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

[7L Farm]

Everybody is in their first year...all the girls are laying,and have been for three months about; the 2 boys (I guess they are still cockrels?) are the same age and have good sized spur bumps, but nothing sharp there yet. I don't want to add any more girls until spring, hoping five will do them each. I also suspect there may be some "I like you better" swapping around between the girls. And at least one if not both boys is fertile and doing his job.

Since your saying their cockerels. My best answer would be their acting just like teenaged boys. Their in love & will fight over the woman. Sounds normal to me. Just keep an eye on them because it could get bloody again. You might have to get rid of one if this happens are seperate them till you get more hens.JMO. I've never had this problem. I mean my main roo hasn't shed blood from my two cocks he just chases them around & they run from him. Good Luck with the boys. Boys will be boys.

 

[Beekissed]

Time for the Weekly Pic Comparison shots of the Gnarly Bunch~Week 3: I tried to get them in some order but not sure how to do that when downloading all the pics at once...so bear with me on that and I'll try to caption them all properly.



Toby at Week 1 with low muscle mass, poor feathering and anemic appearance.





This is Toby, week 3 and taken today though the camera says it's yesterday's shot. You can see how his chest is filling out as well as his entire body..he is acting normal now.



This is Ruby Crockett in Week 1, skinny chest, dull feathering.

This is Ruby Crockett on Week 3, today, and you can see the difference is pretty remarkable. Chest and body is filling out, feathers are shiny.





These are the Partridge Rock and one of the BRs today, Week 3. The PR was one of the skinniest birds of three skinniest birds in the flock when they arrived. She is filling out nicely.




Little Red Hen, Week 3, on the nest and feeling perky!



Middle Sister Week 1...horrible shape in all ways.





These two pic are is Middle Sister, Week 3, and still looking rough and still has swollen feet. She is the only bird that still is not recovering quickly, though she looks somewhat better. She moves well, eats well, drinks, etc. and has no problem getting up and down from the roost....but I'm thinking I will cull her before it gets too white cold.


This Partridge Rock was very thin and raggedy when she came, but she is slowly filling out and getting pretty. She sleeps out of the coop each night, on a cold axle of an old truck....goes to show how much they need a cozy coop, huh?


This is the same bird, Week 1.


This is the fluffy, clean butt of Raggedy Ann....big change there in 3 wks time.


Raggedy Ann, Week 1.....



Raggedy Ann, today at Week 3. Bright-eyed ...and bushy tailed!


Ruby Crockett, AKA Miss Gleet Bottom, looking fat and sassy...no gleet in sight on Week 3.


This is Turkey, the Dom mutt, the absolute skinniest bird upon arrival. Her keel bone could have cut leather it was that sharp...this pic is Week 1. You can see how much her crop sticks out due to lack of muscle mass and definition in her chest. If you look at the next pic below, you will see her on Week 3. Some improvement going on.






The Partridge Rock at Week 1.

And today...still growing in her tail feathers but making great progress on weight and feathering...very glossy and healthy acting at Week 3.




The three skinniest birds upon arrival, here now at Week 3, having a group grooming session. This is Middle Sister, the Partridge Rock and Turkey, the Dom mutt.



With exception of Middle Sister, I consider this flock out of the woods in regards to health. They are free of parasites, free of gleet, the bumblefoot is not progressing and is slowly going away, the new scales are growing in on their legs and old scales sloughing off and they are all putting on weight and feathering out nicely.

I don't think we'll need anymore comparison pics unless it's a group pic maybe next spring but I will still document any changes for the better here and any rise in egg production or any culling for such next spring.

I feel that my experiment has been a good one and I feel even Middle Sister would make an eventual recovery to stable health but her swollen feet are an issue that I feel will probably not go away. I'll be mulling over what to do about her before it gets too awful cold and if I think she is suffering too much from the cold, I will give her mercy.

I've been very pleased with the results of my little experiment and it turned out much like I expected....not only are these methods good for preventative, but are real handy on the curative side and I hope this has been a help to any of you who wanted to see if these types of all natural remedies and methods really work. The pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

 

[Bulldogma]

I have the links now for the ACV. Doing that one first. I don't know how in-depth this FF stuff is, I hope it's not too time-consuming. I have a lot more reading to do. It's a good thing I like reading.

I can honestly say that the FF is easier than I thought it would be. As a mother of 2 kids with special needs, things have to be fairly easy if I'm going to make a commitment. I don't do it the same way Bee does it - I don't have an extra bucket right now and I have to keep it in the laundry room as I don't have a shed I can use.

I have a 5 gallon bucket that cat litter came in. I washed it out well and then started with some feed, covered it with plenty of water and put in about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar with Mother. I stir it briefly twice a day. It was ready to start feeding within 48 hours.

I don't have as many birds as Bee I think, and my gang only needs about 2 cups of feed twice a day. (They're young so they get breakfast too. When they're older, they'll only be fed before bed.) I simply keep a cup-shaped colander/sieve thing and dip out some FF at feeding time. My colander has little hooks so it can be hung across the mouth of the bucket to drain. Since I'm often in a hurry and don't have time for the excess liquid to drain out, I use an old plastic mixing spoon to stir it up and help get out excess moisture.

I add more feed every day or two and I just cover the bucket with a towel to keep bugs out. So far it has stayed smelling good. My birds LOVE it and the entire flock comes running when ever I step foot outside now - LOL. I never put more in to ferment than they can eat in about 2 - 3 days time.

Since starting with FF, there is NO wasted feed stomped into the ground any more. They eat less and don't dig through or throw it about. I'm saving quite a bit of money by feeding my chickens a healthier, more digestible diet that they enjoy far more than the plain, dry stuff!

Best decision I've made in a long time

 

[Miss Lydia]

Time for the Weekly Pic Comparison shots of the Gnarly Bunch~Week 3: I tried to get them in some order but not sure how to do that when downloading all the pics at once...so bear with me on that and I'll try to caption them all properly.






This is Toby, week 3 and taken today though the camera says it's yesterday's shot. You can see how his chest is filling out as well as his entire body..he is acting normal now.



This is Ruby Crockett in Week 1, skinny chest, dull feathering.

This is Ruby Crockett on Week 3, today, and you can see the difference is pretty remarkable. Chest and body is filling out, feathers are shiny.





These are the Partridge Rock and one of the BRs today, Week 3. The PR was one of the skinniest birds of three skinniest birds in the flock when they arrived. She is filling out nicely.



Middle Sister on Week 1....very skinny, pretty sickly looking, swollen feet.


Little Red Hen, Week 3, on the nest and feeling perky!


This is Middle Sister, Week 3, and still looking rough and still has swollen feet. She is the only bird that still is not recovering quickly, though she looks somewhat better. She moves well, eats well, drinks, etc. and has no problem getting up and down from the roost....but I'm thinking I will cull her before it gets too white cold.


This Partridge Rock was very thin and raggedy when she came, but she is slowly filling out and getting pretty. She sleeps out of the coop each night, on a cold axle of an old truck....goes to show how much they need a cozy coop, huh?


This is the same bird, Week 1.


This is the fluffy, clean butt of Raggedy Ann....big change there in 3 wks time.


Raggedy Ann, Week 1.....



Raggedy Ann, today at Week 3. Bright-eyed ...and bushy tailed!


Ruby Crockett, AKA Miss Gleet Bottom, looking fat and sassy...no gleet in sight on Week 3.


This is Turkey, the Dom mutt, the absolute skinniest bird upon arrival. Her keel bone could have cut leather it was that sharp...this pic is Week 1. You can see how much her crop sticks out due to lack of muscle mass and definition in her chest. If you look at the last pic of this page, you will see her on Week 3. Some improvement going on.


The Partridge Rock at Week 1.

And today...still growing in her tail feathers but making great progress on weight and feathering...very glossy and healthy acting at Week 3.


Poor Middle Sister from the side view...you can really see her swollen feet in this pic and her hunched appearance. She's a little better but hasn't made the progress of the others by Week 3.


The three skinniest birds upon arrival, here now at Week 3, having a group grooming session. This is Middle Sister, the Partridge Rock and Turkey, the Dom mutt.


Toby at Week 1...placed here for a comparison pic to his pic above at Week 3. Big difference in body mass in 2 wks time.


Another pic of Turkey, the Dom mutt hen, and this shows her chest is filling out and no more sharp keel bone parting her feathers at the chest. She is even showing some widening between the legs and good color in her legs.

With exception of Middle Sister, I consider this flock out of the woods in regards to health. They are free of parasites, free of gleet, the bumblefoot is not progressing and is slowly going away, the new scales are growing in on their legs and old scales sloughing off and they are all putting on weight and feathering out nicely.

I don't think we'll need anymore comparison pics unless it's a group pic maybe next spring but I will still document any changes for the better here and any rise in egg production or any culling for such next spring.

I feel that my experiment has been a good one and I feel even Middle Sister would make an eventual recovery to stable health but her swollen feet are an issue that I feel will probably not go away. I'll be mulling over what to do about her before it gets too awful cold and if I think she is suffering too much from the cold, I will give her mercy.

I've been very pleased with the results of my little experiment and it turned out much like I expected....not only are these methods good for preventative, but are real handy on the curative side and I hope this has been a help to any of you who wanted to see if these types of all natural remedies and methods really work. The pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

Awesome pics with comparisons wow what a change. you have been an inspiration to me not only with the help on the ff but I really thought we would have to put my lil Cochin down because everything I had tried to rid rid of the vent gleet hadn't worked, but today I got the Nu stock and am very excited to get her tonight when she goes to roost and smear her bottom up with it. I really think the Vetericyn that I have been using has helped to clear it up inside along with the ff but her bottom is red and featherless so I have high hopes for the Nu stock to help finish up this long drawn out issue. I wish I had documented this from the beginning so I could show where she was and where she is today and where she will be soon. But oh well most important is I am sure there is hope for her now. Thank you Bee. Seeing where your chickens were and what they are today is inspiring. I have learned so much and hope this thread continues since I have so much more to learn.

 

[normanack]

All the chickens look so much better (except for that one poor hen's feet), and Toby is magnificent!

 

[Beekissed]

I'm glad you can use it and hope you have the same positive results I have had. I really think it is a combination of the fresh soils, fresh air, sunlight and probios in the feed that did more than anything...but getting rid of the parasites and infections sure helped. I'm just so happy for these birds and we are falling into old habits and it feels so nice.

Toby remembers the roo stick, I have found, though he has never had it used on him in any violent way. For him I've always used it like a shepherd's staff...a light touch on the back to move him here or there. I was getting a little tired of him pecking the girls when they come to the feeder, so I just sat in the coop and got out the stick....he instantly moved outside and stood watching the girls eat. When he tried to come back in all I had to do was very lightly tap that stick on the ground and he changed his mind.

I love a well-trained rooster!

Got 4 large trash cans of compacted leaves stored today for winter bedding....going to try to save some money on deep litter this year by using what is on hand. The leaves will break down nicely and the bugs will prefer them to pine shavings, so this will give the girls something good to do on those long winter days of deep snow or frozen ground and high winds. Supposed to be a hard winter this year, so I'm trying to prepare for battening down the hatches.


Got 2 eggs today and it's nice to have a small, but steady supply of eggs coming into the house again...finally I can eat an egg from a healthy source that has actual flavor. Golden, rich, yummy goodness!

I've decided the eggs are healthy enough for ingesting now...no health issues in this flock for some days now.

Will get hay next week for insulating the coop and dog house, so this will bring the cozy factor up in the coop by 10. It will lessen total floor space but they have it to spare and it will give more places of perching and being without being on the roosts in order to get up off the floor. Sometimes a chicken just likes to get up on something and look down on all the peons.

Making homemade bread right now and frying up red potatoes from the garden and will serve some big, fat, fresh eggs right beside them on the plate...breakfast for supper!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm glad you can use it and hope you have the same positive results I have had. I really think it is a combination of the fresh soils, fresh air, sunlight and probios in the feed that did more than anything...but getting rid of the parasites and infections sure helped. I'm just so happy for these birds and we are falling into old habits and it feels so nice.

Toby remembers the roo stick, I have found, though he has never had it used on him in any violent way. For him I've always used it like a shepherd's staff...a light touch on the back to move him here or there. I was getting a little tired of him pecking the girls when they come to the feeder, so I just sat in the coop and got out the stick....he instantly moved outside and stood watching the girls eat. When he tried to come back in all I had to do was very lightly tap that stick on the ground and he changed his mind.

I love a well-trained rooster!

Got 4 large trash cans of compacted leaves stored today for winter bedding....going to try to save some money on deep litter this year by using what is on hand. The leaves will break down nicely and the bugs will prefer them to pine shavings, so this will give the girls something good to do on those long winter days of deep snow or frozen ground and high winds. Supposed to be a hard winter this year, so I'm trying to prepare for battening down the hatches.


Got 2 eggs today and it's nice to have a small, but steady supply of eggs coming into the house again...finally I can eat an egg from a healthy source that has actual flavor. Golden, rich, yummy goodness!

I've decided the eggs are healthy enough for ingesting now...no health issues in this flock for some days now.

Will get hay next week for insulating the coop and dog house, so this will bring the cozy factor up in the coop by 10. It will lessen total floor space but they have it to spare and it will give more places of perching and being without being on the roosts in order to get up off the floor. Sometimes a chicken just likes to get up on something and look down on all the peons.

Making homemade bread right now and frying up red potatoes from the garden and will serve some big, fat, fresh eggs right beside them on the plate...breakfast for supper!

We do breakfast for super alot yum. I took a pic of Snows butt tonight before slathering on the Nu stock. So I can keep up with the progress. I can show you if ya want. Pretty disgusting to say the least. Maybe not before supper. Bee do you put the Nustock inside too, I don't think I can do it with a finger she is so tiny.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes, we'd like to see it...that stuff doesn't phase me, I'm a nurse.

Yes, I put it up inside her as well...you may think her hole is tiny but it will expand, just go easy. I put all my NuStock in a picnic mustard dispenser bottle, so I even just inserted that nozzle a little into the vent and gave a little squirt. A lot of it came right back out but I just spread it around outside.

Let's see the gleety butt!!!!

 

[bobbi-j]

One of the reasons I love this thread - we can discuss "gross and disgusting" things like gleet. Honestly, Bee, when you gave details of your black star, and showed the pictures of the gleety butt, I was thinking, "Oh, cool!" But then, I've been an EMT for over 25 years and raised 3 sons. It takes quite a bit to gross me out. (One of my proudest moments was when I actually managed to gross out my then-teenage sons. That conversation had to do with dead carp, hot summer weather and slurping with a straw...) Anyway, I find it all fascinating and appreciate the opportunity to learn. PS - Getting closer to making my first batch of FF. Got the ACV on Sunday. Still wrapping my mind around the difference between "fermented" and "spoiled". Yes, I know there is a HUGE difference. It's just a thing I have to get through.

 

[MyGardenHelper]

Beekissed, your flock is looking beautiful. Amazing in just 3 weeks I also hope this thread continues. I've never heard of Nu Stock. Now I'm going to make a batch so it's handy for 'just in case'. I think I'll use castor oil, olive oil or wheatgerm oil.

Here's some info from The School of Natural Healing. 'Herbal Home Health Care' by Dr. John R. Christopher.

Three oil massage (this is a step for cleansing). The skin is used as a filtering agent.

First 2 days use castor oil - cleans and flushes the skin. It also goes into the bloodstream, aiding in the removal of mucous and toxins from the inner body.
Next 2 days use olive oil - complete food itself and will penetrate into the body to feed and rebuild muscles, flesh and the entire system.
Last 2 days use wheatgerm oil - a healing oil, high in vitamin E, valuable in rejuvenating the body.