lbgreenfield
Songster
Hi there. I've written about my 4.5 year old California White (Dolly) having a re-occurring bumblefoot problem (that is still on-going) and I now believe she may also have worms. Symptoms are described below:
1. Flopped over comb and pale-ish face (see comparison photo). Her comb started to flop over when I started the TricideNeo soaks.
2. Breast bone is protruding a lot now. Even my husband (who is totally clueless when it comes to the chickens) commented last night that Dolly felt extra boney.
3. Fairly severe bumblefoot on both feet now, despite doing surgery 3 times during Summer 2019 and doing TricideNeo soaks for over 1.5 months now during Summer 2020 (see timeline bumblefoot photos).
4. Vent has been extremely poopy and smelly. I have had to gently wash her vent at least once a week for almost 1 month now with Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap. I didn't see worms in her poop, but it's hard to tell (see photo of vent and poop sample).
5. Feather/skin check resulted in no known or visible lice, mites, ticks. I checked her vent, armpits, head/neck, back, and belly.
6. She has trouble getting up onto the lower roost bar for the past week (only 12 inches off the ground in the coop) and is walking much slower.
7. Still eating, drinking, and pooping, although she is at the very bottom of the pecking order now with the new flock of 11 total chickens and she has been spending a lot of time under the bird feeder eating leftover BOSS and peanuts.
8. Belly seems hard/swollen, not soft/pliable when compared to my other chickens.
9. She just seems "off". My husband thinks I'm nuts when I say that, but I can just tell she's not herself.
I honestly didn't even consider worms until I started doing some research this week, so I'm kicking myself for not thinking of worms sooner. I have Valbazen ordered from Valley Vet and I also have more TricideNeo powder on order as well to continue the foot soaks. I also have been feeding her separately from the flock for the past 2 days, including offering hard-boiled/scrambled eggs, plain greek yogurt, watermelon or peaches, and wet mash of the Purina Flock Raiser crumble (she tends to go for the eggs and melons over the wet mash).
Can I do both the Valbazen and TricideNeo treatments at the same time and is there anything else I can do? I know she is getting older, and will do the best I can with supportive care if she is nearing the end stages of life.
1. Flopped over comb and pale-ish face (see comparison photo). Her comb started to flop over when I started the TricideNeo soaks.
2. Breast bone is protruding a lot now. Even my husband (who is totally clueless when it comes to the chickens) commented last night that Dolly felt extra boney.
3. Fairly severe bumblefoot on both feet now, despite doing surgery 3 times during Summer 2019 and doing TricideNeo soaks for over 1.5 months now during Summer 2020 (see timeline bumblefoot photos).
4. Vent has been extremely poopy and smelly. I have had to gently wash her vent at least once a week for almost 1 month now with Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap. I didn't see worms in her poop, but it's hard to tell (see photo of vent and poop sample).
5. Feather/skin check resulted in no known or visible lice, mites, ticks. I checked her vent, armpits, head/neck, back, and belly.
6. She has trouble getting up onto the lower roost bar for the past week (only 12 inches off the ground in the coop) and is walking much slower.
7. Still eating, drinking, and pooping, although she is at the very bottom of the pecking order now with the new flock of 11 total chickens and she has been spending a lot of time under the bird feeder eating leftover BOSS and peanuts.
8. Belly seems hard/swollen, not soft/pliable when compared to my other chickens.
9. She just seems "off". My husband thinks I'm nuts when I say that, but I can just tell she's not herself.
I honestly didn't even consider worms until I started doing some research this week, so I'm kicking myself for not thinking of worms sooner. I have Valbazen ordered from Valley Vet and I also have more TricideNeo powder on order as well to continue the foot soaks. I also have been feeding her separately from the flock for the past 2 days, including offering hard-boiled/scrambled eggs, plain greek yogurt, watermelon or peaches, and wet mash of the Purina Flock Raiser crumble (she tends to go for the eggs and melons over the wet mash).
Can I do both the Valbazen and TricideNeo treatments at the same time and is there anything else I can do? I know she is getting older, and will do the best I can with supportive care if she is nearing the end stages of life.
