***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[hotcurltr]

I did it! I finally went to my first chicken auction and didn't come home with every chicken in the barn! We unfortunately got a lot of bantams that were very malnourished and in that lot was an Americauna "hen" (and somehow it magically changed to a rooster on the way home). Well, ok, that is what it was listed as and I just don't remember looking at them all while we walked around. So this rooster... is very very very sick. One of the bantams has some neck issue where it walks with it's head turned to it's side. This is what I get for not looking them over before I get them. Ugh. So on a good note I did get some much healthier birds. My only standard size is a trio of buff cochins. They are pretty awesome! So now heres the kicker that I know you will all gasp with me. They were all thrown in with my healthy flock birds. Yup. No quarantine. So please pray for my birds so they don't get anything and survive. This was NOT my idea as my husband who had chickens when he was younger and talks to his father who was the one who raised them tells his son that a chicken is a chicken and it shouldn't matter and people are crazy for putting birds separate from the others as he nor his father did that.

So... I asked hubby to help me with materials for this quarantine pen today and he almost laughed in my face.

I thought maybe he was kidding and we will just keep them in the crate and get the pen together tomorrow because he can SEE and HEAR I am concerned. Nope. Opened the crates and put them in with the others. Bantams with bantams (I got the sick ones in the crates though) and the big ones with the big ones. We will see who gets sick and then I can tell him "I told you so". Then we also came home with two baby bunnies. I don't want any darn rabbits. We have no hutches for any smelly rabbits. Dad gum husband is going to sleep with the chickens!

Sorry. I just had to vent. Maybe some of you haven't quarantined birds and had a success story to make me feel better about this?

Why the heck would anyone put sick birds in an auction!?!?!? I also saw a rooster with obvious frostbite on its comb! People just amaze me.

It's good to vent. I have a few rescue hens, but they came from someone reputable. He made the big mistake of putting young pullets in with grown guienies and they cannabalised them(sp) I couldn't let the poor things get destroyed. My anxiety won't let me do anything but quarantine. When you quarantine, put the birds from each seller separate and far enough apart. Nothing is ever a sure thing. Just pray. I know it's not funny but I have to laugh about athe bunnies.

 

[hotcurltr]

. Shortened

Ouch!
What symptoms does the rooster show? Anything respiratory?
Definitely check for mites on all the birds you purchased and treat quickly.
Start treating respiratory with either Gallimycin or Denegard in the drinking water for the whole flock...sick birds and as a preventative for the healthy.
May have to cull the bird with neck issues (if she doesn't respond to vitamins). And the "very very very sick" rooster rather than continue to expose your healthy flock.

As for people who take sick birds to an auction.....well, better I not respond.

x2

 

[TRUE5]

I guess I could have posted in my last post but I was steaming and forgot. I need to find a home for our standard buff cochin. We have a rooster already so he needs to find a home. We had to buy the trio so you know how that goes. Just asking $10 for him as that is what we gave. He is a handsome guy! edit: I have to add that this is not the sick sick sick rooster. The sick one was (I say that because my husband just culled him because I looked him over and I'm surprised he was alive this long) with the bantams.

I have checked them for mites and whatever I could check for. The sickly one was wheezing SO loud and was draining fluid from his nose. Poor thing. One eye was swollen shut and gunk was all over his head. He was a mess as I wont go into detail. I don't know what breeds were with him but three looked like speckled Sussex bantams. They are still young and still recovering from the stress. A black cochin that is a rooster... which we thought a hen. oops. I will treat them if they show any little symptom. I am a nervous wreck over these chickens. I swear I have more grey hair! A separate bid was on a pair of red cochin bantams. (its a theme or something). They look to be in good health but maybe just nails and beak needing a trim. The rooster of the pair was spazzing out so he's in another crate in the garage. He will go to the neighbor kid tomorrow if no one here wants an extra rooster.

 

[TRUE5]

I got 3 bantam ameraucana hens. They are adorable. One laid a blue egg while at auction. I got 3 welsummer hens too.

But on the way to auction I got 4 black langshan pullets and 3 LF white Wyandotte pullets.

I saw him show the egg and my husband asked me if I wanted them. We already have enough bantams so I had to say no. They had some really nice ones there. I really wanted the black frizzle roo with the two black cochins but they went for $22 each. I settled for a trio of buff cochins (getting rid of roo due to already having roo) and I'm just as happy as I just wanted a couple of that breed... didn't matter what color. I also wanted a coronation Sussex but they were either too high for me or in too large of a group. Oh well. We got a few chickens then the two baby bunnies that we DID NOT need.
That's the way to do it though! Get some on the way there! So glad I got to finally meet some BYCers! I would have said bye to you three but I didn't see you. Either way it was a pleasure to meet you!

 

[bardies]

@hotcurltr ,

Is DH going to get the incubator? That would be cool!!!!

I went to the Blanchard auction today - saw a pair of fine but not great BLRW go for 46$! Prices were high, I think. On the other hand, I got a big water tank maybe 60/80+ gallons for 40$. Hope it holds water like they say. Looks as though it would - but then when they were taking it to the truck, saw a 'thing' on the bottom seam. We'll see. Left the auction a bit early, but not before winning two blue splash marans hens. I will have to get pics of them.

Speaking of needing to get pics... baby black (maybe dark blue) silkie is doing great - not really drinking yet - but is still early. He tries to hid under the bigger (much) nn chicks...and was seen several times diving in between the legs of a chick to hide. Additionally funny when larger chicks is moving away too!

Can not tell there was anything weird about the wing now.


@TRUE5 ,

wish you the best on your auction birds...I learned my lesson when I bought a stinky (that sweet sick smell) hen last year sometime. Someone even told me that she just needs a bath! I got to see her be miserable for 3 days then die. Not fun!
I use 'two eyes' now for auctions. The first eye is the kid in the candy shop eye - that's the fun part! I go through the stock there and then take a breather, go somewhere else, talk to someone, whatever... then I think about what the sparkliest, tastiest looking, most exciting thing was that I saw. Then, I put on the critical eye - go out and look again. There can be some pretty rough looking stuff out there if that is what you are willing to see. It has helped, but is not foolproof. Things will slip through no matter how careful you are (nature of the beast - if you can NOT have this happen, then you are NOT buying at auctions - you are NOT buying older birds, you are NOT bringing in new stock....heck, there are even some diseases out there transmitted in the egg...).

So, its not like if you did everything right you would be 100% guaranteed. HOPEFULLY

things will work out. Either way, you will gain valuable experience.
BTW, I stink at biosecurity too. I just do not have the ability right now to quaranteen the way I know I should. So far, we have done ok with it - it makes us more critical too.

Several months ago - I ended up encouraging a newcomer to chickens to buy a really nice looking couple of hens. They had to leave early and I offered to get the birds for them. THESE I could keep away from my flock (at that time) and did. However, one immediately showed resp. illness. I treated and treated to no avail...this was a bird that needed to be culled - talk about guilt....

Fingers crossed

for you and the flock. Hugs

for you and your flock....we've all been there. I know that that fluffy soft warm candy in the form of baby bunnies has tempted us too, but I know that the dogs would see them as just more exciting treats than normal. The thought of THAT carnage is a good remedy for babybunnyitis.

 

[muesky]

Main thing is to stay calm but that's kinda hard to pack into a kit. Animals react to you and it's best to remain calm even though your heart feels like it's about to fly out of your chest. When Teva's colt got into a bad way with a fence post we could both see that the other was about to lose it, we knew what needed to be done and we did it. Luckily the post went between the hide and muscle and just tore about a two foot gash. He's still out in the pasture today.

Another thing that I keep on hand is Ball pickling lime. It will dry up a weeping wound. Had to use it and wound spray that doc Voschel used to make up after Hotshot chewed out his stitches and re-opened the wound. Healed with no visible scar but if you know where to feel it can be felt.

I totally agree Les!! Fortunately I have quite a lot of experience in staying calm in an emergency situation due to my job, which thankfully is something I am able to generalize in all aspects of my life...
I use goldenseal powder to clot wounds. Dang that reminds me I need to put super glue in there as well... Have used both on self and animals..

Maybe one day I can achieve an awesome first aid kit like this! You're prepared for it all!!

It has taken me years to get my kit together... It is for all my animals, birds, dogs, cats, llamas and people...

Neat first aid kit ... but I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do with most of it. Why do you have cat food in it? Is that for your cats or is there a use for poultry? (mine eat dry cat food all the time ... sigh)

I keep blue kote, vet wrap, epsom salts, anitbiotic ointment, terramycin (?), and eye ointment as well as empty syringes and tweezers. Probably need other things but that's all I've ever had to use. We even set a broken turkey leg and it healed great. Feather picking, on the other hand, seems to be our down fall.

Even our new baby turkeys who are less than a week old, all ganged up on one and kept picking at the newly emerging wing feathers until it was bleeding. I had to separate them. I've never had babies do that before.

In happier news, we finally identified our surprise bird today as a silver-spangled hamburg.

And in other happier news ... a week before Christmas our nephew was killed in a car accident. No, that's not the happy part. It was devastating to all of us but, today, his girlfriend told us that she was pregnant with his child and asked that we all be part of the babies life. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions.

Just ask and someone on here can tell you what everything is for, if I can't respond at the time..
Sugar is a must in all vet kits.. Learned this from one of our Okie members who doesn't post anymore Maribeth.. Pack wounds once they have stopped bleeding with granulated sugar.. It is amazing... Prevents infection and speeds up healing like nothing I have ever seen. I had a cat come home a couple of weeks ago with a huge gash on her neck. Cleaned the wound, packed it with sugar, than covered it with gauze doped with antibiotic ointment and tape. The wound was completely closed in 4 days and now is just a small scab..

I did it! I finally went to my first chicken auction and didn't come home with every chicken in the barn! We unfortunately got a lot of bantams that were very malnourished and in that lot was an Americauna "hen" (and somehow it magically changed to a rooster on the way home). Well, ok, that is what it was listed as and I just don't remember looking at them all while we walked around. So this rooster... is very very very sick. One of the bantams has some neck issue where it walks with it's head turned to it's side. This is what I get for not looking them over before I get them. Ugh. So on a good note I did get some much healthier birds. My only standard size is a trio of buff cochins. They are pretty awesome! So now heres the kicker that I know you will all gasp with me. They were all thrown in with my healthy flock birds. Yup. No quarantine. So please pray for my birds so they don't get anything and survive. This was NOT my idea as my husband who had chickens when he was younger and talks to his father who was the one who raised them tells his son that a chicken is a chicken and it shouldn't matter and people are crazy for putting birds separate from the others as he nor his father did that.

So... I asked hubby to help me with materials for this quarantine pen today and he almost laughed in my face.

I thought maybe he was kidding and we will just keep them in the crate and get the pen together tomorrow because he can SEE and HEAR I am concerned. Nope. Opened the crates and put them in with the others. Bantams with bantams (I got the sick ones in the crates though) and the big ones with the big ones. We will see who gets sick and then I can tell him "I told you so". Then we also came home with two baby bunnies. I don't want any darn rabbits. We have no hutches for any smelly rabbits. Dad gum husband is going to sleep with the chickens!

Sorry. I just had to vent. Maybe some of you haven't quarantined birds and had a success story to make me feel better about this?

Why the heck would anyone put sick birds in an auction!?!?!? I also saw a rooster with obvious frostbite on its comb! People just amaze me.

I learned a long time ago to be very cautious and stringent on bio-security after loosing half my flock.. My suggestion is treat your entire flock with some form of antibiotic powder in the water, which mean they all need to be in lock down, if you free range your birds... For the ones that are sick I would start a round of shots of either Tylan-50 or Dermicine about 1 1/2 cc per bird.. Vet-RX is good as well, it is like Vicks for birds... Keep the sinus openings clear of snot as much as possible..
You know when I am at an auction, I get birds out of the cages and hold them.. Yes people often make fun of me because it seems like I am just loving on them, but you can tell a lot about the bird by doing this.. You can smell if they are sick, tell if they have parasites, check their weight and over all behavior and health... Plus you get to love up on some birds..
Good luck to you, if I can be of any help let me know...

NNBreeder (Les) and Kyzmette....could the Ball pickling lime be used on Kyzmette's bird with frost bitten feet when the blisters rupture to stop the weeping plasma? Do you leave the absorbed lime to form a scab or do you rinse it off?

Muesky...great info on the emergency kit.

I totally did not think to tell Kyzmette about using granulated sugar!

x2

It makes me so angry when people try to pawn off sick birds and even more so when auctions sell them...

 

[Poco Pollo]

Evening, Okies. Just got my two new pairs settled in quarantine cages in the barn. Came home from the Nowata auction with two lovely pairs of French Wheaten Marans. Donna (Cherokee Birds) had them in the auction. Thank you Shelbydog and Kyzmette for letting me tag along. This was the best girl's day out I have in.... well, in forever. Thanks! I always enjoy myself at auctions, but going with friends makes it even more enjoyable. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Shelbydog - DH said, "Thanks for the text." He figured I'd lost my phone again.

TRUE5 - Sorry to hear about the sick birds. On the sideways head chicken, it may be something as simple as ear mites.

I quarantine for 30 days. My new birds will get to see the barn cats, but they won't interact with or be within sneezing distance of any of my regular flock. Edited to add, it was really nice meeting you : )

 

[nnbreeder]

With frostbite the damage is done once the ind. cells freeze and the cell walls rupture, pretty much a wait and see game. Unless you are showing birds combs are likely to get frostbit in our colder temps. They often lose the points but rarely the blade. I think that I would treat frostbit feet on a bird like Bumblefoot, mix an Iodine and Sugar solution into a thick, almost dry paste and then apply and wrap the feet and legs good but not too tight. Change the poltice and bandages daily.

We have mainly used the pickling lime on big scrapes on horses where they got too close to something. I will apply it one day and then the next use a sweat scraper to remove it and then re-apply. On a bird I would use sterile water to rinse it due to the feathers.

Trues; sorry about the auction birds. Many times the birds are not actually showing outward symptoms when they get loaded up to go to the auction. It's the stress of getting handled and hauled that brings the illness to the front. Like Kat said, Denagard is your best friend when it comes to resp. ailments It's used worldwide for the control of a Micoplasm infection. At the same time I would hit them with some LS-50 or other broad spectrum anti-biotic.. There are different things that could cause the neck issue. They can have Wry-Neck just like a Wry-Tail and it's like scoliosis in humans. If the neck is just limp with little or no head control chances are it's caused by Botulism. Many times it can be from not getting needed vitamins.

Like Muesky said look those birds over very well. Pay close attention to the breatbone on most breeds it should have good flesh on either side and really look like a cleavage. If the breastbone protrudes it could either be parasites, worms lice or mites, draining the birds energy. The combs and wattles shoule not be pale or pinkish, sure sign of worms, blueish tint to the comb either a resp. infection or a heart/circulation problem. The eyes should be clear and bright with no bubbles in the corners and there should not be any obvious swelling of the head. The vent area should also be clean with no feces or urates stuck to the feathers although Cochins and other fluffy-butts many have just a tad on the feathers. Droopy wings and tails held down can also be a sign of illness but this too depends on the breed.

Most auctions have poor lighting where the birds are kept in the staging area so take a flashlight with you and have a pad and pen to write down lot numbers and jot down notes.

When you get them home keep them seperated for about a month. This way you can watch feed consumption and further evaluate plus worm them before they go into the main flock.

ALWAYS feed/water thses birds last after taking care of the other birds, cross contamination is always a risk even with the main flock. If you have different ages of birds take care of the youngest first and then move up in age..

 

[nnbreeder]

Oh and I almost forgot, unless those rabbits are very, very young you could have brought home many more then two!!!

 

[shelbydog]

I did it! I finally went to my first chicken auction and didn't come home with every chicken in the barn! We unfortunately got a lot of bantams that were very malnourished and in that lot was an Americauna "hen" (and somehow it magically changed to a rooster on the way home). Well, ok, that is what it was listed as and I just don't remember looking at them all while we walked around. So this rooster... is very very very sick. One of the bantams has some neck issue where it walks with it's head turned to it's side. This is what I get for not looking them over before I get them. Ugh. So on a good note I did get some much healthier birds. My only standard size is a trio of buff cochins. They are pretty awesome! So now heres the kicker that I know you will all gasp with me. They were all thrown in with my healthy flock birds. Yup. No quarantine. So please pray for my birds so they don't get anything and survive. This was NOT my idea as my husband who had chickens when he was younger and talks to his father who was the one who raised them tells his son that a chicken is a chicken and it shouldn't matter and people are crazy for putting birds separate from the others as he nor his father did that. So... I asked hubby to help me with materials for this quarantine pen today and he almost laughed in my face. I thought maybe he was kidding and we will just keep them in the crate and get the pen together tomorrow because he can SEE and HEAR I am concerned. Nope. Opened the crates and put them in with the others. Bantams with bantams (I got the sick ones in the crates though) and the big ones with the big ones. We will see who gets sick and then I can tell him "I told you so". Then we also came home with two baby bunnies. I don't want any darn rabbits. We have no hutches for any smelly rabbits. Dad gum husband is going to sleep with the chickens!  Sorry. I just had to vent. Maybe some of you haven't quarantined birds and had a success story to make me feel better about this?
Why the heck would anyone put sick birds in an auction!?!?!? I also saw a rooster with obvious frostbite on its comb! People just amaze me.

The delawares with the saddle feather picking bunch were very sad. I wish the youngeer delaware lot was in a smaller grouping or take your pick, same with the lavendar ameracaunas.

Which lot had the ameracauna hen turned roo? And I was bidding the Cochin trio with the frizzle roo too for muesky. When he showed the blue egg out of the bantam am lot I thought the bids were going to go through the roof on them. Pleased to get them for $7.50 each.

One of the welsummer hens has a little bit of swelling by one of her eyes, other than that no smells or audible signs of respiratory infection so have her in dog crate in house to keep eye on it. I'm not best at quarantine either due to lack of set up. I'll be better about it once I get 3 make shift pens in the yard emptied. I smell them, listen to them, and check their vent before putting them on the roost.

It was good meeting you too. We ended up moving to the other bleachers. It was crazy how toe numbing cold it was in there!