new place and is not frightened- she will probably start laying again. OR she may decide to take the winter break and start up again in the spring...

Many more commercial folk keep birds for a year or two, they don't get attached to individuals. As soon as the younger hens are laying, out go the older girls. They want the food to be converted efficiently to eggs, and it is not worth it financially to keep a hen that only lays one or two eggs a week. So you may have bought someone else's older hens, that is usually what you will find at swaps and trades- but these are not necessarily useless birds! Over half of my birds would be considered 'spent' but they lay huge eggs- (not as often) and they have character and beauty- and as long as you are not trying to make a living selling eggs... give them a couple of months to get their footing before deciding if they can earn their keep!

If you want show birds, buy from show folks, if you want birds in their prime laying months- raise them yourself or buy them from someone you know and trust, if you want to get older birds that could REALLY use a second chance to live their lives peacefully... (and you can do a good quarantine) buy them from a trade or swap. Not being sassy, really- I am glad you have them- and hope the remaining ones do well.

Also keep in mind that these birds may never had access to a roost, or dirt or dust bath... they may have lived in a cage their whole life. Don't worry about them not roosting or scratching---they will learn if given a chance. I worked with a whole bunch of hens awhile back that were 'spent' CA white layers. They had lived in battery cages. They did not know how to eat from a feeder, they did not know how to roost, they did not know how to do any normal chicken things. They figured it out after a few weeks...
Jess

 

[FlockEweFarm]

OMG!! I cannot believe that Canton trade days is still allowing the sale of animals! It was like a little animal Dauchau when I was a kid. I can remember going there with my folks to just browse and look around, and seeing dead animals floating in the stream that ran through the back area. It was pretty controversial for many years that people were selling critters there, and how they were being treated. But enough of my soapbox, I am a misplaced East Texan, and I can tell you that if you want to find some good chickens, keep an eye on the East Texas Craigslist Farm and Garden listing. You can often find all sorts of animals on there, and many times people start realizing that chickens and other critters in winter in Texas can be a big drag, and they clear them out at fire sale prices, my sis just cleared out all of her animals since she went all country club snobby and cant have anything but a little yap dog, and she used CL, and had great luck.
Good luck to you, and sorry to hear of your loss.
Canton is great for antiques, just not so good for critters.

 

[Henny_Penny]

Thanks to all of you for your helpful advice. My hubby and I will definitely follow through on the suggestions for supplements, worming, yogurt, etc. The hens, especially the wyandottes, are really very pretty.

I will also pass the word along about Canton. I have good luck with Craig's List and think I will stick with it for any new hens.

 

[RedShuffler]

I know this is old, but I bought chickens from a guy in Kaufman a few weeks back.....terrible mistake!! I say that because Kaufman and Canton are close and I'd not be a bit surprised if he doesn't sell at Canton.

 

[Ken Smotherman]

MotherCluckersHenHouse.com
West, Texas