Skinny hens---Why??

[honeydoll]

Okay I posted this awhile ago and at that time I was just concerned a little because they seemed only a little skinny. Now they are getting skinnier. I am very concerned. I have decided to worm. I don't know what else could be causing this. It's Fri. all vets will be closed till Mon. I am so worried about my girls. I have comets 5 1/2 mos., dominiques 2 mos., chanteclers 2 mos. They are fed flock raiser by Purina, with limited free ranging. They get oyster shell in a seperate dish 24/7. The comets are still laying well. But one especially seems very skinny. They have access to food all day, and water with ACV. I am very confused as to why they are skinny. I dust them with food grade DE, put small amount in feed. My young ones seem to be doing better than the adults. My roo seems a little skinny too. Normal poo. THey are on pine mulch with food grade lime and DE. I am so concerned ANY ADVICE would be so appreciated. I have to treat myself, no vet help. So how do I worm and how long to throw away the eggs. I've heard throw out eggs for 2 weeks to 4 weeks. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!! It seems I've read alot about skinny hens lately, wonder why. I got mine from TSC.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I think i would be more suspicious of mites or lice than worms. Not to say worms might not be the issue.

For both, i'll just tell you what i did. There are obviously lots of methods for everything.

For worming, i followed SpeckledHen's example and used ivermectin paste, labeled for horses. It comes in a big syringe type horse dose for about $5.00. So you just have to use something to get a little of the paste out of the end of the syringe to give to your chickens orally. I used a toothpick. For a full grown standard chicken, use about a b.b. sized amount. For younger chickens, of course, you have to back way off on that. Throw away the eggs for about 2 weeks ( i believe; mine aren't actually laying eggs yet).

To ensure against the possibility of mites or lice ( even if you can't see them ), i used permethrin powder - a.k.a. poultry dust. It came in a shaker (one pound) for around 11 dollars, i think. Use gloves to handle the stuff. There are lots of methods. I simply used my gloves to rub the powder all over my chickens, specifically under their wings and around their vents. Be careful not to get it in their eyes.

FYI, if you think that the older ones might be badly infested with worms, Threehorses suggests using wazine in the water first, two weeks before using ivermectin. Wazine is gentler. Ivermectin will kill everything and can cause a lot of stress to the chicken's system when shedding so many worms if it is badly infested. Wazine kind of gets a little bit of the worms and makes so there's not SO much for the ivermectin to do all at once. I'm not sure if that makes sense. You might want to read her explanation.

 

[shelleyd2008]

You can also get the ivermectin pour-on wormer, that will take care of mites and lice both, along with the worms. However, if you've never wormed your birds, you'll need to worm them with wazine (or similar) 3 weeks before the ivermectin...if it is worms, and there are a lot of them, giving them the ivermectin first can kill the birds.

So wazine, followed 3-6 weeks later by ivermectin pour-on, that should do it. And give them some probiotics after worming them, to help clean them out

 

[Mahonri]

I have some skinny hens.

I feed them overtime.... they can eat as much as they want whenever they want.

I've wormed them, I've de liced, de mited... and they still won't gain weight or lay eggs.

It's getting frustrating.

 

[Tala]

Just curious what you guys with skinny hens are feeding them?

 

[sammi]

try Wazine 17..available at most feed/farm/livestock stores..
1 ounce per 1 gallon of drinking water for 1 full day.
remove all other sources of water, and try to keep confined so they don't get to other water.
retreat in 10 days.
or you can use a broader wormer as suggested above instead of the 10 day retreatment.

here is a link to a source for wormers and mite/lice treaments and meds..you can "window shop" and try to find the product you want locally..or order online..

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/

click wormers in left sideboard list.

also...treat for mites/lice..poultry dust..such as Ectiban D by Durvet (active ingrediant: permathrin)
this is a good time of year to clean and treat coop..

ivermectin worms and debugs


are the feeders empty at the end of the day?

describe droppings...color and consistency

I know a lot of people use DE, but I am not a fan.
everyone has their own opinion.

 

[Barrett Farm]

Remember with the Ivermectin 1.87% paste for horses given orally, means eggs are withheld for 10-14 days. Be safe not sorry.
This paste can be used in dogs for an economical alternative for Heartworm prevention in dogs. The paste now comes in Green Apple flavor. Do the math to convert the correct dosage.

 

[sammi]

Mahonri...what are you feeding?

 

[woodward farms]

ok heres what your doing wrong
to get fat chickens you must follow these steps closely

1. get a very small chage
2. pack it full of birds
3. put 2 extra birds in it
so the birds dont even have room to turn
4. buy the cheapest feed on the market
made of recycled fast food, floor sweepings
& deep fryier fat for a nice shiney coat
5. give birds warms water above 85*
but do not wash out the waterer
6. give growth hormones and steriods
7. if a bird dies in a cage dont remove it
consider it free feed
8. call your fat birds healthy and happy....


NOW my real take on it.

my doctor said i should eat more leafy greens

**** my birds eat grass and walk endlessly well doing it

my doctor said i should eat whole grains

***** well them ladies love Scratch,
and get a real work out looking for it.

doc said cut out fast food

****** i try to feed the good stuff

doc said fruits and veggies

***** the coop starts to balk at me as i come with garden goodies
or cutting from the kitchen

i think in most cases we all have healthy and happy birds

some where on here i read about cantelope and pumpkin seeds
being a great natural wormer

and in mid winter a treat that works great for me is

a can of salmon or tuna given to them ...this will fill a bird out.

 

[woolychicken]

skinny hens,
i like eveyones thoughts on that, good advice,but after you get them wormed, powder,ect give them around of vitamins in the water , becareful not to mix it to strong they will have extra runny chicken poop belive me i have seen and smell it:/ also i give my chicken a round of scratch in the am and in the pm before they roost it helps then put on weight and is great for the cold months ahead. i back the pm feeding down in the spring to fresh veggies
or what i have on hand
hope all are plump soon