The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pozees]

I need help!!! My flock was sneezing a lot tonight, not rough throats, or runny noses/eyes though. Could it be in their environment? Or do I need to treat? If it helps, it's been raining everyday, for the last TWO WEEKS. It's pretty smelly out there, not in the coops though, it's the mud/humidity. Any idea on what I need to do? They've always sneezed the odd time, but it was frequent today/ Thanks for any help!!!!

Any chance there's mold growing somewhere in/near their area? With all that rain, it could be that or mildew. I'm not sure what the best course of action would be, to be honest. The other thing I wondered was whether someone living nearby has sprayed for weeds or insects recently? Any drift could irritate their respiratory systems. Is it all of them or only certain birds? Might also check your feed for mold or mildew. Just a few things I'm throwing out there - it is exceedingly dry in my part of the country and I haven't lived in a wet area since 1997.

 

[salt and pepper]

Any chance there's mold growing somewhere in/near their area? With all that rain, it could be that or mildew. I'm not sure what the best course of action would be, to be honest. The other thing I wondered was whether someone living nearby has sprayed for weeds or insects recently? Any drift could irritate their respiratory systems. Is it all of them or only certain birds? Might also check your feed for mold or mildew. Just a few things I'm throwing out there - it is exceedingly dry in my part of the country and I haven't lived in a wet area since 1997.

No mold that I know of, I'll check though. Not moldy feed, ( I do FF ) Don't talk to the neighbors haha. Hmmmm. I'll check them in the morning to get a better look, oh and it's all the birds

 

[armorfirelady]

Anyone know if a foot has a scratch would it cause the scales on leg to be somewhat raised? Not a lot barely noticeable. I was sitting watching the hens before work and I noticed one walking funny (not green with bumble foot) and her leg looks almost whitish in color. A red scratch by one toe thats either healed or didnt break the skin. No black spots on her feet at all just at scratch. Would that cause her leg to be whitish and the scales look a little raised? Her legs are dry to. Always have been. I put Nustock on them when I do hen checks.

Vent and belly seem lice/mite free. Little white flecks that blew off her belly like dry skin. Her belly still has bare spot from moulting. And when I held her it seemed she was breathing hard. No congestion, sneezing, or discharge. It's been hot here today and humid so it could of been from trying to catch here to look at her.

I will try to get pics of her leg. Have to head to work now, I did check another hen and she looks clean also.

 

[aoxa]

They look fabulous Justine. Is the water yellow because u added vitamins?
I love how they run from one end to another in flocks

Yes they have the electrolytes in the water. The whole flock does right now. We have a major heat wave. We spent forever looking for a swimming spot for Dylan, Sue and I and ended up swimming in a bad area and all three of us cut ourselves on either barbed wire or shellfish.

There was a sign before we went swimming saying shellfishing was off limits as they are contaminated. Well I hope that doesn't infect my foot, since that is what I cut it on.

What you will do to cool off!!

Anyone know if a foot has a scratch would it cause the scales on leg to be somewhat raised? Not a lot barely noticeable. I was sitting watching the hens before work and I noticed one walking funny (not green with bumble foot) and her leg looks almost whitish in color. A red scratch by one toe thats either healed or didnt break the skin. No black spots on her feet at all just at scratch. Would that cause her leg to be whitish and the scales look a little raised? Her legs are dry to. Always have been. I put Nustock on them when I do hen checks.

Vent and belly seem lice/mite free. Little white flecks that blew off her belly like dry skin. Her belly still has bare spot from moulting. And when I held her it seemed she was breathing hard. No congestion, sneezing, or discharge. It's been hot here today and humid so it could of been from trying to catch here to look at her.

I will try to get pics of her leg. Have to head to work now, I did check another hen and she looks clean also.

That's how scaly legs starts. Slather with nustock or vaseline even if it's not. It will kill them.

Once the scales are raised, it takes forever it seems to get normal scales again. All the mites' dirt builds up under the scales and pushes them out.

 

[aoxa]

One of the white EEs dust bathing in the new dust bath I put out this afternoon.

 

[delisha]

Your birds all look and act healthy to me Justine..

 

[aoxa]

Your birds all look and act healthy to me Justine..

Good news!

Those meaties are growing like weeds.

 

[armorfirelady]

Aoxa or others who have had le mites...... Has ur hens leg turned white and look horribly dry? That's what is throwing me. I'm at work on the road so I can't do anything till tomorrow morning.

I haven't added any litter to their DL except grass clippings more than a week ago & their coop is on grass. How the heck do I remove the grass it's sitting on? I can remove clippings but wouldn't that mean they are in ground also? Or are leg mites different from the other lice/mites?

I want to do some research but I am on my ph using Internet. Maybe when we get to our final destination it will have free wifi I can use my iPad on :/

 

[aoxa]

Aoxa or others who have had le mites...... Has ur hens leg turned white and look horribly dry? That's what is throwing me. I'm at work on the road so I can't do anything till tomorrow morning.

I haven't added any litter to their DL except grass clippings more than a week ago & their coop is on grass. How the heck do I remove the grass it's sitting on? I can remove clippings but wouldn't that mean they are in ground also? Or are leg mites different from the other lice/mites?

I want to do some research but I am on my ph using Internet. Maybe when we get to our final destination it will have free wifi I can use my iPad on

Leg mites are different. They take a long time to do any real damage. You can smother them before they get that bad.

Usually older hens are more prone to them than others in a large flock. If chicks are raised by a hen with leg mites, they are pretty much bound to get them, but you won't see them until they are at least 6 months old, that is how long they take to show.

I have one BR hen that had them. As soon as I got her, we sprayed her legs with cooking oil twice a day for 3 days. It's the easiest way we have found to smother them. The one we use foams up and really does a good job.

 

[countrygirl74]

Bad news. I've caught up to the entire thread. :-( Now I will have to find something else to do- like laundry or dishes or some such nonsense.

That's exactly how I feel after catching up with just the last couple days...

Nope just plain old first aid iodine.

No vet wrap, didn't have any still don't, duct tape works great.

I did it 2 or 3 times w/ the sugar/iodine paste, I think it was 2, but I had been messing w/ it for weeks before trying the surgery, squeezing, triple antibiotic ointment, Epsom salts bath (which I still did prior to the iodine sugar wrap)

First time left it on for 3 days second time right around that amount maybe a day or so longer (got real busy ) then it was healing enough not to need any more treatments.

I used Nustock to get rid of bumblefoot on my ducks - no surgery and some was pretty bad. I have also heard of tea tree oil and the koi meds, both of which I have on hand just in case.

BDM - what do you think about adding a section on alternative ways to cure bumblefoot?? I'm curious as to different methods that worked, especially on ducks since I've heard it's harder and more painful to cut into their feet... just a thought....


Okay, that's weird, there were some other things I wanted to comment on and they just seemed to disappear, oh well....


Question: I am interested in hearing from some of you on your experience with cochins... I've never had one before and I have 1 blue/splash cochin that has turned out to be a boy. However, I wouldn't hardly be able to tell it's a boy except for the fact that I saw him try to mount my naked neck girl today for the first time. He hasn't crowed at all or even attempted. He is a big scaredy cat and is the only one in my flock that is hard to catch. He just roams around pretty lazily and nonchalantly otherwise. Reminds me of Eeyore on Winnie the Pooh. So, do cochins crow later? I thought cochins were more friendly... or is it because it's a boy? Should I keep my distance and let him be scared of me since it's a boy? I know, lots of questions. He's just so different from all the other breeds I've ever had...
Oh, and he's 18 weeks old.