Flaky white stuff/skin on comb, poopy bums and weight loss.

[MissAdelaide]

Two of my chickens have had this white, flaky skin kind of coming off of their combs. The one who has it the worst is my Orpington, Geoff, and she's around 4-5 years old, and 4kg. The white, flaky stuff reminds me of dandruff. She's been decreasing in weight. Around a month ago I weighed her and she was 4.6kg.
She also has a very poopy butt, and I'm not too sure how to wash it. I'm 15, and my parents only let me use the laundry trough for very serious stuff, like when another chicken was egg-bound a few years back. Any advice on cleaning her without a lot of flapping and chaos, outside?

She has had a poopy bum for a few weeks, and her comb was relatively healthy apart from some sores where she'd been pecked.
One of my other chickens has a little of the 'dandruff' stuff, very poopy bum and only slight weight loss (She's 5 kilos). She looks very healthy apart from that.

My last girl is perfectly normal- even gained some weight.

I haven't wormed them in a while. I wouldn't be able to take them to the vet, and I'm going to get some Kilverm from the pet shop as soon as I can.

They have water and grain which they eat during the day. They also get scraps a couple of times a week. Not too many runs, I'm afraid, since we got a puppy who goes to the toilet around the house if he is locked in. I think I'm going to try to be better at that.
They have a coop with an extension, and the bedding in the sleeping/laying area has hay for them, while the rest of the coop is poopy so we put the grass clippings that come from mowing the lawn in there.

Living in Australia, currently, there is hot days, warm days, and windy/rainy days. It is never really humid. Very chaotic weather, even though it's summer.

Thanks, Meg

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

Hi Meg, I'm in Australia too. The first thing I would do is worry about the poopy bums, and put them as priority first. I have a little buff columbian wyandotte bantam who, not long ago - had a poopy bum. Take your girls who have it into the laundry (thats where I did Honey). Use scissors and very carefully cut away the poop stuck to the feathers (and the feathers covered in poop). Be super careful around their vents. Once you got the main stuff away, trim the feathers around her bum so that when she poops, no poo gets stuck. You say you haven't wormed them in a while, and there is weight loss. There is a high chance they could have worms. I used to use Kilverm, until someone told me it isn't effective against the more threatening worms (e.g. Tapeworm). I'd use Wormout (I'll attach pic for you to see). I'm not too sure about the flaky stuff - may you please give us some pics to help diagnose that?

Kind regards,

Laura

Here is Wormout:

 

[MissAdelaide]

Hi Meg, I'm in Australia too. The first thing I would do is worry about the poopy bums, and put them as priority first. I have a little buff columbian wyandotte bantam who, not long ago - had a poopy bum. Take your girls who have it into the laundry (thats where I did Honey). Use scissors and very carefully cut away the poop stuck to the feathers (and the feathers covered in poop). Be super careful around their vents. Once you got the main stuff away, trim the feathers around her bum so that when she poops, no poo gets stuck. You say you haven't wormed them in a while, and there is weight loss. There is a high chance they could have worms. I used to use Kilverm, until someone told me it isn't effective against the more threatening worms (e.g. Tapeworm). I'd use Wormout (I'll attach pic for you to see). I'm not too sure about the flaky stuff - may you please give us some pics to help diagnose that?

Kind regards,

Laura

Here is Wormout:View attachment 2438553

Thanks so much, Laura. I will give wormout a go. Any ideas about dosage? Have you used it and found it to be safe? Also, I will bathe the poo off of them tomorrow, and hopefully, I can convince my parents to let me use the laundry. I really appreciate the help! I'll update you soon Also will send a picture tommorow.

 

[Shezadandy]

Two of my chickens have had this white, flaky skin kind of coming off of their combs. The one who has it the worst is my Orpington, Geoff, and she's around 4-5 years old, and 4kg. The white, flaky stuff reminds me of dandruff. She's been decreasing in weight. Around a month ago I weighed her and she was 4.6kg.
She also has a very poopy butt, and I'm not too sure how to wash it. I'm 15, and my parents only let me use the laundry trough for very serious stuff, like when another chicken was egg-bound a few years back. Any advice on cleaning her without a lot of flapping and chaos, outside?

She has had a poopy bum for a few weeks, and her comb was relatively healthy apart from some sores where she'd been pecked.
One of my other chickens has a little of the 'dandruff' stuff, very poopy bum and only slight weight loss (She's 5 kilos). She looks very healthy apart from that.

My last girl is perfectly normal- even gained some weight.

I haven't wormed them in a while. I wouldn't be able to take them to the vet, and I'm going to get some Kilverm from the pet shop as soon as I can.

They have water and grain which they eat during the day. They also get scraps a couple of times a week. Not too many runs, I'm afraid, since we got a puppy who goes to the toilet around the house if he is locked in. I think I'm going to try to be better at that.
They have a coop with an extension, and the bedding in the sleeping/laying area has hay for them, while the rest of the coop is poopy so we put the grass clippings that come from mowing the lawn in there.

Living in Australia, currently, there is hot days, warm days, and windy/rainy days. It is never really humid. Very chaotic weather, even though it's summer.

Thanks, Meg

A warm 5 gallon bucket (like what you'd use for horse's water) and an old hand towel will do the trick if it must be done outside. Put the hand towel on the bottom of the bucket for traction. Fill it just high enough to soak the poopy feathers. Cut out any really nasty sections first. GENERALLY speaking, when put in the bucket most will just roll with it and enjoy it. Once she's soaked for about 5 minutes, pull her out and use some dish soap to help clean her up, then rinse with clean water. Soak as needed till it cleans up.

BUT - there is a really easy way to do this over a sink where the hen is restrained and only the butt gets wet.

If you have an old cookie sheet or a longer cutting board that will fit across the corner of your sink (make sure the sink has a disposal unit to chop up anything that might fall in), lay the cookie sheet and/or cutting board across the sink at a 45 degree angle. Get the water to the right temperature before you grab the hen. Have a towel waiting to wrap her so she can be gotten outside with a minimum of mess. Trim any gross feathers outside first. Have the dish soap in a little plastic dish so it's easy to get with one hand.

Then bring her in, and lay her on her side with her butt over the open part of the sink. The head should be facing you, and most of the body will be on the board. Keep hold of her legs with your left hand, and gently lay your left arm across her body and over her wings, leaving your right hand available for the washing/soaping. You'll want enough of the butt to overhang so the water runs into the sink and doesn't get the board and rest of the hen wet. Even my unfriendly hens who think I'm going to eat them take this pretty well. Then of course wrap in a towel immediately and get her outside before she has a chance to flap.

 

[MissAdelaide]

A warm 5 gallon bucket (like what you'd use for horse's water) and an old hand towel will do the trick if it must be done outside. Put the hand towel on the bottom of the bucket for traction. Fill it just high enough to soak the poopy feathers. Cut out any really nasty sections first. GENERALLY speaking, when put in the bucket most will just roll with it and enjoy it. Once she's soaked for about 5 minutes, pull her out and use some dish soap to help clean her up, then rinse with clean water. Soak as needed till it cleans up.

BUT - there is a really easy way to do this over a sink where the hen is restrained and only the butt gets wet.

If you have an old cookie sheet or a longer cutting board that will fit across the corner of your sink (make sure the sink has a disposal unit to chop up anything that might fall in), lay the cookie sheet and/or cutting board across the sink at a 45 degree angle. Get the water to the right temperature before you grab the hen. Have a towel waiting to wrap her so she can be gotten outside with a minimum of mess. Trim any gross feathers outside first. Have the dish soap in a little plastic dish so it's easy to get with one hand.

Then bring her in, and lay her on her side with her butt over the open part of the sink. The head should be facing you, and most of the body will be on the board. Keep hold of her legs with your left hand, and gently lay your left arm across her body and over her wings, leaving your right hand available for the washing/soaping. You'll want enough of the butt to overhang so the water runs into the sink and doesn't get the board and rest of the hen wet. Even my unfriendly hens who think I'm going to eat them take this pretty well. Then of course wrap in a towel immediately and get her outside before she has a chance to flap.

Thanks so much! I will try cleaning them without the cookie sheet first, and if I need to I will use it. I'll use your tips to make it an easier and cleaner process, too. I really appreciate the help!

 

[MissAdelaide]

Hi Meg, I'm in Australia too. The first thing I would do is worry about the poopy bums, and put them as priority first. I have a little buff columbian wyandotte bantam who, not long ago - had a poopy bum. Take your girls who have it into the laundry (thats where I did Honey). Use scissors and very carefully cut away the poop stuck to the feathers (and the feathers covered in poop). Be super careful around their vents. Once you got the main stuff away, trim the feathers around her bum so that when she poops, no poo gets stuck. You say you haven't wormed them in a while, and there is weight loss. There is a high chance they could have worms. I used to use Kilverm, until someone told me it isn't effective against the more threatening worms (e.g. Tapeworm). I'd use Wormout (I'll attach pic for you to see). I'm not too sure about the flaky stuff - may you please give us some pics to help diagnose that?

Kind regards,

Laura

Here is Wormout:View attachment 2438553

I've attached the photo of Geoff's comb. Today was the first warm day I've had this week, so I cleaned Marshmallow. She was okay and now I have a system in place for when I do my other girl tomorrow. The Wormout is going to be here on Tuesday, yay! Also, I just noticed that your girl is named Honey; very adorable name.