Traded one of my roos for a pitiful looking frizzle hen!

[Robin'sBrood]

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Ah, Albemarle... home of Kellie Pickler.

I'm from NC too, just wondered if you were near me, but you're not.

 

[dlhunicorn]

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I would rather feed a more natural feed. Right now she is getting the same as all of my other chickens (2 1/2 parts whole oats, 1 part scratch grain, 1 1/2 parts wheat, 1 1/2 parts milo, and 1/2 parts rabbit pellets) plus she will be getting a little yogurt tomorrow, and dried crushed egg shells tomorrow for added calcium. She also got ~25 mealworms today for protein and she is on the ground and has plenty of grass and bugs to eat. I'll be moving the chicken tractor tomorrow when I get home from work. I've left it where it is for two days, hoping that she will get used to it. I also gave her a fourth of an over-ripe squash from our garden (organic).

I do not think that feeding regime you outlined sufficient IMHO and while your other birds may be doing well on it while free ranging this bird needs that bit of extra support to prevent the consequences of serious deficiency and problems from the ratios of the nutrients not being right (to give an example I read that it would take 7-8 eggs worth of eggshells per day to supply the minimum calcium recquirements for a laying bird >I repeat >per day!)...
Please get a commercial layer feed and add just enough cooked human oatmeal to it to make it clump together (this aids in digestion) and you can also add a scrambled eggyolk through it. Offer live culture yogurt (plain not flavored) and altho I usually advise AviaCharge 2000 I understand that it is a pricey supplement... I would therefor advise you to give her 3 drops of POLYVISOL Enfamil formulation in beak once a day for a week and then taper off the next (this is a quite affordable childrens liquid A-B-D vitamin and will ensure against the most common deficiencies that occur with birds) >>> if you can possibly get wheatgerm oil this is an excellent source of many of those crucial micronutrients. Adding a wee bit of apple cider vinegar will also help in calcium uptake. You should offer all your birds oystershell in a separate dish IMHO.

 

[Maidservant]

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Argghh!!! Is that the only thing people can think of when they hear Albemarle?! (lol) We are also home to one of the top 10 BBQ joints in the nation if you ask Food Network (Whispering Pines BBQ). My fiance's mom and step dad were on What Not to Wear (worst dressed couple in America, woo-hoo, lol). Pfeiffer University is at the top of the county, and that's just the stuff that people across the nation should know about, lol.

At least you didn't ask if I know her (I do not by the way, the county isn't that small, lol). That's what most people do. I could tell you that I'm actually from Aquadale, but you probably won't find that on a map, since it doesn't even have a zip code.

If you look up Albemarle, Norwood (28128), and Oakboro (28129 I think), my house is right smack in the middle of the triangle those three towns form. I'm 10 minutes away from the feed store in Norwood, I'm 10 minutes away from work in Oakboro, and I'm 12 minutes away from where my fiance works in Albemarle, but we are still far enough away from all of them to have our own little slice of heaven.

Anyway, back on topic. I gave the little one a bucket nestbox, and she promptly eats all of the dried grass out of it....oh well, the bucket is still in there.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Anyway, back on topic. I gave the little one a bucket nestbox, and she promptly eats all of the dried grass out of it....oh well, the bucket is still in there.

Birds often do this when nutritional problems are present... please use a different liner until she becaomes well enuf not to want to eat the bedding which can lead to impacted crop!​

 

[Maidservant]

Once I get paid again, I will be buying a bag of oyster shell. That won't be until next Wednesday. My mealworms are fed a mix containing some wheat germ, plus I always mix wheat germ into my yogurt, so what she got today had a good amount in it. Some of the little stumps of feathers have already fallen out, and what feathers she does have are cleaner and fluffier than they were when I brought her home.

My other chickens are not free range, but they are in a large pen and get fresh grass every day, as well as all the bugs I can catch. She is getting the same, just in a different pen. My other chickens are not laying yet (hopefully will be by the end of the month), so they will not be getting any oyster shell quite yet.

I will probably give her some plain cooked oatmeal and a little more wheat germ in the morning, as well as a few more egg shells. She got four egg shells this morning, and a few more this afternoon. My family goes through a lot of eggs, and that's why we got chickens again. We each eat at least two per day, sometimes more, not counting what we bake with or use as egg washes for my breads.

Would you recommend mixing in the apple cider vinegar into some of her food, like the oatmeal, or put just a little into her water (that I dump out and change three times per day)? I hadn't heard of that yet, but with all of the other things that ACV helps, it doesn't really suprise me.

Thanks,
Emily

PS - I would rather feed the whole grains that are in layer pellets rather than the pellets themselves. I do have a powdered mineral and powdered calcium that I use for the sugar gliders that I sprinkled over her yogurt today as well.

 

[Maidservant]

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Birds often do this when nutritional problems are present... please use a different liner until she becaomes well enuf not to want to eat the bedding which can lead to impacted crop!

I'll probably just leave the bucket empty until she starts using it. I used to use shredded paper in boxes, but I'm not taking a risk on using that with her. There was only a small handful in the bucket, but she's not getting any more until she's better.

 

[dlhunicorn]

she is old enuf to where slipping and sliding should not be a problem so I would just put a couple folded newspapers in ther and change daily (at last>something useful to do with that junkmail!)
...add the ACV to the water...

I would rather feed the whole grains that are in layer pellets rather than the pellets themselves

There are anti-nutritional factors associated with many grains and the commercial feed has added enzymes (in the correct amount) to deal with this... It will take more out of her to process those grains than the pelleted feed and I just dont think she is in any state to deal with that if I see how she looks in those photos. Wheat germ is not the same as wheat germ oil so if you can find a cheap source of that I highly recommend it as a regular supplement for all your birds.

ETA:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206913.htm
(MERCK veterinary manual)
"....A deficiency of either calcium or phosphorus in the diet of young growing birds results in abnormal bone development even when the diet contains adequate vitamin D3. This condition, rickets, can also be caused by a dietary deficiency of vitamin D3 ( Vitamin D3 Deficiency), which is necessary for absorption of calcium. A deficiency of either calcium or phosphorus results in lack of normal skeletal calcification"

http://www.vetcareindia.com/nutrition_fibre_mailer.htm
" Exogenous Enzymes & their benefits:
Poultry cannot produce enzymes for hydrolyzing all the feed ingredients especially, the fibre fraction. ..."

http://www.vetcareindia.com/Phytase_mailer.htm
"...monogastric animals such as chickens do not have the ability to digest the phosphorus in plant sources...."​

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Try just putting some Apple Cider vinegar in her water. About a teaspoon in a quart of water. Also, get some DE (diatomateous earth...sometimes sold as fossil flour or shell flour). This can be put in her feed as wormer. Dust her with it and sprinkle it on her bedding and it will kill mites, fleas, flies, lice, etc. The DE isn't expensive...especially in small quantities and you won't need more than 5 pounds. A lot of feed stores carry it. It does need to be feed or food grade though.

 

[CarriBrown]

Bless her little heart!
I do agree with dlhunicorn. POLYVISOL will work wonders for her (although it shouldn't be overused... some people are quick to tell you to use it when you really shouldn't) and I also think she needs layer feed. Go to the Purina website and sign up for their coupons. I get at least one $8 off coupon a month (a bag of feed is about $13... that's a huge savings!) and it really cuts down on my feed bill. The bugs are great for her, as well as the sunshine and the grass, but it will take a lot of work to get her looking good again.
I can't wait to see her after pictures!

Edited to add... Here is the link to sign up for coupons. http://horse.purinamills.com/contactus/

 

[bugladyleah]

Good luck with this girl. My first thought, also, was that she is a "frazzle". People who don't know better sometimes breed frizzle to frizzle and the chicks seem normal until they get their adult feathering...then they start going bald. If this is the case, she will be fine (just watch for sunburn and frostbite in the winter)...she just won't be very attractive : ) I'll be interested to see if she is just picked or if she has frazzle issues...keep us posted!