Texas

[NagemTX]

Was just wondering, cuz Java's are expensive!

Yeah and there are four of them. The guy used to breed them and had tons of them. He doesn't even live in the house anymore but has longhorns as well. So I'm sure it was some care taker that let them out or they escaped from damaged pens.

 

[sniper338]

Calling on my tx peeps:


I got new to me birds a few weeks ago. Only chickens I have. They are mid life as far as I can tell.. 3 to 4 yo.. BCM flock. My easter eggers are younger.

I was looking through feathers giving them check overs... the lady I bought them from kinda screwed me... white/clear/translucent bugs crawling around... has to be lice.. I think mites are black dots like dirt hard to see.. eggs on the feather shafts around the vents... one or two woth bad bad bumblefoot.

I got some ivermection and dosed them with it on the skin via a syringe. Drop on the neck, under each wing and around the vent.... it should kill adult lice, but not eggs.. if I remember right. Feathers on the birds don't look bad... but I'm thinking this is why they aren't laying any at all...

I need to get some elector psp stuff to hit em again with.

The one I know of with bumble foot... both feet... like the size of a dime.. and deep... ive never done a bumble foot surgery. And I'm not around everyday to change out bandages.

Frustrating... I paid good money for what were supposed to be good birds. I think the quality is there... but they are alittle beat up, obvisously werent well taken care of... one I suspect got it wing broken and didn't heal right.

I guess that's what I get for buying birds unseen. She's well known around central texas... sells ALOT of birds. They were her BCM breeder flock I suspect, or someone she knew that had older birds to get rid of and make room...

So 1.. I suspected they are on the egg decline... and two I suspect lice would turn em off completely... the roo was the worst, but he is breeding them so that would spread quick...

It's not the time of year for a molt... but I had tons of feather loss in the coop and lots re growing feathers now... lots of new feathers coming in.... would I be wrong to assume they had lights on them to extend day time and they never molted this past fall... and now that they don't have lights they are molting late?


Or would lice cause that much feather loss?

​

I just want BCM eggs to hatch at this point and grow up some younger hens, but I need to get these to lay!!!

 

[janiedoe]

Calling on my tx peeps:


I got new to me birds a few weeks ago. Only chickens I have. They are mid life as far as I can tell.. 3 to 4 yo.. BCM flock. My easter eggers are younger.

I was looking through feathers giving them check overs... the lady I bought them from kinda screwed me... white/clear/translucent bugs crawling around... has to be lice.. I think mites are black dots like dirt hard to see.. eggs on the feather shafts around the vents... one or two woth bad bad bumblefoot.

I got some ivermection and dosed them with it on the skin via a syringe. Drop on the neck, under each wing and around the vent.... it should kill adult lice, but not eggs.. if I remember right. Feathers on the birds don't look bad... but I'm thinking this is why they aren't laying any at all...

I need to get some elector psp stuff to hit em again with.

The one I know of with bumble foot... both feet... like the size of a dime.. and deep... ive never done a bumble foot surgery. And I'm not around everyday to change out bandages.

Frustrating... I paid good money for what were supposed to be good birds. I think the quality is there... but they are alittle beat up, obvisously werent well taken care of... one I suspect got it wing broken and didn't heal right.

I guess that's what I get for buying birds unseen. She's well known around central texas... sells ALOT of birds. They were her BCM breeder flock I suspect, or someone she knew that had older birds to get rid of and make room...

So 1.. I suspected they are on the egg decline... and two I suspect lice would turn em off completely... the roo was the worst, but he is breeding them so that would spread quick...

It's not the time of year for a molt... but I had tons of feather loss in the coop and lots re growing feathers now... lots of new feathers coming in.... would I be wrong to assume they had lights on them to extend day time and they never molted this past fall... and now that they don't have lights they are molting late?


Or would lice cause that much feather loss?

​

I just want BCM eggs to hatch at this point and grow up some younger hens, but I need to get these to lay!!!

If the lice is that bad, yes, it can cause feather loss, and even death. You will need to repeat the ivermectin in 10 days. Also I would dose the flock with Poultry Cell. You can add it to their water 2 to 3x a week. No more than that because it can cause diarrhea.
For bumblefoot, I no longer do surgery. I soak for 10 minutes, poke a small hole and put PRID on it (you can find it on amazon) wrap with vet wrap and repeat daily. Once the scab start getting crumbly you can just peel and squeeze. Wear gloves.
If you feel they are in pain, give 1/2 a baby asprin every 24 to 48 hours.

 

[WingItRanch]

Calling on my tx peeps:


I got new to me birds a few weeks ago. Only chickens I have. They are mid life as far as I can tell.. 3 to 4 yo.. BCM flock. My easter eggers are younger.

I was looking through feathers giving them check overs... the lady I bought them from kinda screwed me... white/clear/translucent bugs crawling around... has to be lice.. I think mites are black dots like dirt hard to see.. eggs on the feather shafts around the vents... one or two woth bad bad bumblefoot.

I got some ivermection and dosed them with it on the skin via a syringe. Drop on the neck, under each wing and around the vent.... it should kill adult lice, but not eggs.. if I remember right. Feathers on the birds don't look bad... but I'm thinking this is why they aren't laying any at all...

I need to get some elector psp stuff to hit em again with.

The one I know of with bumble foot... both feet... like the size of a dime.. and deep... ive never done a bumble foot surgery. And I'm not around everyday to change out bandages.

Frustrating... I paid good money for what were supposed to be good birds. I think the quality is there... but they are alittle beat up, obvisously werent well taken care of... one I suspect got it wing broken and didn't heal right.

I guess that's what I get for buying birds unseen. She's well known around central texas... sells ALOT of birds. They were her BCM breeder flock I suspect, or someone she knew that had older birds to get rid of and make room...

So 1.. I suspected they are on the egg decline... and two I suspect lice would turn em off completely... the roo was the worst, but he is breeding them so that would spread quick...

It's not the time of year for a molt... but I had tons of feather loss in the coop and lots re growing feathers now... lots of new feathers coming in.... would I be wrong to assume they had lights on them to extend day time and they never molted this past fall... and now that they don't have lights they are molting late?


Or would lice cause that much feather loss?

​

I just want BCM eggs to hatch at this point and grow up some younger hens, but I need to get these to lay!!!

Definitely sounds like lice. Yikes!

Just so you know... whether they were in good shape or not, 3-4 years old is well past the prime egg laying time. Even if it wasn't winter (shorter days) and they didn't have lice or bumblefoot, they're not going to give you a lot of eggs because of their age. Also, the stress of moving will cause a pause in egg laying. Possibly for a while...

Hopefully you have these older birds quarantined away from your younger EEs.

If it were me, I'd focus on treating their lice, bumblefoot, and do a thorough check over. I might even deworm them just in case. What a bummer first experience!

 

[janiedoe]

Definitely sounds like lice. Yikes!

Just so you know... whether they were in good shape or not, 3-4 years old is well past the prime egg laying time. Even if it wasn't winter (shorter days) and they didn't have lice or bumblefoot, they're not going to give you a lot of eggs because of their age. Also, the stress of moving will cause a pause in egg laying. Possibly for a while...

Hopefully you have these older birds quarantined away from your younger EEs.

If it were me, I'd focus on treating their lice, bumblefoot, and do a thorough check over. I might even deworm them just in case. What a bummer first experience!

@sniper338
I agree with @WingItRanch
I think worming is a good idea. I'd try and find a vet clinic that will do a float test just to see what worms you are dealing with, if any.
The ivermect will kill some types of worms but not all.

 

[sniper338]

@sniper338
I agree with @WingItRanch
I think worming is a good idea. I'd try and find a vet clinic that will do a float test just to see what worms you are dealing with, if any.
The ivermect will kill some types of worms but not all.

I figure I need to get through these lice, and the bumble foot before looking for more issues.

I am hoping I'm right about them having lights on them and they are molting late. The hens weren't near as bad with lice as the roo was. But by all means all needed treated.

Hopefully the ivermection knocks out any worms for now it can... and kills the lice... ill get permethrin and hit em with that this weekend to use something different and combat it with 2 different meds a week apart.

There is alot of new growth feathers coming in on them... so that's what makes me think late molt due to lights. The feathers don't look too bad, still real thick feathered... so I lean on late molt more than damage by lice... but we do need to kill all parasites.


I've got apple cider vinegar with mother's in the water and poultry drench for added vitamins and minerals. Coops been dusted with DE.

If these birds don't pop out of it and get back to good shape, it may be the end of BCM for me. I seem to have bad luck with them.

 

[caitlyn11]

This may be a long shot, but does anybody near NW Houston/Tomball have hatching eggs available that will produce blue layers? I am one week into trying to incubate eggs from my flock with my 2 year old rooster I’ve never hatched from before, and I have discovered he is infertile which is tragic because he is very handsome and a total gentleman! I am fairly experienced at incubating so I’m pretty sure it’s not user error LOL. I will come pick them up within a reasonable distance. No bantams, and big bonus if any may frizzle. I have a soft spot in my heart for those little crazies. Thank you!

 

[NagemTX]

This may be a long shot, but does anybody near NW Houston/Tomball have hatching eggs available that will produce blue layers? I am one week into trying to incubate eggs from my flock with my 2 year old rooster I’ve never hatched from before, and I have discovered he is infertile which is tragic because he is very handsome and a total gentleman! I am fairly experienced at incubating so I’m pretty sure it’s not user error LOL. I will come pick them up within a reasonable distance. No bantams, and big bonus if any may frizzle. I have a soft spot in my heart for those little crazies. Thank you!

I'm not in that area but south of Houston. I'll start getting some eggs in two weeks that can be hatched. Just did wormer.

I have Spitzhauben over Ameraucana, Phoenix over Ameraucana and Silver Ameraucana.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

ill get permethrin and hit em with that this weekend to use something different and combat it with 2 different meds a week apart.

I'd skip double treating them. Just stick with the Ivermectin and repeat in 10 days. Use the permethrin in the coop to kill any creepy crawlers in there. I'm sorry you're going through this! Some folks just have different standards for keeping critters. Everyone else has given great advice! I also use prid for bumblefoot, works wonders!

If these birds don't pop out of it and get back to good shape, it may be the end of BCM for me. I seem to have bad luck with them.

If it ends up not working out, I have Wheaten Marans, just saying

 

[TokoBird]

I’m new in Texas, south Dallas area, finally starting the chicken breeding project of my dreams.

Still getting the coop set up (rainy and cold days keep interfering!)

I’m hoping to find anyone within a 3-ish hour drive of Dallas who sells Blue Sumatra chickens of any age.