The New Flock 2021: Back to Basics

[speckledhen]

I did put ivermectin pour on on him and sprayed his tush for lice/mites after the video, only because he hasn't been on the ground to dustbathe in so long. I don't think his head is as tilted as it has been. Hard to say. He's so hard to handle to even look in his ears or anything right now.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

See if that ivomec helps. Seems ear infections can be hard to treat if it was that.

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, I know that for sure. Bash always has gunk/solidified infection in his ears. I have repeatedly put peroxide in them and cleaned them with a Qtip, but it always comes back. Bash, however, is an angel and let's me do whatever I need to do.

 

[1muttsfan]

He did pretty good standing on one foot and scratching. And he really like that pretty girl!

 

[1muttsfan]

My bantam speckled Sussex hens are constantly talking, but they're so small it's not very loud. And the little roosters crow quite a lot, but again not terribly loud.

 

[speckledhen]

He did pretty good standing on one foot and scratching. And he really like that pretty girl!

Yes, Rayna is a favorite of his, though I have never once seen her submit to him or any other rooster in the flock. She is the only truly calm EE hen I have and is such a lovely color combination (very camo in a bed of oak leaves). It was cute how he kept talking to her. I wish all my EE hens had her coloring and personality.
Bodie's balance has improved a bit. He gets tired in the afternoon because he's begun standing much of the day now. And yep, he has been able to scratch pretty well, seems more interested in grooming himself in recent days. This warm spell has been a blessing for him to get outside and soak up some Vit D.
I bet the SS you have are a pleasure to keep! Such handsome coloring. I always loved my Belgian D'Anvers for their mille fleur pattern.

 

[1muttsfan]

Yes the boys especially. And docile - I had 5 roosters of 3 generations together for most of the summer without a single fight. Not even any stink eye.

A few times I was out in the run and looked behind me, and there would be 3 or 4 boys just standing there watching. A little weird.

 

[speckledhen]

Another Bodie Update: I have to say that Bodie was standing really tall at the door of his hospital cage yesterday when I opened the barn. His comb is still not coming back to normal, but he has so much more energy and interest in life, now is talking to his peeps, seems like he's craving going out to the cage where I put him for two days, but it's since been too wet and mildly chilly for him in his state, IMO. We're still offering him ground beef and tuna/sardines occasionally. He loves that beef! He's still getting Vitamin E on that every couple of days.

The pen I'm going to use as a grow-out when my new little BRs are able to go to the barn was still vacant. I removed the ultra dusty shavings from it from not being occupied for quite awhile, added new bedding and put Bodie in there with food and water. There is a reptile bulb heat spot in one corner he can stand or lay under and he knows where that is because, before he went downhill in a major way, he was separated into that pen. The door of it can be opened and propped against the front screen door, making a sort of V shape out into the corridor, secured with a small bungee so he can see outside and be right on the other side of the hardware cloth from any birds passing in or out the door. He was a happy camper yesterday, seemed to me. Today, I think I'll put the two nutty little broodies in there with him since they're not doing anything except sitting on air in the main pen (Cricket and lookalike daughter, Dove). He can have company and maybe that will serve to encourage them to stop this futile quest for chicks.

Bodie still resists being picked up and I have to do that to put him back in the hospital cage on the few very cold nights that are coming in about a week. He has not shown he can do even a little jump to the first roost rung so he's always on the ground. Hospital cage is up on the wall and should be warmer at night. Checked his ears yesterday and see no gunk in there, no mites or anything. He panics when I reach for him, then tries to run and does a face plant, which helps me catch him. That part still confuses me because he was never skittish like that before last October. One side of his body does seem weaker than the other and I'll catch him lifting his right leg up and down after standing a long time, as if it might be fatigued or painful.

So, here is my question. If this was some sort of toxin he ingested (remembering Bash's odd period in 2019 where he was mysteriously ailing and having symptoms of lead poisoning-no lead paint here so ?), how long do you think he will take to fully recover, if he does and if that is the cause? The saga continues...

 

[1muttsfan]

I wonder if he had a bad but non-lethal case of West Nile virus.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I wonder if he had a bad but non-lethal case of West Nile virus.

That's a possibility.

Another Bodie Update: I have to say that Bodie was standing really tall at the door of his hospital cage yesterday when I opened the barn. His comb is still not coming back to normal, but he has so much more energy and interest in life, now is talking to his peeps, seems like he's craving going out to the cage where I put him for two days, but it's since been too wet and mildly chilly for him in his state, IMO. We're still offering him ground beef and tuna/sardines occasionally. He loves that beef! He's still getting Vitamin E on that every couple of days.

The pen I'm going to use as a grow-out when my new little BRs are able to go to the barn was still vacant. I removed the ultra dusty shavings from it from not being occupied for quite awhile, added new bedding and put Bodie in there with food and water. There is a reptile bulb heat spot in one corner he can stand or lay under and he knows where that is because, before he went downhill in a major way, he was separated into that pen. The door of it can be opened and propped against the front screen door, making a sort of V shape out into the corridor, secured with a small bungee so he can see outside and be right on the other side of the hardware cloth from any birds passing in or out the door. He was a happy camper yesterday, seemed to me. Today, I think I'll put the two nutty little broodies in there with him since they're not doing anything except sitting on air in the main pen (Cricket and lookalike daughter, Dove). He can have company and maybe that will serve to encourage them to stop this futile quest for chicks.

Bodie still resists being picked up and I have to do that to put him back in the hospital cage on the few very cold nights that are coming in about a week. He has not shown he can do even a little jump to the first roost rung so he's always on the ground. Hospital cage is up on the wall and should be warmer at night. Checked his ears yesterday and see no gunk in there, no mites or anything. He panics when I reach for him, then tries to run and does a face plant, which helps me catch him. That part still confuses me because he was never skittish like that before last October. One side of his body does seem weaker than the other and I'll catch him lifting his right leg up and down after standing a long time, as if it might be fatigued or painful.

So, here is my question. If this was some sort of toxin he ingested (remembering Bash's odd period in 2019 where he was mysteriously ailing and having symptoms of lead poisoning-no lead paint here so ?), how long do you think he will take to fully recover, if he does and if that is the cause? The saga continues...

Strange coincidence maybe, but one of my bantams is showing similar symptoms. I noticed her acting odd last week. Now she walks like she's drunk, and appears to be molting. She still eats well and can still get away so we are letting her go for now. I've taken to calling her roly poly. She's like a little tumble weed with spunk.