The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[potagergirl]

May I ask what you are treating them with.

And then a sales post. I won't get anything from someone ordering but I thought of this thread when I placed my order.
For those of you interested in herbs and natural stuff, http://mountainmeadowherbs.com is having a buy one get one sale next Wed. They will take your order over the phone in advance and just not ship or charge till Wed. too.
Its where I get all of my liquid herbal remedies other than one ~ the one they only sell to midwives.

We are putting Vetrycin and Vaseline on their legs for the leg mites they have/had. This is our second week of treatments. For the lice we mixed wood ash, DE and Sevin we dusted them with the first night we went and got them then again Monday night. We got them the 18th of May. When we did the second leg treatment I looked them over for the lice/mites but did not see anything live crawling around. We waited till the next leg party (we've come to call it) then dusted them again minus the Sevin. We have made sure to do the leg treatments every 3 nights and it has made some awesome improvements to their legs.

they could have mites in the ears. I have read, but havent tried, the remedy for this is a few drops of veggie oil in the ears. If you try this, let us know the results.
You know, I've had chickens for so long I can't remember, maybe 15 years or more, and have never ever looked in a chicken's ear!

I was thinking ear mites as well. When I looked in their ears with the lighted magnifiny glass I didn't see anything, no bugs, no eggs, no crusting. It actually surprised me considering how bad they had the lice/mites both the red and leg scale. I'll look again tomorrow night when I have hubby helping me. As for looking in the ears-- I had no idea they had ears big enough to look into until I took a closer look! Imagine my surprise =)
Maybe I am being paranoid after all they have improved so much and they have a lot of new feather growth which could be bothering them. Tomorrow (if it doesn't rain) will be do another coop cleaning and burning so we will have more ash for them to dust in. A wait and see situation....

 

[lalaland]

under the heading of "if its not one thing, its the other"

one of the year old hens was acting funny in the coop tonight. finally saw her pass some egg white. someone is laying balloon eggs, probably her - but it makes me worried that she has egg shell in her. poor baby. not a good thing when they have repro issues at such a young age. She is not a hatchery bird, but something isnt right.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. She is pacing the floor of the coop, investigating corners as if she is looking for a nest to lay in, but ignoring all the nest boxes that are there.

 

[potagergirl]

ouch =( poor baby. I don't have an answer for you but hope someone does so I can write it down in my chicken book. Keep us updated on how she is doing please. Poor little thing has to be uncomfortable.

 

[Lacy Blues]

ok, dumb question: does she have oyster shell available?

I have one like that too, she regularly lays soft shelled eggs even though there is oyster shell available at all times. I don't know! If I could pin down which one is doing it, I would end her misery.

 

[Back2Roots]

under the heading of "if its not one thing, its the other"

one of the year old hens was acting funny in the coop tonight. finally saw her pass some egg white. someone is laying balloon eggs, probably her - but it makes me worried that she has egg shell in her. poor baby. not a good thing when they have repro issues at such a young age. She is not a hatchery bird, but something isnt right.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. She is pacing the floor of the coop, investigating corners as if she is looking for a nest to lay in, but ignoring all the nest boxes that are there.

She sounds very uncomfortable, like she needs some help passing whatever is stuck in her reproductive tract. You can try giving her an epsoms salts bath soak AKA spa treatment. See here for "how-to": http://hencam.com/faq/the-spa-treatment/

 

[Back2Roots]

We are putting Vetrycin and Vaseline on their legs for the leg mites they have/had. This is our second week of treatments. For the lice we mixed wood ash, DE and Sevin we dusted them with the first night we went and got them then again Monday night. We got them the 18th of May. When we did the second leg treatment I looked them over for the lice/mites but did not see anything live crawling around. We waited till the next leg party (we've come to call it) then dusted them again minus the Sevin. We have made sure to do the leg treatments every 3 nights and it has made some awesome improvements to their legs.

I was thinking ear mites as well. When I looked in their ears with the lighted magnifiny glass I didn't see anything, no bugs, no eggs, no crusting. It actually surprised me considering how bad they had the lice/mites both the red and leg scale. I'll look again tomorrow night when I have hubby helping me. As for looking in the ears-- I had no idea they had ears big enough to look into until I took a closer look! Imagine my surprise =)
Maybe I am being paranoid after all they have improved so much and they have a lot of new feather growth which could be bothering them. Tomorrow (if it doesn't rain) will be do another coop cleaning and burning so we will have more ash for them to dust in. A wait and see situation....

I think you just answered your own question about headshaking and preening: It sounds like your hens are going through a molt, and new feather growth is an itchy process. Those new feather shafts are irritating bristles until the feather finishes growing in. I know from watching my own hens that preening and shaking their heads is perfectly normal during a molt. Kudos to you for all your efforts to help them to become healthy and happy chickens again - I think you're doing a great job! (p.s. I don't think they have ear mites)

 

[potagergirl]

Thank you Back2Roots. I think I worry too much about them because even though they are old I don't want to lose any because of something I'm doing to improve their health. I also don't want to miss anything.

 

[COChix]

So yesterday our broody Cornish wanted out of her area where she was hatching, so I opened it up and she took the babies out to mingle with our 6 week old chicks. She never did get back on the nest, she left 5 eggs. There were a few tense moments where I was afraid mama was going to attack one of the 6 week olds, she never did. Sure she chases them off and even pulled some feathers on one, who pecked her baby. She slept in the nest box of the small coop with our littles and she and the babies were able to navigate the ramp just fine.

 

[lalaland]

She sounds very uncomfortable, like she needs some help passing whatever is stuck in her reproductive tract. You can try giving her an epsoms salts bath soak AKA spa treatment. See here for "how-to": http://hencam.com/faq/the-spa-treatment/

yeah, the epsom salt bath is good for a lot of things, scaley leg mites, an out of sorts something not right hen, wounds, eggbound, etc. The problem is that she doesn't have an egg in her that can be pushed out with her muscles because it is soft shelled. So when she pushes, the egg gives instead of moving down the canal out the vent.

I did soak her when I got home last night to clean her feathers off and get a better look at what was going on. I was dismayed to find that she has balloon belly, aka ascites. Common when a bird is having egg laying problems. I think she is also the hen laying the occasional double yolked eggs in addition to her messed up soft shelled eggs that don't have a yolk, and the regular soft shelled egg balloons. Also ascites can be related to cancers, and cancerous tumors are a hallmark of mareks. So, hopefully it is related only to her egglaying issues, and not mareks.

I know some people drain the extra fluid when the hen has ascites....and doing so will make her more comfortable and might extend her life a few months. Basically is pricking the balloon with a needle and letting it drain, or using a syringe on the needle and pulling out the fluid. It is a temporary fix. she is just a year now, hatched from a sulmtaler hen and an unknown rooster. Not a hatchery bird, and a bit young for what is happening with her.

I'm thinking the best thing to do will be to cull her this weekend, since the outlook isn't good for her, and since the excess fluid distends the skin to the point of being painful, and pushes against the organs making the heart work harder and making breathing more difficult.

 

[COChix]

yeah, the epsom salt bath is good for a lot of things, scaley leg mites, an out of sorts something not right hen, wounds, eggbound, etc.  The problem is that she doesn't have an egg in her that can be pushed out with her muscles because it is soft shelled.  So when she pushes, the egg gives instead of moving down the canal out the vent.

I did soak her when I got home last night to clean her feathers off and get a better look at what was going on.  I was dismayed to find that she has balloon belly, aka ascites.  Common when a bird is having egg laying problems.    I think she is also the hen laying the occasional double yolked eggs in addition to her messed up soft shelled eggs that don't have a yolk, and the regular soft shelled egg balloons.  Also ascites can be related to cancers, and cancerous tumors are a hallmark of mareks.  So, hopefully it is related only to her egglaying issues, and not mareks.

I know some people drain the extra fluid when the hen has ascites....and doing so will make her more comfortable and might extend her life a few months.  Basically is pricking the balloon with a needle and letting it drain, or using a syringe on the needle and pulling out the fluid.  It is a temporary fix.  she is just a year now, hatched from a sulmtaler hen and an unknown rooster. Not a hatchery bird, and a bit young for what is happening with her.  

I'm thinking the best thing to do will be to cull her this weekend, since the outlook isn't good for her, and since the excess fluid distends the skin to the point of being painful, and pushes against the organs making the heart work harder and making breathing more difficult.

Wow, sorry that your girl has these issues, sounds painful and the most human thing you can do.