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

[Leahs Mom]

I'm so glad! Time takes care of a lot of things, I have found. What is that saying? "Time wounds all heels..." No, that's not it...that's the advice I give to my broken-hearted friends. Time heals all wounds..yeah, that's it! My memory is an elusive thing sometimes.....

If at first you don't fricassee, fry fry a hen.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hi L's Mom, do you know anything about Macs? All I have is text edit (I think) and I think it's kind of cumbersome. Maybe I have to get Microsoft Office for Macs??

Sheila

I have some experience w/macs but since my workplace went all pc, I haven't had much practice in the last several years! I'm thinking there is a program on there you can use without buying Word...

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Update on the chicken with one eye closed (reminds me of "The Karate Kid" - "Close eye, Daniel-san"), puffed up and standing alone: I don't know what her deal was, but late yesterday she was looking like her "normal" self! She was running with the rest of the pack, scratching, had both of her peepers open and she looked just fine. Maybe she knew I'm kind of a "closet worrier" and couldn't help playing with me? Since I seem to have the tendency to post about a situation too soon, only to have to re-post with an update, I'll probably have the misfortune of having her drop dead off the roost! I'm kidding, I'm kidding.....

Yeah and it will be your fault because you didn't de-worm her!!! KIDDING!!!!!! But that just popped into my mind. Glad she is fine.....I confess, I have one that has been slightly limping for a couple of days. But she seems better today...NO bumblefoot or anything, looks like she hit or scraped that leg on something...so I put some "stuff" on her boo boo and have been keeping her under coop arrest.... I was thinking "Oh Crap..it'll be 'off with her head'" but I don't think so. Getting better at not being a closet worrier.

 

[chickachee]

It sounds like they may have a number of things....if you start trying to treat for all these things you will drive yourself mad! The pictures alone are frightening enough on some of these diseases, so I advise folks to not even go there.

The facts are that you got some chickens and they have multiple symptoms/problems. If you don't want to cull the whole mob and start with good, healthy birds~which you obviously did not start with~that's one option. The lady doesn't sound like she knows jack squat about chickens and are raising them and treating them like the typical backyarder on this forum...always results in having to treat, spray bare skin with something, explain away feather loss, etc.

From now on you might as well get chicks from the hatchery...at least those most likely won't arrive already carrying disease. You poor thing! But...I'm afraid that is what happens when folks rush into keeping chickens. No matter..what is done is done. Now, let's start coming up with solutions if we can.

I can only tell you what I would do....stop cleaning your coop. Start a deep litter system but do it properly...this lady sounds like she doesn't know what a healthy environment for chickens should look like. Mud pits are not the way to go.

Deep litter....start reading up on chickens now if you want to learn this thing and be able to keep them healthy. Read your little eyeballs out!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

Do start giving them mother vinegar....Krogers and Walmart now have some.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...osis-and-other-poultry-diseases-in-chicks-acv

Any lesions on the combs and wattles should be soothed with a coat of NuStock...also can go on bare skin. I'd treat any exposed skin, combs, wattles, around their buttholes and on their legs and feet:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=nustock

After you get the vinegar(Apple Cider Vinegar), put some feed in a bucket, soak it down with water, add some ACV to it and let it sit in warm place(room temp is fine) for a few days, give it a stir now and again and add water when it all gets soaked up. Don't be alarmed if it has a white/grey film on top...this should be happening. It should smell sour.... Then get some in these birds...sounds like they could use some good probios feed.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

What little feathers they do have can be dusted well with wood ashes to discourage skin mites or lice.

I know this sounds like the same old formula for health but it covers a lot of bases....Nustock for skin and mite problems, ACV and fermented feeds for immune system health, probiotics and electrolyte replacement, ashes for smothering the mites/lice, and deep litter to cultivate a coop environment that will be a place that actually improves the chicken's health and provides places for bugs that prey on parasite larvae. Deep litter is more than just not cleaning out the coop for a long time, so your lady is probably doing it wrong if her birds look and act like this.

If you want to keep these birds and don't want to continually be treating, you need to provide comfort for the things that hurt or itch, immune system boosters for the viral or bacterial illnesses, and start building a good environment inside the birds and in their environment to prevent further problems. If you don't have lots of free flowing air in your coop right now, get it. Free range is good if you have adequate protection for them while they are out on it.

It doesn't really matter what they have, really, because this formula will either take care of it or they will die anyway. Be patient, keep them comfortable and let time and good methods bring them around. If any one bird is suffering too much, put it out of its misery.

That's it...in a nutshell. I know that's a lot to absorb but it's really the only thing that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg, will give your birds the best chance of restored health and will weed the good chickens from the bad.

Good luck!!!!

Couldn't help it Bee, I was grinning when I was reading all your common sense advice. I can't help but think of my sister (nurse, too) and she is the same way as you - very forthright in a nice way, but does not really sugar coat anything. It's always nice to have someone with the voice of reason tell it like it is (Geez... does THAT sound dated!). Even if it's not good news, just having someone present it the right way and know what they're talking about, can make a difference.

 

[mendocinosunris]

I have some experience w/macs but since my workplace went all pc, I haven't had much practice in the last several years! I'm thinking there is a program on there you can use without buying Word...

There's Open Office - it's free: www.openoffice.org/

 

[chickachee]

There's Open Office - it's free: www.openoffice.org/

Thanks, I'll try that. Not like I really know what I'm doing computer-wise, mind you. Where I used to work, we all had PC's, but on the advice of a work friend who said that Macs never got viruses, I got one. I rue the day... Since I retired and moved from "the cities", I don't have contact w/him to ask for advice. If you ever looked up and saw a beautiful blue sky, you can be sure it was because I was swearing a blue streak trying to understand what was going on with the gol dang thing!

 

[chickachee]

I'm so glad! Time takes care of a lot of things, I have found. What is that saying? "Time wounds all heels..." No, that's not it...that's the advice I give to my broken-hearted friends. Time heals all wounds..yeah, that's it! My memory is an elusive thing sometimes.....

Yeah, I usually end my emails with "Memory loss is such a cruel thing...." when I have to ask something again that someone has already told me. Disclaimer - I'm NOT making fun of people with memory loss of any type. Just sayin'...

 

[Beekissed]

If at first you don't fricassee, fry fry a hen.

Quote:

You folks crack me UP! Feels so good to give out a big ol' guffaw! 'Specially if I am prepared and can hold my water....

 

[Melabella]

Hello everyone,

I went to post this in Emergencies, and illness part of the forum, but realize, I would love nothing more than the opinion of the educated, and chicken wise people of this thread. I hope you don't mind me posting this here Bee, as I would ADORE your input. Apologies if this is not ok.

I hope the pictures are good enough, if not, I can get more tomorrow. MY DD who is 11 didn't do too great a job of focusing the phone, but here goes.

Silly me who is 13 weeks into my first little flock, thinking that nothing would ever befall them since I am trying to do all the right things, clean coop and run, and now since finding this thread, have started to try and do things well and naturally. Well, I noticed a few days ago, my Roo Duke, started looking dirty. What he looks like is that he has a good case of greasy hair! I thought it was just because it had rained, and they have been ranging along a fence line next to the manure pit. Yesterday I had to catch him and put him in the run, and he wasn't cooperating. When I finally was able to get my hands on him, he was doing a big ol act of being tough, and puffing up, and thats when I noticed he has this yellow gunk all on his skin. On further examination, he looks like he is missing feathers, and seems to have all these spikes, I am guessing where feathers should be. All my pullets all look clean, but upon picking them up, they all seem to have this yellow, greazzzy looking gunk too. What is it? How could they have caught something? I started thinking... I bought my coop used from a woman who was having a forclosure sale and said she only kept 2 hens in there for less than two months. Could the coop have had something? It sat empty and unused in my yard for 10 months before I got chickens.

Any feedback and help identifying what you might think this is I would be greatful. I haven't gotten through this whole thread, so I apologize for not doing that first. I just want to get going on treating whatever my chickens might be afflicted with.

Let me know if these pictures are good enough, I will try to get better ones if the are not good.

Here is Duke the Columbian Wyandotte Rooster.







Here is one of my Black Australorp skin

 

[thedragonlady]

Oh okay.....yes, I've heard of that like using cabbage....thought maybe the fatback was something different.
Thanks!

You want to make it easier to eat fatback than somebody elses' feathers. Put it on a stake on the ground level. It will supply some of the fat and amiino acids that feather pickers seem to lack.