Hi, I put her on the medicated chick feed because I was hoping it would be tastier, more nutritious, and easier to swallow than adult pellets, and it's only been about a week or less since I started giving it to her. Because they have free run of the acre (except now she is in a smaller cage for her own protection--and the other girls were eating all her special food.), and they have pellets, grass, weeds, and bugs they can find and eat, along with fruit from our orchard, I thought they were getting a great diet of their choice. There isn't any cactus or desert soil, this was once farmland because we have irrigation.
The weather has been way too hot, but it's finally under 100. Most of the time all the girls stay under our 40 fruit trees where it is shady.
I bet she does have arthritis, because I see swollen ankles. My vet says "nothing ever dies at your place, because our animals all live to be ancient. I notice when the hens get old, they all get swollen ankles and baggy eyelids. They get less spry and can't fly up into the trees anymore, but have to roost on the ground or very low down. I had one get pasty butt from sleeping on a surface that gave her pasty butt. She got a fly strike, ugh! I cleaned her up and gave her a tiny shot of Vetrimec (ivermectin). Along with getting over the fly strike, she expelled a long worm! So there are worms here. (Would love to know a good way to protect all of these free-rangers from worms without poison).
Our soil here is lacking selenium.
I just checked her and I see she is moulting on her wings now.
The feed is
MannaPro Chick Starter. "Fortified w/ vitamins and minerals for healthy growth & sound development. Medicated w/ Amprolium to aid in prevention of Coccidiosis !8% protein. B12, Folic Acid, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Vit E etc.
Again, thank you for your help. As I checked her now, when I pushed the feed in front of her (it was only about 10" away) she ate ravenously. Something has happened to her vision.
