Re: Shrunken comb/tail feathers
- From: a_l_p <hay_hell_pea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:39:13 +1200
Jill wrote:
"keith kent" <keith3@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:e9fJi.4952$X%4.4461@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI deal with scaly leg with oil to smother them, but recently quintupled numbers by taking in the unsold birds of a very sick friend whose husband was stressed enough without dealing with chooks which he doesn't like at all. They had bad scale, also when I killed a tiny weak old rooster I found he had a bad infestation of lice. OK, so what to do? A since-changed-jobs chook-lady at the local vet's had provided enough Ivomec for my girls, so being cautious and double checking before doing so many more I googled and found that what I needed was not the average Ivomec but I.Epi-whatsit. A friend with donkeys among other critters - now would it be worth while giving her a call? Yes! An amicable swap of a pill bottle of drench for a couple of dozen eggs and the offer to come and get more when those are eaten up, and now for D-Day (or D-Night, for easy catching).
Oh Good ,i thought it was the moult ,but was worried about the comb.Did not know the comb shrunk in the moult.Any ideas?
I am thinking something serious,please someone tell me it isn`t.
Thanks Keith
As leghorns stop laying which your birds are likely to be be getting to this time of year, their comb will shrink.
The lots of feathers indicate that moult is in progress.
--
regards
Jill Bowis
Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Working Holidays in Scotland
http://www.kintaline.co.uk
Thanks Jill for the quick response.
Keith
Its always a good idea to worm at this time of year as well as a thorough mite and lice check/treatment
That way any parasite load will not be taken into the winter.
The dosage I'd been told + online advice seemed to be 0.1 ml per kg and fortunately the original prescriber had given me a wee thin syringe. Now one of my missing skills is the ability to judge weight....
Me'n'me genius builder had been constructing a truly fabulous outdoor yard for when the chooks have to be denied access to the whole property so I can get some fruit (esp currants) for myself. I always feel guilty, even though I throw in masses of weeks and vege trimmings. And now with so many, even with the addition of a mezzanine floor to increase living space... well, it was time to get on with it. The other reason, the chooks make compost better than I can, turning everything over and over and adding poo as they go, so I figured that by putting tyres in to make bog-proof places where we could walk, add capillary drainage and prevent the whole area being packed down solid with the wee feet, plus shelter for worms to get out of the way, this could be an interesting area for all. (And it's finished enough for them to be out in it, and they love it.)
Anyway there was already an extension cord out there so that was one less thing to take out.
I went out on Wednesday night around midnight after a favourite TV program, with
kitchen scales with a round tray on top instead of the thing you measure flour etc in, my bedside lamp, the Ivomec and syringe, and a pillowcase. First I chucked all the chooks through into the deep-litter run, then I set up the "drenching station" just outside. One by one I grabbed the chooks, pulling the pillowcase over them so I could pop them onto the tray on the scales, then according to ml/kg they got a wee squirt of the Ivomec onto the skin behind their heads. Most of them were too sleepy
Then out of the pillowcase and into the house where they made sleepy noises and were confused about where the perches were. When I had finished I put the lamp into their house for a few minutes so they could wake up enough to sort themselves out and get onto the perches where they wanted to be.
It took quite a while but was actually easier than I'd thought. I didn't do the 3 in the rabbit house because there is a withholding period. They can keep on laying then when the others' eggs are fit for people I'll do them.
I'm waiting to see the results. The leg scale will take a while to improve, it always does. Maybe it's my imagination but they seem brighter. One Orpington who seemed slow or ancient and had to be carried out to go fossicking outdoors because she couldn't seem to be bothered making the effort, is now out and about and looking enthusiastic about life. I've noticed a couple of them doing that beak-fossicking in their feathers, still, and maybe they will need another dose.
I know I should clean out the house - but if you could see what a ramshackle old cobbled-together over decades structure it is, you'd know that short of wrapping the whole thing in plastic and getting the professional fumigators in, like they do with imported goods from dodgy countries to kill stow-away insects etc, it's just not gonna happen.
Are there any leaves or other natural substances that can be incorporated in the deep litter to aid in external parasite control? Pine needles for instance? Any practical hints would be appreciated.
A L P
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