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

[Beekissed]

What does it indicate if the crop is like the one in the "not Normal "pic?

This means they have loss of muscle mass in the chest and their keel bone is prominent, pushing the crop to one side. You will see this in very young birds who have not developed breast muscle yet and you can really see it in little chicks with a full crop....then you see posts from newbies asking about the "abscess" on their chick's chests.

Meaty chicks are the worst...looks like you could pop theirs with a pin!

On a well muscled breast there is a natural crease between the two sections of breast muscle, along the breast bone, into which the crop will neatly snuggle and you won't see much definition of it when the crop is full...it will merely look like the bird is walking with their whole chest puffed out. In a normal chest, the bulge of the crop is a subtle thing and lies more midline in the chest and shouldn't deviate too much to one side or the other.... sometimes you have to actually pick them up and palpate the crop to see if it is full or if it's just their full breasted-ness.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

I have a girl, she's been laying for a couple of months now...a Barnevelder, short and stocky who has the crop to the one side thing going on. Do I need to send her to the chicken gym to do exercises, change in diet or will she grow out of it? She is the alpha hen.

 

[Beekissed]

Just feel her keel bone and see how sharp it is. Could be a need for more protein in the feed, could be she has lost condition for one reason or another, could be poor genetics/bloodlines, lack of exercise and it could be because she is young and hasn't reached her full potential yet.

If you are feeding the right feeds, she has plenty of room to roam, comes from good breeding you can cross off those factors.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Not sure about her genetics, I'm sure she was a hatchery kid...she does get exercise and is quite the bulldozer, always scratching and digging her way to china or where ever, she's on layer pellets but I think the protien thing is suspect...she does pick feathers (not very often now though), her keel bone is not sharp at all.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

This means they have loss of muscle mass in the chest and their keel bone is prominent, pushing the crop to one side. You will see this in very young birds who have not developed breast muscle yet and you can really see it in little chicks with a full crop....then you see posts from newbies asking about the "abscess" on their chick's chests.

Meaty chicks are the worst...looks like you could pop theirs with a pin!

On a well muscled breast there is a natural crease between the two sections of breast muscle, along the breast bone, into which the crop will neatly snuggle and you won't see much definition of it when the crop is full...it will merely look like the bird is walking with their whole chest puffed out. In a normal chest, the bulge of the crop is a subtle thing and lies more midline in the chest and shouldn't deviate too much to one side or the other.... sometimes you have to actually pick them up and palpate the crop to see if it is full or if it's just their full breasted-ness.

BK, does this apply to the lighter birds also? I noticed that 'assymetry' the other day with one of my 19 wk WLH's.

 

[aaggjg]

Hey Beekissed I have been following this thread closely and am halfway through the FF thread!! Wow there is a lot of information..... I started feeding my girls FF 2days ago..... My bantam Cochin now seems to have a sour crop. I have never had this happen before..... Have you heard of FF causing this? Would the Olive Leaf Extract work to help cure her?? and do I need to withhold food from her ?? Or just give her the olive leaf extract??

Also my FF has had the nice frothy foam scum on top ... This morning it had an intricate pattern... It was beautiful... Still white..... But is this kind of mold okay?? I took a picture but unfortunately I can't upload it from my phone and I'm not at a computer right now....

Love the pictures of the chickens you can totally see a change in just 7 days it is amazing! Thanks for teaching us all so much ...

 

[bruceh]

bee you mentioned something that kind of bothered me on combs. the hatchery birds of mine never really had deep red combs . they are pinkish red . i attributed this to bad genetics. if this is not the case please tell me. no bugs no mites all fee range. all get boss with 16% layer mash

just do not have that deep red comb.

 

[Beekissed]

BK, does this apply to the lighter birds also? I noticed that 'assymetry' the other day with one of my 19 wk WLH's.

Nineteen weeks old is still young and I think birds that are naturally lighter weight than the big, standard dual purpose may have more crop showing...RIRs and Leghorns will have more of an asymmetrical chestline due to their slimmer builds...not familiar with WLHs?? . I should have mentioned that, in regards to breeds....wasn't thinking about anything but the breeds in the pics.

Hey Beekissed I have been following this thread closely and am halfway through the FF thread!! Wow there is a lot of information..... I started feeding my girls FF 2days ago..... My bantam Cochin now seems to have a sour crop. I have never had this happen before..... Have you heard of FF causing this? Would the Olive Leaf Extract work to help cure her?? and do I need to withhold food from her ?? Or just give her the olive leaf extract??
Also my FF has had the nice frothy foam scum on top ... This morning it had an intricate pattern... It was beautiful... Still white..... But is this kind of mold okay?? I took a picture but unfortunately I can't upload it from my phone and I'm not at a computer right now....
Love the pictures of the chickens you can totally see a change in just 7 days it is amazing! Thanks for teaching us all so much ...

I've never had sour crop in any of my flocks but I doubt if the FF would cause it. That kind of yeast is different than the yeast you are feeding in FF. The olive leaf extract would help...I think I read another thread here on BYC about feeding Monistat to clear up a sour crop.

The white scum you describe is pretty normal...sounds like you have a good ferment going.

bee you mentioned something that kind of bothered me on combs. the hatchery birds of mine never really had deep red combs . they are pinkish red . i attributed this to bad genetics. if this is not the case please tell me. no bugs no mites all fee range. all get boss with 16% layer mash

just do not have that deep red comb.

Bruce, at different times of the year they may have more paleness of comb/wattles. On an egg slow down time like molting or in the winter, the combs may not be as cherry red but a hen that is laying each day and in normal health should have a good, bright red comb. It could be genetics and some breeds don't get as red as others...hmmmm.... are they all laying, Bruce?

 

[bobbi-j]

Bee, your birds look like they're coming along well. I, too, check the daily updates and am glad that you were able to get them back from those people. It know it's hard, but at least you have a chance to heal them. I sold a pony to a, uh, friend several years ago. My son had outgrown it, and she had a little girl who wanted one. A couple of months later, I saw her and asked how the pony was doing. She replied in what seemed to me, anyway, a very flippant manner, "Oh, he got into the calf feed. He foundered. He died." No regret, no apology. I just about cried right there. My son would have been heartbroken if he'd heard that. (That was 10 years ago, the boy is in his 20's and I've never told him about it) I found out later from our farrier that the pony was never fenced in, wandered on the road at night (my farrier almost hit him), and was generally not taken care of. If I'd had any idea what was going on, I would probably have tried to buy him back. No animal should have to suffer due to neglect. So, even if you feel the need to cull your birds in the spring, at least their last months will be happier and healthier than they would have been if you hadn't taken them home.

 

[Beekissed]

That's just horrible!!! It's one thing to neglect a flock of chickens...some farmers don't consider them worth much effort to keep healthy. But a horse is a pretty big animal and they have more....well...more personality and character and we humans identify with them more closely. I'd have been heart broken too....