Year old wyandotte fails to thrive...others fine

[foxinachickenhouse]

So, I have been trying to help our Petunia (SLW) pull it together for a while now and I am wondering why she fails to do as well as the others and what to do about it.
She is a petite (thin) wyandotte and always was a slow developer. She is one year old. She is roosters favorite as well so has lost some saddle feathers.
Eggs are thin shelled, bleached and porous.
She is the only one who continues to have mites and lice after treatment. It has been a horrible year for bugs here so I treat them all once per week with poultry dust (permethrin) and DE. Nobody else has symptoms like Petunia.
I gave her a bath Saturday and she has a bulbous area just below her vent that is inflamed. She has runny poo and a poopy butt. Nobody else has this problem. The inflamed area is where I washed the poopy area.
I give her extra scrambled eggs and yoghurt when I can.
She behaves normally.

I have not fed extra vitamins, maybe I should?
I have not wormed, nobody else seems wormy. Can just one chicken have worms?
I feed Magill ranch organic feed, BOSS, and scratch and they free range daily.

Thank you!

 

[tammye]

I can say i have never wormed, but if she is thin maybe she does have worms. If you can affort it you can get her poop checked at the vets for about 20 bucks. you can give her some natural apple cider vinegar in her water, all of them . It boosts their immune system, helps prevent worms ect. lots of info here on ACV get the one with the words"with the mother" on it at a co-op, natural food place, cheap and it does seem to give them a boost. I now give it to my hens at least once a week. also give her some electrolyte solution in her water, different water , not with the ACV, it is acidic and can destroy the effectiveness of vitamins. That red bulge below her vent may just be normal tissue that you can see if her feathers are gone, the exposeed skin can get red. she may do well with a vitamin boost too, if she is the lowest hen they may be stopping her from eating well and plucking her feathers. good luck

 

[Anianna]

Quote:
Try Sevin Dust. Do you have someplace you can move your flock temporarily to disinfect your coop? Mites and lice, etc, can survive in bedding, so you should get rid of everything, disinfect the coop, and treat the birds. See the first link in my signature for more on treating infestations and other treatments you can try. There is also worm information there. If one chicken has worms, it is likely the all do or will at some point.

The bug infestation is probably the reason she is thin and lacks the necessary minerals to be healthy and lay healthy eggs. You can have a vet check for worms. Also, give all layers oyster shells free choice so they can take it as needed. Personally, I would also give her some Polyvisol without iron (liquid vitamin drops labeled for infants you can find at the drug store).

Some reports indicate that the incidence of mites is more prevalent with the use of wooden roosts. Consider using another material for your roosts since you already have a problem with bug infestations.

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

Thanks for the replies. Forgot to mention, I do the apple cider vinegar. 1 Tbs. per gallon of water. I also put DE in the feed mix. Approx. 1-2c. per 25# of feed. I will try the polyvisol. I forgot about that stuff. They get oyster shell free choice and eggshell in with yogurt on occasion.

When we first started having the bug issues I pulled everything out scrubbed with bleach and then caulked and painted the interior so there are no little hiding places. Coop disinfection has only happened once this winter. It has just been so wet and rainy and we only have the one space for them. Otherwise I do the full cleanout, disinfect and scrub down about once a month. Then I spray the whole thing with pyrethrins and neem oil. I am thinking they are coming from the roof panel that was part of the old shed that we made into our coop. I am planning to pull it off and replace with new plywood this summer. None of the other birds seem to have these issues. Even the broody silkies are just fine, no sign of bugs or weakness.

Truthfully, Sevin is off the table for us. I know folks swear by it, but we are trying be organic and I have never used a pesticide or herbicide on my property. Except for the permethrin which has been a bit of a necessary challenge to accept. I have considered doing the ivermectin drop on idea since it stays with the bird and doesn't migrate into soil and water.

Are wood roosts still a problem if they have been painted?

Will the bugs live in sand bedding? Currently on wood chips but transitioning to rice hulls. If sand might help I am willing to go there, it is already in the run and works great.

Other stuff I've tried regularly: Ashes, DE and permethrin in dust bath area. DE and stall dry mixed in the bedding. DE sprinkled on roosts and in nest boxes. 1/4 of bedding is cedar shavings.

This chicken is definitely not low on the pecking order. Right about mid-range I would say. She used to be the head hen but we got 3 big australorpes and now she is lower. Is it possible she just has poor genetics and that is why the bugs go to her first?

Is there any point in worming just one chicken or should I do the whole flock?

Thanks again!

 

[Anianna]

This site has information about organically removing mites from plants. Perhaps there is something there you can use for the chickens.

None of those plants that mites don't like are on the list of plants toxic to chickens. Perhaps you could plant some in pots in the coop and around the coop to help with long-term control. Would you be willing to use vinyl decking materials instead of wood for roosts? It may help.

 

[Kikiriki]

Quote:
Read that you can spray everything including the chickens with a water and garlic solution...interesting article also discussed controlling worms.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Factsheets/Natural_remedies.pdf

Another article said a small amount of baking soda can help eggs

http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/chickens-layer-nutrition-tf/

The substitution of sodium biocarbonate (NaHCO3) for a portion of the salt (NaCl) is often beneficial for improving eggshell strength. Many experiments were conducted to measure the potential benefits of this practice. It was assumed that the CO3 from the NaHCO3 was useful in deposition of calcium (CaCO3) in the eggshell. However, it was found that sodium reduced the plasma phosphorus and was responsible for improving eggshells.[6]

 

[Kikiriki]

Oh--cedar is not good, aromatic so inhaling causes a problem.

 

[chicktwins]

I don't have chickens yet but have been researching for nearly 6 months and am expecting mine in 2 weeks. From what I have read cedar shavings are not good to use....only pine.

Could it be that she spends more of her time in the shavings area or has more of a sensitivity than the others?

Also...other than wood for the roosts, what would someone use?? Anyone???

 

[Anianna]

Yes, cedar is bad for the chickens' respiratory system. It's not really good for any small animal and it ticks me off that companies sell it for use with small animals.

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

Thanks so much for the info you all, those articles are awesome! What a ton of great information. Petunia is doing so much better after her bath, the head shaking has subsided and her fuzzy butt is clean. Meantime, I am rigging a nylon stocking slung low over the doorway so they get a dusting of DE as they enter and exit the coop. This week is graduation and we have the families here and it's crazy, next week the full coop cleanout and scrubdown happens. Maybe I will change to plastic decking roosts when I do that. Hmmm.

The cedar is an interesting topic. I have seen much discussion of this on BYC. Some folks say never use any, some folks say you can use it up to 30% with other types of bedding, some swear by it exclusively. I have a friend that has used only cedar for her chickens for years without issue. I wouldn't do that because I think it is definitely irritating to them in larger amounts. The cedar in our coop is less than 25% of the bedding material. I put down handfuls in the corners/edges of the coop and nest boxes, underneath the other bedding. I have always done this and have never had problems. Nobody sneezes and I can't even smell it in there. I would say it helps with the bugs but at the moment I can't say that...

I'm going to try to post a picture of Petunia if I can get her to hold still for a sec.