What did you do with your flock today?

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Yall ever seen any feather issues like this with your babies?!
I'm so frustrated that I thought they were molting and have not asked before now...but after the vet said Lizzie's was NOT a molt I'm so concerned as to what others might have.
My black Silkie has NO tail...my d'uccles all look like this around their neck and I can tell today it is even worse.
I did post in the emergency thread section but someone just said I have feather picking going on...I'm down there a lot and know it isn't that. I'm about to believe I have a massive problem on my hands and Lizzie was only the beginning of a worse nightmare!
Any help yall can give is so very much appreciated!
Thread 'Feathers NOT right' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feathers-not-right.1585097/

 

[kurby22]

Right now I am watching my self blue d’Anver boy Squeakers in the all male d’Anver coop tidbitting for the other males…with dried balls of poop he finds in the coop No girls to impress and no treats to offer…so he’s just making do with what he’s got

 

[kurby22]

Yall ever seen any feather issues like this with your babies?!
I'm so frustrated that I thought they were molting and have not asked before now...but after the vet said Lizzie's was NOT a molt I'm so concerned as to what others might have.
My black Silkie has NO tail...my d'uccles all look like this around their neck and I can tell today it is even worse.
I did post in the emergency thread section but someone just said I have feather picking going on...I'm down there a lot and know it isn't that. I'm about to believe I have a massive problem on my hands and Lizzie was only the beginning of a worse nightmare!
Any help yall can give is so very much appreciated!
Thread 'Feathers NOT right' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feathers-not-right.1585097/

I honestly don’t know but I do know that most feather picking happens at night in the coop. Have you been watching them at bedtime and in the morning before the coop opens? Just to be sure to rule it out?

What percentage protein are they getting?

My last idea is something called depluming mites. From reading up on them it seems that a slight variation to treatment is warranted. Might be worth a shot?

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I honestly don’t know but I do know that most feather picking happens at night in the coop. Have you been watching them at bedtime and in the morning before the coop opens? Just to be sure to rule it out?

What percentage protein are they getting?

My last idea is something called depluming mites. From reading up on them it seems that a slight variation to treatment is warranted. Might be worth a shot?

View attachment 3540887

I have cameras on them and no picking that I've ever seen...especially on the d'uccles cuz they are usually the bullies.
Their protein is 20% and I mix the crumbles and pellets cuz the d'uccles pick it out otherwise. But I use Prurina Flock Raiser and Naturewise Nutrena Feather Fixer which is 18% protein
I'm just so concerned that others r gonna get it and lose their feathers too! My black Silkie looks just awful!

 

[TropicalBabies]

♡!

 

[kurby22]

View attachment 3540936
♡!

They want BABIES!!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Yall ever seen any feather issues like this with your babies?!
I'm so frustrated that I thought they were molting and have not asked before now...but after the vet said Lizzie's was NOT a molt I'm so concerned as to what others might have.
My black Silkie has NO tail...my d'uccles all look like this around their neck and I can tell today it is even worse.
I did post in the emergency thread section but someone just said I have feather picking going on...I'm down there a lot and know it isn't that. I'm about to believe I have a massive problem on my hands and Lizzie was only the beginning of a worse nightmare!
Any help yall can give is so very much appreciated!
Thread 'Feathers NOT right' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/feathers-not-right.1585097/

I've never seen feathers like that. Wish I had any advice for you beyond what you're already doing with the deep litter removal etc. I liked Kirby's thoughts on the mites and rather hope that's the case just because it sounds easily fixable . I'm so sorry but it sounds like you're working hard to figure it out so there's an excellent chance you will.

View attachment 3540936
♡!

Aaaaaa! Adorable . You should share on POW and on the caption thread...I'm certain that silver lady has a lot she'd like to say right there

 

[Smokerbill]

My pair of Black Copper Marans cockerels had a disagreement today. The loser
accepted his defeat graciously.

 

[Shetland lover]

That's awesome!!! So glad u shared!




So I've never seen signs of worms in before and I've really been checking each day since my precious Lizzie!
I've never dewormed my flock.
Should I?
Is this a practice yall do regularly?
If so, what do you use and how often?
Does it not make them resistant to the meds if they end up getting worms?
I use garlic, Oregano, ACV on a weekly basis as well as have DE ans FSL in the run and coop.

Mine have a fecal float done every 3 to 6 months and that tells me if they need worming. It costs me approximately £10 a time for the whole flock and is much cheaper than buying a dedicated wormer. The ivermectin I use for mites actually worms too but doesn't cover all worm types, e.g tapeworm. This is what it covers:

Ivermectin is effective against the following parasites: Most species of adult roundworms, including Ascaridia galli (large roundworm), Heterakis gallinarum (cecal worm), Syngamus trachea (gapeworm), and Oxyspirura mansoni (manson eyeworm). It has variable effectiveness against Capillaria (threadworms) at the dosage that can be safely administered. Some species of mites, including Cytodites nudus (airsac mites), Laminosioptes cisticola (fowl cyst mites), Knemidocoptes mutans (scaly leg mites), and Micnemidocoptes derooi. It has mixed effectiveness with management of Ornithonyssus spp (fowl mites).

See more at: https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/ivermectin

The recommended, licenced wormer in the U.K is Flubenvet but there is growing resistance to it by some worm species. It's also over £30 per tub and has to be discarded after opening so it's an expensive choice to worm 6 chickens 4 times a year as recommended.
Doing the fecal float test means I only need to worm if there's a problem rather than routinely and the ivermectin for mites will keep some species of worm in check.
I also use a ground sanitizer and a product called Bio-oocyst which kills oocysts (basically the egg stage of the worm). It's just watered on the run with a watering can and sprayed a metre high on the walls.
So far this combination has kept my chickens worm-free. The float test always comes back as <50 eggs per sample (the lowest rating they do) for the last 4 yrs.

The garlic, oregano and acv will make your chickens' intestinal tract more inhospitable to worms but will not stop a chicken getting worms. Is FLS a ground sanitizer? If so, that will help kill any worm eggs on the ground. DE is dubious in it's effectiveness for killing endoparasites so may or may not help. They're all good to use though and certainly won't hurt. I use them all too.
In summary, there are advantages and disadvantages to worming to a routine and most vets do recommend worming every three months. I prefer to do regular fecal float tests to check if worming is necessary.

It's your flock and your choice at the end of the day.

 

[Shetland lover]

I opened up the world to the chickens early this morning, a little before 7AM. I let the cockerels out first, and they pretty much made a bee line to the pullets' run to look at them through the hardware cloth. LOL. A little later I let the girls out.

The neighborhood cat still has a pretty strong interest in the chickens. She's still eyeballing them, but I don't think she's a real threat. I chased her away, but she stopped behind the trailer to get a last look.View attachment 3540146View attachment 3540147

View attachment 3540149

That cat will learn respect for chickens pretty soon, never fear!
I've only ever seen one cat take down a fully grown chicken. Unfortunately it was my cat, George. He took down a Cornish cross. He had no fear of anything (except Michael Caine) and I once saw him tackle a kestrel with success.