The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Beekissed]

Morning Update on Raggedy Flock: Today they ate their first good fermented layer mash and cleaned their plates....licked the bowl clean, so to speak.

Here's what I notice today...today they are moving like chickens. They are running, scratching, flying, and foraging like normal chickens. Combs are getting more color and feathers seem a little less disheveled(what little feathers there are). The rooster is striding out like he used to do...no strut yet, but definitely a stride. He is calling almost constantly to his flock, luring them into this or that morsel of goodness. The hens are purring and clucking softly as they forage. This is music to my ears, let me tell ya!

Chicken songs.....lovely.

That they cleaned up their food was a blessing to see...this tells me that they got a good dose of probiotics today, which is something they desperately needed. The feces I see is all firm and of good color....except for the monster turd found in one of the nest boxes this morning.

This turd looked like a broody poop....huge(almost as big as a large egg), compact, black as tar with only a little white urates in it. One of the barred rocks slept in the nest last night(and I just let her, poor thing) and she must have been very constipated to have put out this kind of poop. I bet she feels like a million bucks this morning!

They are ranging out further from the coop and seem more relaxed today. It's a beautiful fall day here and to see chickens on the grass again is like a hallelujah chorus in my soul. I hope you all are feeling the same way wherever you may live. This is the day that the Lord hath made and I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it!

P.S. I put a little epsom salts in the water as per suggestion for treating gleet. We'll see if it has any effect on bowels in a negative fashion. If so, I will discontinue it.

 

[aaggjg]

I am so happy I stumbled on this thread while trying to look for advice on the board. I just made it through all the posts... Phew .... I have been reading them in the morning when I feed the chickens and drink my coffee.... I've moved on to the fermented feed thread but that is going to take ages to get through!!! There is so much good information for chicken owners of all experience levels and your personal touches really make this thread hard to close!! You should use this thread as your journal and make this restoration of health the basis of your book.... It would be great to start documenting their progress in photographs too..... If you give yourself a time limit 6 months or a year to regained health..... The book will write itself like julie & Julia ..... She took 1 year to cook all of Julia child's recipes and documented it on her blog..... Then used that to write her book a movie was made.... Etc etc.....

I am so glad that the chickens are responding to your treatment. I bet there is a bit of sense memory going on with your original ones..... I'll be following this thread with great interest!!

 

[off-grid hen]

Bee- glad to hear that your chickens are acting like chickens again! I was thinking... You will have repeated questions about ACV and fermented feed throughout the thread. The thread is now getting long enough that some folks may skim though it. How about putting the helpful links listed in the main post? Or maybe in your sig? That way people won't have to answer the same questions over and over again. You might have to contact a mod about editing the main post, I'm not sure.

Have a nice evening.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Bee- glad to hear that your chickens are acting like chickens again! I was thinking... You will have repeated questions about ACV and fermented feed throughout the thread. The thread is now getting long enough that some folks may skim though it. How about putting the helpful links listed in the main post? Or maybe in your sig? That way people won't have to answer the same questions over and over again. You might have to contact a mod about editing the main post, I'm not sure.
Have a nice evening.

I was thinking a GREAT way to answer those recurring questions would be to put them on your new website then you could put a link over there!

 

[Beekissed]

Bee- glad to hear that your chickens are acting like chickens again! I was thinking... You will have repeated questions about ACV and fermented feed throughout the thread. The thread is now getting long enough that some folks may skim though it. How about putting the helpful links listed in the main post? Or maybe in your sig? That way people won't have to answer the same questions over and over again. You might have to contact a mod about editing the main post, I'm not sure.
Have a nice evening.

You are most correct and I am working on all that...it's a work in progress. It really helps when folks ask direct questions and I can put those on the webpages. I'll work on putting some good links over there in the appropriate sections. I've already posted a great link to an article that summarizes all the studies I found on fermented feed and it is posted under the feed page on the website. I'm not too good at this whole webpage construction...old dog, new tricks, ya know.

I'll keep at it. I really appreciate all those who have already posted questions there. Such as these are how information grows. I just need to organize it a little better and make it archived for ease of use....I'll need some help from my youngin's on that one.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm very pleased with how the flock are doing so far. I see chickens that are more relaxed and starting to show better action and movement of their bodies. More normal behavior going on...dusting, grooming, foraging and flocking well. They even come towards me a little when I approach, just like old times. We're getting there....it will just take time.

I added an extra roosting bar today to give more space for the evening shuffle. Tomorrow I will add the first sheet of wintertime plastic on the coop to shield the roosting areas from the night breezes as we are having night temps into the low 40s lately. Feels good to me and I'm sure it feels good to the chickens as well.

They cleaned up all their fermented feed tonight and even consumed a whole suet cake....their appetites are markedly improved. The smell in the coop is lessened, the feces are already having less smell and more of a healthy appearance than when they first arrived.

Overall, I'm very pleased at the difference a few short days has wrought in this flock. We are having our first fire in the wood stove tonight and will be using those ashes for another dousing of the birds with remaining lice and mites on their skin. I'll do a more thorough job this time and really work it into and under their thickest feathers.

Saw an episode of Dr. Pol the other day in which he stated that chickens act sedated when turned on their backs and it makes it easier to work on them. Well...it works for some of the birds and definitely makes it easier to work on all the birds, but Dr. Pol would be quite surprised about the pep and fight these chickens have. It takes two of us to restrain them for any treatment. I don't mind...this tells me that they are feeling stronger.

I sat out in the sun today and watched them being chickens. There is just something in me that goes out to these trusty old birds and my heart smiles to see them stretched out in the sun just soaking it all in.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

I have a suggestion for probiotics. I do things as cheaply as possible. Yes, I'm a tightwad. Because I have to be. Here's my suggestion:
Learn how to make Kefir. It's a fermented milk thingie similar to runny yogurt BUT: It has many more types of organisms in it than either yogurt or cottage cheese. The deal maker for me: It's brainless to make. And if you have access to your own milk, it will be free as well. I don't, but using some kefir "grains" that I got at an organic farm, I can now have a ready source of good probiotics for just the cost of a jug of whole milk. Any milk, so long as it's not "ultra-pasteurized." You can even do it with powdered milk, though I don't.
Basically you put about 1/3 cup of the "grains" in a 2 pint mason jar, fill with milk, cover with coffee filter and rubber band, and leave it on the countertop. Takes anywhere from 6 to 24 hours. You can give it to them (after straining out and retaining the "grains") as is, or mix in stuff. I usually mix in some uncooked rolled oats.
I'd say though, that the hardest thing for most is getting the kefir grains to begin with. They aren't supposed to be in the plain kefir from the health food store but there's likely some tiny ones in there because I've heard of people successfully growing some "grains" starting with that. These things look kinda like cauliflower. If you have a place around that makes and sells it, they are likely to be happy to share some. If you have to mail order the things, you might not feel it's worth the bother. Understood! I wouldn't do it either till I found a local source. The downside is that you can't just shove the grains in the freezer and expect to make a nice fresh batch next month. It is possible to freeze them for a while but when I don't want to keep making it, I just stick the jar with some milk in it in the fridge rather than on the countertop. It'll last a couple weeks that way.

Kefir's the ticket for humans. I had "duh moment" after reading this....never even dawned on me that it might be good for my chickens. Have stored kefir grains (covered in milk) in the freezer for several months...and then "revived" them on the counter with plain yogurt daily changes over a period of a few days. Kefir grains multiply and multiply.
I've given lots of kefir grains away. There are a couple or more kefir forums out there to check out....but I would sooner spend my 'spare' (stolen) time at BYC.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Bee - question about pumpkins, I just put some in for my girls, tenative at first, but they are warming up to it....what's the best way to "serve" it and what about the seeds???

 

[Leahs Mom]

Bee - question about pumpkins, I just put some in for my girls, tenative at first, but they are warming up to it....what's the best way to "serve" it and what about the seeds???

I'm watching this one too...I just cut one open and put it out for mine but I noticed that you cooked yours when you put it out for the group you're nursing. I was assuming the cooking was because they're "under the weather" to draw them in and make it easier for them? I'm guessing you don't usually cook it?

 

[fishnet1971]

Bee, you are amazing. Your skill at putting into written words what most of us feel about our flocks is just incredible. I am so proud of what you are doing for these girls and rooster. Your story has brought tears to my face from the first post. The road they have traveled back and forth through life is in your hands now. I can not wait until your post that they are singing their song as they are sitting on your lap, on your shoulder, and on your legs.

You truely are belssed my friend. Keep up the good work.

Love the website too!

Dee