Our nice calm little chicken world that we had last summer was just a way to let us foolishly think chicken raising was easy and stress-free! This last week has been a different story. We had a Buff Orp that was free ranging and seemed to have gotten choked on something, which is what I am pretty sure happened. She kept coughing and just not acting right. She got some water, and then ate some oatmeal, and the coughing sound stopped. She still, however, did not seem quite right. Her comb was pale and I had been noticing the Buff Orps combs being pale more this summer, but was blaming it on the heat. Hers was definitely more pale than the others.
The next day, she was still lethargic, but eating and drinking well. No cough. I was holding her and decided to check her for bugs (which I had not donein a couple of weeks) and she had lice for sure, and most likely mites, too. We immediately dusted her and everyone else. We found bugs on all the Orps and our Americauna mostly. The newer Orps did not have any we could see, but those mites are tiny little buggers. I also planned to get some Ivermectin to treat the flock.
24 hours later, no visible bugs, but Nina, the unwell Orp was still not great. She was still pale, laying around, but eating and drinking well. She seems to have a little bit of a rattle sound in her throat, but clear eyes and nose. We have her separated from the others. The next morning, I feed her scrambled eggs and spinach which she devours. But still, she is pale. Now, this is the day it all gets crazy. Not to be outdone, Mrs Beasley, another Buff Orp, decides to lay a shell-less egg and then have a prolapsed vent. Time for chicken gynecology! Thank goodness for BYC! We got her cleaned up, vent put back right and decided to put her in with Nina. The next day, Mrs Beasley still had a small prolapse, but it was better. We cleaned her up again and used honey for the swelling, which I had read about. It seemed to do the trick. She has actually laid twice now and is still okay so far.
All have now been treated with Ivermectin. Coop is being emptied today and sprayed down. New roosts are going in. Nest boxes are being scrubbed.
Nina is still pale, but no longer rattling. She is however, shaking her head a lot. I am wondering if she still has some mites on her head. It makes me think of my dachshund when she has something in her ear.
In the midst of all the coop work today, I am trying to pack to go to the beach for five days, it is finally vacation time. I know Lou Ann wants everyone to be well so she can avoid any crisis this week while I am gone!