sick EE-cant walk properly, lost another last week PLEASE HELP

[Suzierd]

Thanks Lycrystol I'm very sorry to hear about your Silkie. I hear not to use straw because mites can hide in it to easy. Hay they eat, pine chips scare me cause they eat those two and you wouldn't think that would be good. I've never seen any mites so maybe straw is the way to go. I don't mean to hijack the thread.
Allieharmon hope your chickens are doing better. It really doesn't sound good.

 

[Lacrystol]

Thanks Lycrystol I'm very sorry to hear about your Silkie. I hear not to use straw because mites can hide in it to easy. Hay they eat, pine chips scare me cause they eat those two and you wouldn't think that would be good. I've never seen any mites so maybe straw is the way to go. I don't mean to hijack the thread.
Allieharmon hope your chickens are doing better. It really doesn't sound good.

Well I can honestly say I have not had any problems with mites but then again the straw gets cleaned on a regular basis and I do worm them all.. Your right I have tried pine shavings even though it smells kind is cool, they do eat it.. I also have not had a problem with mold because like I said it does get cleaned out before anything like that can appear. I have tried putting pine on the bottom of the nesting box and straw on top helps avoid the possiblility of them eating it, but once it gets wet its a horrible mess to clean up so i stopped Doing that, right now I will continue using just straw until I have issues and it seems like things are going just fine for me.

 

[Lazarus718]

Well I can tell you hay is REALLY bad, I was doing the hay thing and my chickens would eat anything green out of it. Of course, I had lost a chicken because of it, they can't digest hay, very valueable lesson for me.. The Vitamin E give a whole pill and polyvisol depending on how old, baby chicks get a couple of drops but older ones I would do a 1/2 of a dropper. Add some original oat meal oats to her food see if that don't help solid things up.

Certain hays are bad if your chickens are eating the big stems and everything, it gets caught up in their crops. You can feed them things like alfalfa pellets soaked in water and I know a lot of people do that in the winter months when they don't have greens for them to forage for. I plan to grow a rye cover crop in the gardens this winter for mine. I'm just a beginning chicken keeper but from what I have researched I plan on keeping mine on pine shavings in the coop with a deep litter. Their run will be filled with play sand. If you want a great cold hardy plant to give them once it gets cold, plant some kale around the end of August for most zones. My family loves to have it sauteed in olive oil with some garlic and topped with balsamic vinegar, so the chickens have some competition on that one. I have yet to see my chicks try to eat any of the pine shavings.