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

[Miss Lydia]

I know the changes are subtle and hard to detect in these pics, but as a nurse I'm pretty adept at noticing when something is swollen or has become less swollen...in the first few pics you can see that Stumpy AKA Middle Sister has swollen ankles and toes, with a shiny and puffed appearance of the ankles in this first pic. You can see a crease at the bottom of the swelling that shows the edema is so tight it has created a roll or crease in her flesh at the bend of the ankle.







In this bottom pic you can't see the shiny puff at the top of the ankle joint and a more smoothly flowing line of the foot. I still see redness around the toes but the foot has become more uniform in shape and size...no more skinny legs and big feet as in the second pic on this page. Now she has nice, thick legs flowing down into more normal sized ankles(no puffy or shiny roll of flesh at the ankle) and the feet look more in proportion to her legs. We are getting there.....another soak tonight perhaps and this time a massage with bag balm.



In these two lower pics you can see a better stance and a better stride, she no longer walks or stands hunched over with her neck pulled down into her body. If you see a chicken with this stance or walk at all times, this usually indicates some discomfort in the chicken. That's one of the things I look for in my flock when I do a daily looky lou...everyone moving good? Everyone standing proud? Now, you can't count the times when they are just resting...often times you will see them with their neck tucked down and just standing still. When it's cold outside and they are resting you will often see this and it's just conserving heat. Sometimes it's just a bird resting while standing up. But..if they walk that way or stand that way all the time, you know something is up.

Big difference for sure. She is very pretty. I have looked for those glands on all my chickens feet the last couple nights since i am checking for mites and rubbing Nustock into their feet and legs and I have yet to see any glands. I did noticed my young lavender Orp. Has a couple places on her feet that looked like the start of BF but last night when I checked her again after only using the Nu stock on her once I could hardly find them.I am going to have to make up some of this because the more I read the more I will want to use on us humans too.

 

[Beekissed]

I think she still has tired eyes....you can see an almost weary look in her eyes. That, to me, is a sign of pain, discomfort or weakness. When this flock arrived they all had that look around their eyes.

This is another thing I look for when assessing my flock each day...bright eyes. Their eyes need to be wide open, bright and sharp...almost beady. If their eyes look heavy lidded~like Miss Stumpy here~or sleepy looking, I always give that bird a second look. She really could be a little sleepy, standing there all hunched over and droopy eyed...but if I see her looking like that several times a day there is something wrong with a chicken.

Stumpy always looks tired around the eyes. I know how she feels...I'm in pain pretty much all the time now and some days it's worse and my eyes look just like that. Tired of dealing with it all.

Compare Stumpy's eyes with Ruby Crockett's and Raggedy Anne's eyes(beady and bright) in these pics:

 

[Loghousemom]

Not an OT, but I do have oak leaves in my coop -- that's what we have in our yard, too. When we started out in May, we didn't have enough leaves for really deep litter. During the summer we scrounged around the property and found some abandoned small piles of leaves from last year (yes, we are trashy people) and added them as we ran across them. Now that it's fall, we added the freshly fallen leaves and it is Deep Litter indeed.
The chickens love it. On rainy days I throw some scratch in the leaves (though not directly under the roosts) and it's a treasure hunt all day.
The litter is very dry and I'm thinking it may take a long time to compost, unless moisture builds up in the coop during winter.

I do not have oak leaves, but I have a lot of cottonwoods. The leaves are large and almost waxy looking. We only got our chickens in May, so I am experimenting, but I decided to also add leaves to the coop on recommendation of BK and a few other OTs. What I did what mowed over them a couple times with the mower to get them broken down into smaller bits and then mixed them with a pile of leaves from our maple tree that the chickens and dogs and kids had played in that were mushed up really well. I don't know how it will work, but then I added it to the coop and tossed a bit of alfalfa hay on top. But I know from experience with these leaves that if I just toss them in a pile for composting they just turn into a "mat" in the pile so I didn't think tossing them in the coop whole was a great idea.

I might also toss in a bit of black dirt from the compost pile that the chickens like just for some added clean dirt... I am using a mighty old coop and the floor is dirt in most places, though I am finding random things down there under the "dirt" found an old solid wood door the other day.



BK. following your lead, I took the girls off the roost late last night and checked them over. There is one that has dull grey looking legs. They aren't completely smooth like the others either. I meant to pick up some NuStock when I was in town the other day, but ran out of time, so I will get it today and see how that does. Maybe it is nothing and it is just how her legs are supposed to look but I figure it cannot hurt. I've been taking lots of pictures, but my current camera is cruddy so I have been trying to wait to post them till my charger shows up for my better camera........... Watched your YouTube video of your chickens ranging, wow! I would love to lives there in the woods like that! I've got a good tree row, but with the lack of rain here is is not nearly as green.

I also put out a tub of wood ash a couple days ago. I didn't notice anyone using it yet, but maybe I need to put it in a shallower dish. I am using an old galvanized washtub that was laying around.

 

[Beekissed]

Here is the Gnarly Bunch ranging on this overcast fall day....the leaves are the most beautiful they have been for many a long year:

 

[delisha]

I have a question. I have a wood fire pile filled with ash all year round (except when its filled with burning wood). I have a fine dirt and sand patch too. They rarely use the ash. (Been a year at least)The ducks and chickens love the dirt and sand pile and use that. I do not remember the last time they used the ash pile. I do not see any lice or mites on my birds, yet I am sure they must have some amount, we live in the country with butt- adjoining farms that also have chickens. We have visiting roo's on occasion and it is a bit frustrating. My roo does not let them stay long. I used to grab and dust, but gave that up. I refuse to fence all of this for a few bugs. I have fencing for brooding only. We each have different ideas on animal husbandry. After reading this I am questioning my knowledge and wondering if I need to start dredging my birds in ash. My good sense tells me if they had a problem they would use the ash pile. I am wondering if I am wrong. I was wrong once before, but I was mistaken.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a question. I have a wood fire pile filled with ash all year round (except when its filled with burning wood). I have a fine dirt and sand patch too. They rarely use the ash. (Been a year at least)The ducks and chickens love the dirt and sand pile and use that. I do not remember the last time they used the ash pile. I do not see any lice or mites on my birds, yet I am sure they must have some amount, we live in the country with butt- adjoining farms that also have chickens. We have visiting roo's on occasion and it is a bit frustrating. My roo does not let them stay long. I used to grab and dust, but gave that up. I refuse to fence all of this for a few bugs. I have fencing for brooding only. We each have different ideas on animal husbandry. After reading this I am questioning my knowledge and wondering if I need to start dredging my birds in ash. My good sense tells me if they had a problem they would use the ash pile. I am wondering if I am wrong. I was wrong once before, but I was mistaken.

Your good sense is right on the mark! If you don't see lice, they don't have it. Before this episode with my flock and their previous owners, I never had lice or skin mites either...of that I'm sure. Just because they live on free range with wild birds and other visiting birds does not mean they will get or will always have existing parasite infestation.

Because they have access to fresh soils daily and have created their own natural dusting spots you may never see them hitting the ash pile. Mine rarely did either....but every once in awhile I'd see them picking through it and eating, on occasion dusting. The ashes suggestion is for folks whose birds don't have any good place to dust, have mites and lice on a recurring basis or who have a coop/run environment that needs a little more oomph in the dusting areas. If they are confined on the same soils, it makes for an overload of parasite ova in the soils, internal and external. The ashes just may give those birds the edge because they cannot escape the damaged soils unless someone helps them.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I know the changes are subtle and hard to detect in these pics, but as a nurse I'm pretty adept at noticing when something is swollen or has become less swollen...in the first few pics you can see that Stumpy AKA Middle Sister has swollen ankles and toes, with a shiny and puffed appearance of the ankles in this first pic. You can see a crease at the bottom of the swelling that shows the edema is so tight it has created a roll or crease in her flesh at the bend of the ankle.

In this bottom pic you can't see the shiny puff at the top of the ankle joint and a more smoothly flowing line of the foot. I still see redness around the toes but the foot has become more uniform in shape and size...no more skinny legs and big feet as in the second pic on this page. Now she has nice, thick legs flowing down into more normal sized ankles(no puffy or shiny roll of flesh at the ankle) and the feet look more in proportion to her legs. We are getting there.....another soak tonight perhaps and this time a massage with bag balm.

In these two lower pics you can see a better stance and a better stride, she no longer walks or stands hunched over with her neck pulled down into her body. If you see a chicken with this stance or walk at all times, this usually indicates some discomfort in the chicken. That's one of the things I look for in my flock when I do a daily looky lou...everyone moving good? Everyone standing proud? Now, you can't count the times when they are just resting...often times you will see them with their neck tucked down and just standing still. When it's cold outside and they are resting you will often see this and it's just conserving heat. Sometimes it's just a bird resting while standing up. But..if they walk that way or stand that way all the time, you know something is up.

The improvement is dramatic enough to easily discern ... the legs are considerably thicker now, and her feet are less swollen.

 

[galanie]

Bee, you had me looking at my swollen legged girl. Nothing. But then they aren't all that swollen. I figured before she's just unthrifty and not a breeder. Just confirms it again.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, that's good news! I don't know if my ol' gal will be able to shake this swelling for good and I'm going to give her time but if I see her not progressing towards good health before really cold weather I think I may have to help her by giving her mercy.

 

[Beekissed]

Big difference for sure. She is very pretty. I have looked for those glands on all my chickens feet the last couple nights since i am checking for mites and rubbing Nustock into their feet and legs and I have yet to see any glands. I did noticed my young lavender Orp. Has a couple places on her feet that looked like the start of BF but last night when I checked her again after only using the Nu stock on her once I could hardly find them.I am going to have to make up some of this because the more I read the more I will want to use on us humans too.

Take pics the next time and give us a before and after. I think those kind of pics are the most impressive when someone is mulling over whether to invest in a treatment or not...a picture is so much more convincing to others.

When next I grab some chickens I'll take pics of the normal glands and of the abnormal ones for a comparison.