feeling breast bone good or bad???

[jackrooster]

I was out side today and i picked up one of my chickens and i could feel there breast bone i mean there was a little fat but should i be able to feel the breast bone at all???? Is it normal to feel this??? They get free choice of game bird crumble, crack corn and layer pellett. So they should be plump right and BTW these are pets not meat birds. Is this do to worms ?? if any one thinks this is please give me some wormers you guys uses and the website where i can order them from. Thank you!

 

[Kittymomma]

What kind of birds are they? There is a huge difference between normal for a leghorn and normal for an orpington. If she's a production layer type she'll be a lot lighter then a dual purpose breed. Do you have any pictures?

 

[jackrooster]

Quote:
I have 2 RIR's one EE and a RIR/silkie bantam cross.

 

[Kittymomma]

Which one is feeling light? EE's are mutts so depending on what she was crossed with.... One of mine is a lot lighter then the others. The RIR should be pretty hefty, not sure about the silky cross, I don't have any of those....yet. Check for mites/lice and take a fecal sample in for a float to rule out parasite problems. I'm not sure from your post, but if they get the corn free choice I'd stop that, it's like chicken candy and not good for them in large quanities.

 

[Penturner]

I was going to say something along the line of what was mentioned in the post above. Chickens never care if what they eat is nutritious. free access means they will eat their favorite not a well balanced diet. We have this problem with my daughters Chuhuahua. He want to eat the big dogs food but requires special nutrition. He starts loosing weight pretty quick if we don't keep an eye on him.

 

[jackrooster]

Quote:
They dont have mite i check that the first thing. I was thinking worms mabeyy???? the RIR's are heavy but i can still feel there breast bone..... the poop isn't runny or bloody and there dosent look like there anything wrong with it and i have never seen worms in there ether.......so i dont know what to think?

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

try worming to be sure
Wazine, ivermectin and safegaurd are all great wazine is by far the weakest one though, Safeguard it the best for adding to drinking water and getts a variety of worms.
Try Jeffer's.com
they have all 3
I also just started another thread asking about the "going light" problem many people experience where they shrivle up to nothing but a breast bone with shin on it maybe we'll get some replies to that one as well. For now, just treat for worms though, 90% sure that's it.

 

[jackrooster]

Quote:
How offten should i worm them??? and how many day should i wait to give them another worming of the diffrernt kind ??? and how long do i wait untill we can eat there eggs after i worm them ???

 

[PunkinPeep]

Just being able to feel the breastbone is not necessarily a cause for concern. If you can pinch it, that's different.

 

[Kittymomma]

I'd take a fecal sample in to the vet before worming. I hate to have to toss eggs for a couple of weeks for just because wormings--I might feel different if I only had a few hens, but I'm getting a dozen or more eggs a day right now so I figure it's worth the $20 for a fecal float.

As for the worm medicine you can use Wazine, Ivermec, and I think a few others. If they have a heavy load I'd start with the Wazine and then in two weeks use the Ivermectin. The wazine won't get everything, but you aren't as likely to kill a heavily infested hen from shock when a whole slew of worms die off at once. Withdrawl is 2-3 weeks after each worming.

Can you get some pictures? If they are eating, pooping, in good feather, and running around like happy chickens I wouldn't do anything but keep an eye on things and enjoy the birds.