2 birds out of 10

[Gone to the birds!]

Hello my fine feathered friends.

I am officially Gone to the Birds! Not only did I invest and spend $ on my ladies/flock during the good times....now I have spent $ in the bad times. Just like marriage! LOL.... After 550$...... I walk away from the experience with my vet..... feeling like I am not so sure? Here is what I mean.

One of my birds... Peeps, our champion layer and friend developed a mild case of bumble foot. So we are treating her topically with wraps of clean gauze....but also giving her a oral antibiotic twice a day. She seems to be doing okay.... her behaviors are very lively and normal. We are not eating her eggs while she is on medicine. My worry is should we be looking at holistic rather than the medicine? Trimethropin Sulfa and now adding Itraconazole.

Athena, has a naked butt, right now....and has been plucking her crop. It seems to have stabilized. But her behaviors and laying have been very normal and lively. The symptoms are why I took her to the vet with Peeps. While there at the vet.... he took Athena cultures ...and is also prescribing Trimethropin Sulfa and adding Fluconazole. I have not started that med regime yet....I wanted to reach out on this forum. Vet says he thinks the naked butt is from her rubbing up in the box or in coop? She is/was a bigger plymouth rock.

My other 8 birds are very healthy....very happy (meaning they do not have relationship issues....so I know the feather issue on Athena....is not a pecking order problem). I have had 3 of the girls for 3 years and the other 7 are coming up on a year. Again everyone looks healthy, acts healthy, are laying etc..... hence my hesitation with medicating so much.... In addition....I am married to the HOLISTIC Queen of Organic Life....so we are conflicted. LOL we are actually diffusing a holistic remedy in the barn that my wife found in her Oils book with Young Living co. .

Finally, we eat the eggs and we share the eggs..... Any advice is greatly appreciated. Maybe just that you listened is enough?

Thanks .... Gone to the Birds Guy!

 

[DiYMama540]

I think you can skip the oral antibiotics for the bumblefoot. Did you clean the kernel of it all the way out?
It helps to let them soak their feet in Epsom salt , then go to work cleaning out as much of the infection as you can. Once you've gotten all or most of it out, pack the hole with antibiotic cream and keep it covered like you have been.

As for the feather loss of your other hen, I would suspect some sort of mite or lice. You can dust her with permethrin dust to see if it helps. You will have to repeat the dust in 7-10 days to get rid of any eggs that may have hatched. Go ahead and dust the whole flock and coop just in case!

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Hello my fine feathered friends.

I am officially Gone to the Birds! Not only did I invest and spend $ on my ladies/flock during the good times....now I have spent $ in the bad times. Just like marriage! LOL.... After 550$...... I walk away from the experience with my vet..... feeling like I am not so sure? Here is what I mean.

One of my birds... Peeps, our champion layer and friend developed a mild case of bumble foot. So we are treating her topically with wraps of clean gauze....but also giving her a oral antibiotic twice a day. She seems to be doing okay.... her behaviors are very lively and normal. We are not eating her eggs while she is on medicine. My worry is should we be looking at holistic rather than the medicine? Trimethropin Sulfa and now adding Itraconazole.

Athena, has a naked butt, right now....and has been plucking her crop. It seems to have stabilized. But her behaviors and laying have been very normal and lively. The symptoms are why I took her to the vet with Peeps. While there at the vet.... he took Athena cultures ...and is also prescribing Trimethropin Sulfa and adding Fluconazole. I have not started that med regime yet....I wanted to reach out on this forum. Vet says he thinks the naked butt is from her rubbing up in the box or in coop? She is/was a bigger plymouth rock.

My other 8 birds are very healthy....very happy (meaning they do not have relationship issues....so I know the feather issue on Athena....is not a pecking order problem). I have had 3 of the girls for 3 years and the other 7 are coming up on a year. Again everyone looks healthy, acts healthy, are laying etc..... hence my hesitation with medicating so much.... In addition....I am married to the HOLISTIC Queen of Organic Life....so we are conflicted. LOL we are actually diffusing a holistic remedy in the barn that my wife found in her Oils book with Young Living co. .

Finally, we eat the eggs and we share the eggs..... Any advice is greatly appreciated. Maybe just that you listened is enough?

Thanks .... Gone to the Birds Guy!

First of all, Athena is my daughter's name so I don't know how will I really react to this post . But I'm glad that you consumed the eggs. hahaha

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of the bumblefoot? Did the vet clean out the pus?

Athena - photos of her too. (bum and what she looks like)
She's plucking at her crop - is it empty in the morning before she eats/drinks?

I agree checking for lice/mites is a very good idea.

 

[dawg53]

You couldve saved yourself alot of money by doing minor surgery on Peeps. I've done quite a few bumblefoot surgeries and it's not difficult. The key is getting all the infection out and antibiotics arnt needed if it's done correctly.

As far as Athena goes, have you actually seen her pluck feathers from her crop? If so, what did she do with the feathers? If you dont see any feathers laying around, it means she ate them. Then she needs extra protein in her diet. It's also possible her flock mates picked and/or ate them. Or you have a feather picker and will need to be culled.
Sometimes when hens go broody, they will pluck feathers off the breast and leave the feathers in the nest.
My Jersey Giant does that when she decides to go broody on occasion. Have you seen her feathers in the nest box?
If you havnt seen her pluck her feathers, she could be rubbing her breast/crop on the roost at night when she sleeps. This mainly happens to heavy breed birds.
Also like DiYMama540 mentioned, external parasites could be an issue. You'll need to inspect her closely for lice/mites especially around the vent area where it's warm and moist.
What were the results from Athena's cultures?
As far as the naked butt is concerned, I've never heard of a hen rubbing her butt in the nest box or in the coop. It would have to be one of the reasons I mentioned previously. Again, where are the feathers?
One other possibility for a naked butt would be poopy butt. The urates scald the skin causing irritation and pain. You would clearly see redness on her rear end if this is the case.
Treatment for this is Nu-Stock. It will prevent picking and pecking and heal the area in a short amount of time.
I wanted to cover all possibilities for you to consider without having to use the antibiotics. Just to let you know, I am pro antibiotic/wormer use in poultry as needed.

 

[Gone to the birds!]

Can you post some photos of the bumblefoot? Did the vet clean out the pus?

Athena - photos of her too. (bum and what she looks like)
She's plucking at her crop - is it empty in the morning before she eats/drinks?

I agree checking for lice/mites is a very good idea.

I will do that...thanks for the offer. I am running on a bad luck streak it seems. Yesterday a redtail hawk swooped down and got one of my teenager chickens. She was a pretty red hen. My boys witnessed it, I was at work. So sad. :-(

 

[Gone to the birds!]

You couldve saved yourself alot of money by doing minor surgery on Peeps. I've done quite a few bumblefoot surgeries and it's not difficult. The key is getting all the infection out and antibiotics arnt needed if it's done correctly.

As far as Athena goes, have you actually seen her pluck feathers from her crop? If so, what did she do with the feathers? If you dont see any feathers laying around, it means she ate them. Then she needs extra protein in her diet. It's also possible her flock mates picked and/or ate them. Or you have a feather picker and will need to be culled.
Sometimes when hens go broody, they will pluck feathers off the breast and leave the feathers in the nest.
My Jersey Giant does that when she decides to go broody on occasion. Have you seen her feathers in the nest box?
If you havnt seen her pluck her feathers, she could be rubbing her breast/crop on the roost at night when she sleeps. This mainly happens to heavy breed birds.
Also like DiYMama540 mentioned, external parasites could be an issue. You'll need to inspect her closely for lice/mites especially around the vent area where it's warm and moist.
What were the results from Athena's cultures?
As far as the naked butt is concerned, I've never heard of a hen rubbing her butt in the nest box or in the coop. It would have to be one of the reasons I mentioned previously. Again, where are the feathers?
One other possibility for a naked butt would be poopy butt. The urates scald the skin causing irritation and pain. You would clearly see redness on her rear end if this is the case.
Treatment for this is Nu-Stock. It will prevent picking and pecking and heal the area in a short amount of time.
I wanted to cover all possibilities for you to consider without having to use the antibiotics. Just to let you know, I am pro antibiotic/wormer use in poultry as needed.

Thank you for your kindness in replying. I have not seen Athena eat any of her feathers and I have not seen any feather picking by anyone. It is strange. I thought of the protein issue...but they get an organic Dumonts feed that seems to have all the nutrients. In addition I have a cup of meal worms spread daily. The vet said she had a yeast infection in her crop and that is why she is picking her feathers at the neck. I am going to do the check for the mites. Then I just might bathe her for the heck of it. Is there anything that would be good to use in the bath water? Athena is still very active and happy despite her problems??? I am avoiding the antibiotics at this time. I did start to put organic Apple Cider Vinegar in their water supply. I figure it might help from what I read.
I am going to brave the soak and clean surgery for Peeps foot now that I have all your encouragement. Thank you.

PS. We lost our first feather baby to a Hawk yesterday! So bummed....it was our sweet little red hen Wilma. :-(

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will do that...thanks for the offer. I am running on a bad luck streak it seems. Yesterday a redtail hawk swooped down and got one of my teenager chickens. She was a pretty red hen. My boys witnessed it, I was at work. So sad. :-(

The vet said she had a yeast infection in her crop and that is why she is picking her feathers at the neck. I am going to do the check for the mites. Then I just might bathe her for the heck of it. Is there anything that would be good to use in the bath water? Athena is still very active and happy despite her problems??? I am avoiding the antibiotics at this time. I did start to put organic Apple Cider Vinegar in their water supply. I figure it might help from what I read.

Did the sour crop clear up? What did the vet recommend as treatment?

If she is still picking at her crop area, then the crop issue may not be resolved. With Sour Crop a lot of times the crop may be emptying completely overnight, but the yeast still exists.
ACV may be helpful, but if you feel the issue is still a problem, then I would treat her for sour crop.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Gone to the birds!]

 

[Gone to the birds!]

Help we are still struggling. They have good appetite, and are active. No issues in yard with behaviors or picking. Im putting them up at nightly separate from flock. ???