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  1. cate1124

    Sluggish crop in older hen

    Thank you; you have been so kind to me over the years with your responsiveness and expertise. Ev does not have palpable water belly, while her Sussex sister, who has long had significant ascites, is active, eating, has a well-oxygenated comb and just laid her first egg of the season today...
  2. cate1124

    Sluggish crop in older hen

    Yes, I regularly add powdered probiotics to their feed, and sometimes a vitamin/electrolyte powder with lactobacillus to their water. Poultry NutriDrench every few days. I will read the articles; thanks for the links.
  3. cate1124

    Sluggish crop in older hen

    Hello all: I have a speckled Sussex, just turned 6, who I think has a chronically sluggish crop. She quit laying at 4, and her comb generally appears small and more blue than red. She also has mild chronic rales that have not responded to antibiotics and may be related to a slow crop. In...
  4. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    And beautiful! :)
  5. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    Following up with a thank you for the rock/concrete idea. FunClucks chimed in with suggestion of a cinder block, and I have a couple so put them in the coop. She immediately approached one and started swiping her beak on it. I think I will give her a few days to work on it -- now that she has...
  6. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    Thanks! I have a pretty nice pair of clippers, and I really like your cinder block idea. P.S. I just took a cinder block out to the coop, and she went right up to it and started swiping her beak across it. Good call! I've taken a second block out. (Large coop.) I've been keeping chickens more...
  7. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    You make good points. She is 6 (today!) and has a history in midlife of failure to thrive, including mild rales which have not responded to antibiotics and a poorly oxygenated comb (small, bluish). She visibly improved last year, seemingly in response to crop massages, which I began after...
  8. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    Thanks. No particular changes, and no obvious reason this should be happening to her when it is not happening to others in the flock. I've read that sudden beak growth in a mature hen can, actually, be related to liver disease, which is a possibility at her age (6) and with her...
  9. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    Thank you. It's odd that this has happened with her -- in a fairly short time -- and not the others, as where I live they have been outside fairly regularly this winter. I'm wondering about a disease process, as she has been not the most robust girl for a couple years -- she stopped laying at 4...
  10. cate1124

    Upper beak overgrowing ....

    The upper beak of one of my speckled Sussex hens is growing for reasons I don't understand. She now has a serious "overbite" and the tip on the right side has broken off, though still overlaps the lower beak. She is of good weight and I feel food in her crop, so I know she is eating. Shall I...
  11. cate1124

    Review by 'cate1124' in article 'Chickens and Snow'

    A good primer for newbies, with useful reminders for veterans. I would add that older hens, like older people, are less resilient to temperature extremes. I sometimes use oil-filled radiators to heat near the roost on extremely cold nights (low teens, single digits). They are safe, throw a nice...
  12. cate1124

    Comment by 'cate1124' in article 'Chicken Coop Ventilation - Go Out There And Cut More Holes In Your Coop!'

    Thank you for this thorough, educational and entertaining article! I am fortunate to live in semi-arid Colorado, and additionally to have a deep double garage, the east half of which serves as a spacious coop. The garage door faces south, so I can open it -- talk about removing a wall! -- to...
  13. cate1124

    Need help dosing meloxicam

    Now, I'm belatedly responding to you. If Meloxicam helps and you do not think she has long left, I'd just use it, agreeing with your priority of keeping her comfortable for however long she has. Meloxicam is, actually, the RX anti-inflammatory of choice for backyard hens, considered safe at...
  14. cate1124

    Comment by 'cate1124' in article 'Molting: All You Need To Know'

    Helpful article; thank you. When I was a chicken newbie, I was concerned about my barred rock, who was walking as if she was drunk. In fact, she had so many pinfeathers emerging between her legs and on her undercarriage that she was extremely uncomfortable. From what I've read and experienced...
  15. cate1124

    Appetite stimulants for old injured hen?

    Sprouting is underway! Although her appetite is small and deranged -- brown rice continues to be a favorite -- she is forming poops better. In observing her more closely and reviewing the video, I can see her ankle is not bending as it should; it will not accommodate the right angle with the...
  16. cate1124

    Appetite stimulants for old injured hen?

    Thanks so much! As luck would have it, I bought lentils yesterday, and I have on hand broccoli and alfalfa seeds specifically for sprouting. So I'll get that operation underway today. Good ideas (and good thing I'm retired, so I can devote my life to my chicken :)). I've got very nice kale in...
  17. cate1124

    Appetite stimulants for old injured hen?

    Yet another update, only because folks were so kind to show interest and concern. This is a video of Charlotte a few days ago; this is as long and as successful walk as I have seen her make. You will see the curled toes on her historically deformed right foot and how she is using the affected...
  18. cate1124

    Black Australorp died unexpectedly please help me understand why

    You are most welcome. I think many of the difficulties these hens experience are due to intensive breeding to produce, produce, produce. Consider that wild birds have perhaps 2 or 3 clutches a year, and only during spring/summer. So perhaps a dozen or 18 eggs, total, in a given year. While we...
  19. cate1124

    Black Australorp died unexpectedly please help me understand why

    I'm responding very late to this, and you've already gotten answers from some of the best on BYC to your question. So, really what I want to say to you is: These things happen, and they're awful. Heartrending and heartbreaking. It is our nature in the aftermath to question what we did wrong...
  20. cate1124

    Appetite stimulants for old injured hen?

    Thanks so much; the concern, companionship and encouragement of fellow chicken keepers means a lot to me, especially at such a time. I offered her the "torpedo" mix on a plate this morning; she demurred. I've added some garlic to it and left it in her cage along with electrolyte water while I...
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