Feeling Better

Please forgive the long time between posts, there is a lot going on around here. The last time we posted the girls were very ill. We ended up losing 5 chickens and now we have 19. There is a definite change in the flock with the loss of those who died. The 19 we have left are doing much better now. Their feathers are getting that shine back, their combs are full of color and slowly but surely they are gaining some of their weight back. At the time the illness started we were getting about 20-22 eggs a day, then we had none, now we are consistently getting an egg a day.

First we had to get the Cocci under control. To do that we used Corid, the main ingredient being Amprolium. It is off label for chickens but we were going on the advice of the vet because Sulmet, which is usually used, is not supposed to be used for layers. I found a recipe for home-made electrolyte water and mixed the corid in with it. Once the cocci was slowing down, we realized we had a secondary problem, worms. The vet suggested Wazine and so we added it to the water as well. The Corid really has no withdrawal time, according to the vet, but the Wazine does. The vet says 5 days but I have read where people follow a 14-21 day withdrawal time after the final dosing.

It is very disheartening to say the least when it comes to treating poultry for anything. The FDA approves Wazine for poultry but says not to use it in layers. If you do the research, nothing can be used in layers where the eggs will be used for human consumption. You know why? Because apparently it is not important enough for them to do the studies, therefore they stay on the cautious side and just say no. Studies have been done on some meds as to how long it takes to leave the meat of a bird but not the eggs. The meds you treat your birds with are usually a form of the meds your doctor will give to you only at much less amounts. The problem would be that if the meds did find their way into the egg and a human was allergic to that particular med, there could be a health issue arise. So what do you do? How do people who are certified organic do it?

Certified Organic is a hard title to come by. What it really boils down to in terms of meds is that if a chicken gets sick they just have to cull it. That is not an option for people who love their chickens and keep a flock more like pets. There are some natural ways to go about worming and the like, ways that were used back in the day before modern medicine. It all comes down to personal preference. It would just be nice to have definitive answers from the people who are supposed to know.

Thankfully Zelda survived all of it, she seems to be the healthiest one in the flock. Some good lessons came from all of this as well. Not only did we learn a lot about meds and illness in poultry, we also learned that when you turn the dirt in the run the chickens love you. You must be careful if you are doing it with a shovel, they will get right under you so they can be the first to grab the hidden treat. I am glad to say not one bird lost a beak or a toe, but they did come close. We also learned that if you put a tarp down in the coop before the litter, you can cut your cleaning time by a huge amount. It also allows you to disinfect better.

The girls are currently re-determining the pecking order but they still understand who the head chick is. =) We pick clover and other soft grasses for them every day since they can not get out to them. When my husband brings them treats they act like he is a rock star, when the kids bring them treats it is the same thing, but when I bring them treats they yell at me and give me those looks. You know those looks, the ones that say, "Is that it? We want more!" It is nice to have them back to their former sassy selves.

Our babies are sick

Since the moment we were blessed with our girls we have been trying to raise them as natural as possible. We have not medicated them or given them any un-natural products but instead kept them healthy with management of their surroundings and a healthy diet. For six months we beat the odds and had a very healthy, happy flock.

The kids have learned a very important lesson. NEVER allow anyone from outside your farm to go in with your chickens. EVER! We had talked about this before but apparently it is worthy of repeating. If someone comes into the run or hen house who has been where another flock lives, they can carry things on their shoes that you can't see but that can be very dangerous to your birds. This is what we think has happened to our girls. A friend wanted to see the girls so the kids took her in the hen house. She has chickens of her own and within a week our girls were in dire trouble for the first time ever.

Saturday morning Sarah and I went out to let the girls out into their run and turn on the light. We quickly discovered one of our girls had passed in the night. There were no visible signs on her body to explain what had happened. Life had been busy during the week with canning and family activities, so I had not been keeping as close an eye on the bird's stools or spending as much time with them. While we were heartbroken at the loss we had no answer and could not do much unless someone else were to get sick.

Sunday afternoon I noticed one of the girls in the corner of the run by herself. I went to see her and noticed she was very pale and inactive. We immediately pulled her out of the run and checked her over. She had clear eyes and nose, nothing in her craw, but she did show signs of loose poop. Further inspection in the coop showed she had bloody diarrhea. We isolated her into a seperate cage with a heat lamp because she was cold. We straw fed her some sugar water and spent time making sure she was comfortable while we tried to come up with a diagnosis.

All the signs said coccidiosis. The odd part is that our girls are the only chickens, to our knowledge, to be on our soil. At six months of age they should have built an immunity to this problem. Still, the symptoms were there. We went backwards in time to see if anything out of the ordinary had happened that could explain it. The only thing we found was the visitor in the coop. Now, looking for a treatment proved to be a journey. The most common solution for chickens suffering with coccidiosis is Sulmet. There were a couple of problems here. First, this is a sulfur drug which is hard on the digestive tract and would continue the bleeding and the girls are already miserable. Second, Sulmet is not approved for layers. Studies have been done on how long it takes for this medicine to completely leave the meat of the chicken, that would be 10 days, but no studies have been done on the eggs. Chickens are born, like women, with all of the ova they will have and so if the medicine were to damage the ovaries it could affect eggs now or two years from now. If we were to give this to our girls, we could not in good conscience sell the eggs or ever sell the girls as layers without disclosing that they had been on this drug.

Next we researched Amprolium. A product, Corid, has this as a main ingredient but it is marketed for cattle. I called the local co-op to get some words of wisdom and the gentleman was not sure what to tell me but he gave me the number for the state office. I called and they connected me with their veterinarian, who is an amazing person. He said that our only option for layer hens would be the Corid. Since we would be using it off label he gave me the dosage to use for our girls and assured me that it would be totally safe for the girls and their eggs. Apparently it is used commonly in animals for public consumption. When I asked him about what to use to sanitize the coop he explained that chickens are very sensitive to chemicals and their smells and it can give them chemical pneumonia. He recommended a product called Nolvasan and said it is safe to use on everything. For the run, because it is hard to sanitize dirt, his suggestion was to tear up the dirt and allow the sun to disinfect it.

By this time we have realized that all of our girls were under the weather. We made up gallons of sugar water and added the Corid for the girls. We made sure that the ones that seemed further along in the illness were brought to the waterers and dipped their beaks to make sure they started drinking. The first one that we had pulled out, we named her GG for Gloria Gaynor who sang the song "I will survive". That first night we thought she would not make it. After getting some sugar water in her she started drinking on her own around midnight. Still not eating but hanging in there. Yesterday morning we gave her some fresh cucumber, which she ate and slowly started eating some of her layer ration. Once we gave her the water with Corid, she started perking up. Last night she had gotten some of her color back, she was up and about, she knocked her water over and kept hitting the bowl with her foot to get my attention. She was telling me she was ready to go home. While her sisters slept, we snuck her back into the hen house and she joined her flock.

Now we continue the treatment and pray that they all do as well as GG.

Redbud Roost Routines

21 weeks old tomorrow.

As you know the girls have started laying eggs. We are now getting about an extra egg a day and yesterday we had 10 for the day. They are getting there. I spent some time with them as they were laying yesterday. Usually I try to leave them to their work but I am glad I spent some time in the corner observing the ritual.

When I first went in the coop Fuzzy was in the bottom left nest, Zelda was in the top right and there was one of the almost solid black ones in the middle top. One of the hens went up and attacked Zelda and forced her out of the nest. This happened twice. I have not figured out why. In the meantime, there was a hen on the top of the boxes cackling orders to everyone below her. If someone wanted to enter a box, she had to tell them what she thought first. When she was done they would enter. Fuzzy was the first to lay her egg. She stood very still for a few minutes afterwards and then started trying to throw litter at it, I guess to cover it and keep it warm and safe. Then she left the nest as several of the other girls on the floor were cackling at her as if to say, way to go, good job.

By this time Zelda was back in her nest and they were leaving her alone this time. One of the black girls climbed up into the nest where Fuzzy had been. She started moving the egg to the side so she could sit down. Throughout her time in the box she would stop and make sure the egg was up under her breast. Once she was done she checked on her egg and then on Fuzzy's egg, threw some litter at them from the next box and went on her way. Again the cheering section was on the floor cackling at her to let her know how well she had done.

Finally Zelda was ready. She ruffled up and let her egg go. But she sat there afterward for the longest time. Almost like she just wanted to hatch it. When she did leave the nest she went to the nest next door and was throwing litter out over her shoulder. I think she was meaning to cover her egg but she was no where even close to it. No one cackled for her so she cackled for herself as she got down.

During the process of all of this you would see a pale faced hen sit in front of the nest of one of the layers. It was almost as if she was watching to learn for when her time comes along. I am not sure if that is the reason but it would make sense, they don't have a mama to teach them so maybe they learn from each other. Either way it was fun to watch all of this and how they relate to one another.

Here are some pics of how things have been going in the Redbud Roost....

This is our first weeks worth of eggs.

The kids bought this at a yard sale because they said we needed a rooster.

Here is Matilda.

Miss Zelda.

Of course, Dumplin.

Here is a partial load of clover for snack time. These girls are something else.

They do like the fresh greens every day though.

We probably should get some of them a bib, or at least a book on etiquette.

Nesting is good....

But apparently it is better when you have two of your sisters sitting on you while you lay your egg.

Yesterday we found a monster egg! There must be a goose among them.

Daniel was so excited to show it off.

It takes muscles to hold an egg that big. ; )

I built a grass box (it is in the top right hand corner of the picture) to plant wheat grass in. It is covered with wire so the grass can grow through but they can't scratch it up. It will be a nice treat to have around when I can't get the green stuff to them fast enough.

We are all having a great time with the girls. Next time I will tell you about how to confuse the daylights out of them, literally. Oh and about the girl that did not want to go to bed.