The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SherrieC]

Hello

I am new to chickens, I raise them organically, so far they're just for eggs and for helping me to manage my veggie gardens but I hope to eventually be able to cull for meat once I'm able to have roosters. I had my first death, I found my 8 month old Australorp pullet ( at the top of the pecking order) in the coop standing but lethargic and not eating, doing watery poos that pretty much just looked like egg white with a splash of white in it which was explained to me that it was because she wasn't eating. The next day she died. Her vent and crop seemed fine, she seemed in perfect health besides a little bit of what looked to be scaley mite near the back of her comb, so it's a bit of a mystery.

Anyway, I was wondering what the general consensus is in natural chicken keeping when something like this happens. Everyone tells me I should worm them with medication. The others seem in perfect health except one has runnier poos then usual.

I have never given them medication before, I just give them raw garlic, ACV etc

 

[lalaland]

HI Sherrie,
Welcome to BYC and this thread! and congrats on your first post.

Sorry to hear about your hen.

Its difficult to tell what happened with your hen. First, what you are referring to as scaly mite would normally be seen on the shanks of the legs and on the feet - it is a mite that burrows under the scales and that lifts them up so the leg is no longer smooth. So not sure what was happening up by her comb.

By the time you can notice that your chicken is sick, they are usually very very ill. They have an incredible ability to mimic health - even to the point of fake eating where they beak at food or greens and it is only if you watch closely that you can see they aren't eating anything

I don't know what the parasite load is where your chickens are. Unless there have been chickens kept on the ground over a period of time, it seems unlikely that she could have built up a parasite/worm load that would kill her at that age. But I am unfamiliar with Austrailia, so..... Was she very thin? Her keel bone protruding? those could be indications of worms.

Especially since you are interested in raising chickens for meat, it is a good practice to do a necropsy on any birds that die. You will learn alot about their internal structures and that will often give you information about the cause of death. You might find tumors, worms, evidence of other diseases and illnesses.

It could be anything - just don't know enough to tell from your post.

If you wanted to worm, you could try a herbal wormer, or castile soap in their drinking water - as much soap as you might put in a sinkful of dishes.

For the runny poo, I would try offering the flock some good probiotics - or plain yogurt with the active cultures - feed for a couple of days along with regular feed and see if that makes any difference.

Also, check all your birds carefully for mites or lice. Those can bring down a chicken fast, and perhaps that is what is happening on the head of the one that died. You can take them off the roost if they aren't used to handling, and using a flashlight check the feathers at skinpoint by the vent, under the wing, and the back of the neck. If you find anything they will need to be treated for that quickly. You can use wood ash, or there are chemical means. DE will not work.

 

[dutchlion]

hi! i've just found this thread! so wonderful!

i have a broody who will be hatching (hopefully) a few babies in the next few days. this is my first broody and first time hatching eggs.... what herbs to you use and when do you start introducing them?

 

[flyladyrocks]

Welcome! You have a great name (I happen to be a Sherri too, no "e" on the end though)
Sorry a out your hen. I know that so many people immediately jump to dosing everyone in your flock with meds (dewormer, antibiotics...) But by doing that you risk doing more harm than good. Randomly treating for something but you don't know what is never a good idea. Do you have a vet who will do a fecal test on the runnier than normal poop? Sorry but I don't have anymore advice than that. I mostly just soak up knowledge from everyone here. I'm glad you found us. I am sure you will learn a ton and find lots of good advice and help.

Hello

I am new to chickens, I raise them organically, so far they're just for eggs and for helping me to manage my veggie gardens but I hope to eventually be able to cull for meat once I'm able to have roosters. I had my first death, I found my 8 month old Australorp pullet ( at the top of the pecking order) in the coop standing but lethargic and not eating, doing watery poos that pretty much just looked like egg white with a splash of white in it which was explained to me that it was because she wasn't eating. The next day she died. Her vent and crop seemed fine, she seemed in perfect health besides a little bit of what looked to be scaley mite near the back of her comb, so it's a bit of a mystery.

Anyway, I was wondering what the general consensus is in natural chicken keeping when something like this happens. Everyone tells me I should worm them with medication. The others seem in perfect health except one has runnier poos then usual.

I have never given them medication before, I just give them raw garlic, ACV etc

 

[slordaz]

Welcome SherrieC, my name is Sherry, my first thought was an egg broke inside but not sure what would cause that up on the comb. Garlic infused into say olive for several days works wonders for mites and stuff on my dogs and can be applied directly to affected area or used in a spray bottle.

I don't think I could do a necropsy on our birds we'll leave that chore to the guys lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

Is the spotting on the comb possibly favus? It is a yeast infection on the comb.

If you search for the term, you should be able to see some photo examples.

This will give you an overview of several fungal conditions including favus.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-recognize-fungal-infections-in-chickens-mol.html

 

[SherrieC]

Ok just so it doesn't get confusing, I started with 5 australorps chicks (5 weeks) in October last year, one turned out to be a boy so sold him in January and bought two barred rock Plymouth pullets that were only a week or two younger. We have also bought 2 wyandottes last week which are quarantined which are 1-2 months younger so my pullets range from 6-8 months of age.

I do have my dead australorp in the freezer ATM, we froze her straight away as I will plant her under a new nut or fruit tree in their yard (it's autumn here).

I have thought about having a look but I don't think I am ready for that yet!

She died on our way to the vet, I know most will laugh about taking her to the vet being a chicken and I could tell she was gone anyway but I wanted to know what was wrong because I wanted to make sure this wasn't something that would go through my entire flock and I need to learn if I want to keep chickens. We took her to the vet anyway to see if the vet could tell us why she died and the vet said both her crop and vent were fine and wasn't egg bound and that she looked in really good condition. The vet was hesitant to look any further and just said that she might have had an infection.

It's interesting what you say about how they pretend to eat, I noticed that too!

I first noticed that a few weeks ago after I had separated her because she was really nasty and drawing lots of blood on one of my other Australorps. She didn't take to being on her own at all, she was very angry about it (this is a girl that used to crow when we still had our cockerel and she would compete). Anyway she stopped laying and eating and I thought she was depressed so I put her back with the others as she looked like she lost weight but I started giving her feed mushed so that she would eat it and she came good and put on weight and looked to be moulting.

With the face, I had her in the outdoor area at the time as I took her away from the others, she was standing near a wine barrel full of compost when I saw a white mite on her face which was what caught my attention. I noticed some white dry skin areas near the base of her comb. I googled it and found stuff on scaly face mite so I figured it was that. It could be possible that the mite I saw on her face she had just picked up from the wine barrel and that was why it was white and not red. I rubbed some olive oil onto the area and that looked to clear it up. Her legs were fine.

I have also started on the others combs as they have white spots just in case and they cleared straight up also. The one with the runny poo looked to have a raised scale on her legs so I am doing her legs as well.

I also washed out both coops the other day it's some Eco dog wash I have that uses tea tree and eucalyptus oil.

I have checked their feathers for lice etc and they all look good, the Plymouth with watery poos also to me looks like she's not thriving and she doesn't seem interested in pellets. She got sick when we first got her but it was hot and I think she was dehydrated, she perked up after a couple of days of keeping her hydrated and giving her some treats so she would eat. She's also at the bottom of the pecking order so the australorps just bully her.

I have another 2 new wyandottes quarantined in another area with their own yard. One of them look to have this comb problem but much worse I will take a photo today to show you. She came like this so its not something she picked up here, I have just been giving her a few days to settle before I start handling her too much. Otherwise she looks really healthy.

I found a dead mouse in the coup near the broody australorp yesterday. It looked like it may have been pecked on the side of its face, I know they can freeze of fright can they die of it too?

That spray sounds like a great idea and I will have a read up on favus, thanks

 

[slordaz]

SherrieC did you get your chicks from the same place, sounds like they may be coming with it from there or where they are hatched I always check a chick over before buying it, and if there is something wrong I notice within a day or 2 I let them know where I bought them too, but it could be something in the ground too. That is why it is so important the bio security. our chicks are doing fine but we do a daily clean of any mess they make and while they are out in the pen, we clean the floor with disinfectant spray and wipe it down so it has a chance to air out before they come in the evening. If actually pack a spare pair of shoes that go through sanitization afterwards,if I a am going on someone else's property that have animals especially so I am not introducing anything from my place to theirs and change back to my normal shoes before going home so I am not bringing anything home either. Quarantine I have seen 2-4 weeks recommended and go with at least 4 if not more just to be safe.

It is better to be cautious than loose all the hard work we've put into them

 

[SherrieC]

Here's a photo of my new wynadottes comb, it wasn't eat to get because she doesn't trust me yet!

 

[slordaz]

might be nervous as she's older and it's a change, stresses them out, make sure she has plenty of water. Especially when I bring a new bird home I put some of the reg feed with them and a little mix of seeds,oats and meal worms, gives them a good choice and see what they are willing to eat, but I do leave at least 2 choices for them all the time as that seems to keep them happier too

She's a very pretty hen by the way