- May 21, 2017
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I have a 7 year old d’uccle bantam hen named Bandit. She’s going through her broody phase, which she does every summer. On June 5th, I noticed she had some droppings stuck to her butt feathers, which is very unusual for her:
I was a bit concerned, but not too worried, as she was normal otherwise. However, I came back from being away today, and noticed a much bigger ball of droppings:
This was in her nest box, so I guess she could’ve just repeatedly sat in her droppings??
She also seemed to be eating more ravenously than expected, despite having a full crop. (Her breath didn’t smell sour or anything, and her crop feels normal, but…) I also noticed a dry soft-shelled egg in the coop, I have one other hen who I guess could’ve laid it, but she seems fine.
Bandit is still very active and spry. I’m mainly worried because my other hen who died of suspected Marek’s started off with slight symptoms like these. (This is the thread I made about her: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suspected-marek’s-anything-i-can-do.1485425/)
However, I was never able to fully confirm that she had Marek’s. And I haven’t dewormed my chickens in a while (I’m planning to do so tomorrow).
I guess my question is, should I do anything other than deworm and monitor? For anyone with Marek’s in their flock; would you be worried about symptoms like these? What would you do in my situation? Bandit is unfortunately unvaccinated.
I was a bit concerned, but not too worried, as she was normal otherwise. However, I came back from being away today, and noticed a much bigger ball of droppings:
This was in her nest box, so I guess she could’ve just repeatedly sat in her droppings??
She also seemed to be eating more ravenously than expected, despite having a full crop. (Her breath didn’t smell sour or anything, and her crop feels normal, but…) I also noticed a dry soft-shelled egg in the coop, I have one other hen who I guess could’ve laid it, but she seems fine.
Bandit is still very active and spry. I’m mainly worried because my other hen who died of suspected Marek’s started off with slight symptoms like these. (This is the thread I made about her: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suspected-marek’s-anything-i-can-do.1485425/)
However, I was never able to fully confirm that she had Marek’s. And I haven’t dewormed my chickens in a while (I’m planning to do so tomorrow).
I guess my question is, should I do anything other than deworm and monitor? For anyone with Marek’s in their flock; would you be worried about symptoms like these? What would you do in my situation? Bandit is unfortunately unvaccinated.
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Bandit is acting like her normal broody self today, which means she’s speeding around hyperactively. No more droppings stuck to her butt. I’ll deworm the chickens, give them a vitamin supplement, and make sure Bandit gets out of the nest more.
