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

[Beekissed]

Thank you!!!

It adds so much to a thread like this to have these things in pictures. They are worth a thousand!

 

[Beekissed]

Update on the Gnarly Bunch: I've been watching feet and legs because of what they have been through and because their infestation was so very bad. There are a few that look questionable once again, so I will be repeating the NuStock again when I get my mix made. Tonight I did an exam on a few that were showing some redness on the feet...just a smidge.

I found Little Red had some bloody spots between two toes and a little redness and flakiness of the skin above that. I put bag balm on these places for now. I examined her skin and found no mites or lice.

I also put some bag balm on Turkey's legs...they never have shed their old scales so I'm thinking there is a reason.

I cleaned out the feet on Middle Sister..not much in there and the sacs are decreasing in size. I checked her for lice and mites as well...nothing that I can see on her skin.

Ruby Crockett still has a little stinky and a little messy behind...looks a little sloppy and loose too, though I know she is not laying. I'm thinking this is a structural defect in this bird and she may be headed for a spring cull. No lice or skin mites noted on her and I don't think the gleet has returned but I put some bag balm on her vent because she still has sores at the corners. Too bad because she sure is a pretty hen.

Checked out Mildred and found her to be gloriously heavy and full in her feathering, clean as a whistle. I sure wish that one would lay...it would be a shame to cull her in the spring. She is just getting more and more beautiful!

When I get the NS made I will dust the whole darn flock with ashes just because it feels good to do it and repeat their NS applications to the legs, as well as spray the roosts down with a pine oil solution. Gots to keep those chooks feeling good!

 

[Bulldogma]

I dedicated a new tab on the blog to culling - - it was a toughie!

Bee has shared about culling in a number of different posts, so I wove all that information together into one long post.

Here it is.

 

[Ashdoes]

I've been wondering, with the scaly feet...is that an old age thing or something to do with the weather change? Especially cracking between the toes, sounds like dry skin. Of course I'm just guessing here, I know in winter my hands get so dry they crack and bleed.

 

[7L Farm]

Hey B how you doing? I have my favorite chicken called moochie & her feet are hurting her. Poor thing she has bumble foot. I need to help her out. Can you walk me through this. I need to do this asap. I'm thinking do one foot at a time. I've gotta help her she's a great girl well they all are but me & her are really tight. Not that I wouldn't help them all cause I do. But I can't let this keep going on. If you could please advice me on what needs to be done? Thanks 7L.

 

[aoxa]

[COLOR=4B0082]I have an ACV question...[/COLOR] [COLOR=4B0082]When I finally got a bottle of Bragg 10 days ago I also bought 2 gallons of generic/store brand regular (pasteurized ) ACV at the same time... then I poured out 1 cup of each gallon of regular ACV and replaced it with 1 cup of Bragg, put a paper towel on the top of each jug with a rubber band around it and stuck it in my pantry.[/COLOR] It's been in the dark for 10 days now, and every couple days I've been giving it a gentle swirl. [COLOR=4B0082]I see little specks of something growing in it near the bottom (not just sediment) and some more stuff that looks like flakes/pieces of a film floating near the top (not directly on the very top of the surface tho), but nothing that resembles an actual developing/growing/living Mother. The jugs that the generic ACV is in are plastic, which worries me a little... a lot of what I have read about making home made ACV usually says to use glass. Am I doing this right? If so how much longer until it's ready to use? And will it be just as inoculated with all of the beneficial goodies as the bottle of Bragg is? ([/COLOR]Or does this home made version ever reach that point?). [COLOR=4B0082]I've seen some posts/articles/sites that say to let it sit just a few days, some say a week and some say a few weeks, so I'm unclear on how long it takes before I can use it. My bottle of Bragg is getting low and I don't want to buy more, lol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=4B0082]Thanks Bee, I didn't know that I needed to inoculate the new jugs with that high of a ratio of Bragg to regular ACV. Bummer :/ [/COLOR] [COLOR=4B0082]Guess I'll bite the bullet and buy a few more bottles of Bragg to keep me going. Unfortunately I can't find it in gallon jugs around here . Then I'll give my 2 gallons a good boost with more Bragg (and probably start a 3rd jug with what I pour out of the other 2 jugs), and then split them all off after another week. I have a lot of birds and go thru a lot of ACV (I've also been adding a good healthy glug or 2 to my old horse's beet pulp breakfast every AM), so I definitely need to get this stuff going on a somewhat larger scale, and keep it going.[/COLOR] [COLOR=4B0082]Thanks again![/COLOR]

I used not too much of the mother ACV to the gallon, and let it sit for 3 weeks. It was definitely growing mother by that point. Very noticeable look/smell. I just think it needs to sit longer than a week.

 

[Beekissed]

I dedicated a new tab on the blog to culling - - it was a toughie - a lot of folks aren't going to be ready to hear Bee's call-it-like-I-see-it as they haven't been following this thread since the start as many of us BYC-ers have. Long-time journalist that I am, I'm sorry to admit I padded a few things, and re-worded a few things to appeal to the masses - and for that I apologize.I do hope nobody will be offended by the changes.

Bee has shared about culling in a number of different posts, so I wove all that information together into one long post.

Here it is.

I think you did a wonderful job!!! I love the changes and I think you stayed true to the topic. I can't say enough about the job that you are doing...not one single critique yet and I'm not someone who is without the ability to peruse the text and find every little mistake. Most often my own!

I'm a little Type A....

I've been wondering, with the scaly feet...is that an old age thing or something to do with the weather change? Especially cracking between the toes, sounds like dry skin. Of course I'm just guessing here, I know in winter my hands get so dry they crack and bleed.

Ordinarily, I would agree. Older birds can get red and a little dry and scaly in the cold...but these have been compromised by poor care. I want to make sure that it's not a relapse instead of just normal phenomena. I'm being overly cautious just now but normally I am not subjecting the chickens to this level of scrutiny.

You are correct...sometimes they just look dry and scaly in the winter. On cold days their legs and feet will have a reddish tinge as well.

 

[Beekissed]

Hey B how you doing? I have my favorite chicken called moochie & her feet are hurting her. Poor thing she has bumble foot. I need to help her out. Can you walk me through this. I need to do this asap. I'm thinking do one foot at a time. I've gotta help her she's a great girl well they all are but me & her are really tight. Not that I wouldn't help them all cause I do. But I can't let this keep going on. If you could please advice me on what needs to be done? Thanks 7L.

That depends on how invasive you want to get. If you want to do something quickly and want to get deeply into this treatment, you can core that sore out, treat it with an antibiotic and apply an occlusive dressing to keep out the dirt.

Or..you can soak it in epsom salts and warm water, apply NuStock and bag balm and let 'er go and watch her progress.

What treatment option do you feel is best? Can you post some pics of her foot? You know I'll want a before and after...

 

[superteck6]

bless you for giving those birbs a chance i just lost 1 to a hawk and know what you mean about being hard on yourself to loose one or feeling you should have done more

 

[delisha]

Nice job bulldogma..I also posted the recipe for making ACV