[kopperdrake]

Hi all, I was wondering now that I've got used to the daily feeding/watering and weekly cleaning routine, what treatments should I be giving on a long-term basis to my chooks to keep them happy? I'm thinking of our dog here with is preventative flea/worming drops and so on - is there anything I should be doing regularly for them. At the moment I add poultry cider vinegar to their water once a week and that's about it. Should I regularly give them Verm-X or other treatments?

On a totally different note one of our ex-bats became ill yesterday with a white discharge from her vent following a broken egg inside her which I had to pull out on the morning. After a visit to the vets, she's on electrolytic powder, mashed potato and layers crumbs mixed  up, and layers pellets at the moment with a very pongy bottom. She's sat in a big cardboard box in the living room looking a bit sorry for herself but she's started to drink and eat again which is a relief. She's also started a course of antibiotics today which the vet said would be good for any secondary infection - though I'm wary of just giving antibiotics unecessarily - any thoughts?

They've daignosed it as possible Vent Gleet, but also other two other things which I can't remember (they're written down downstairs, one of which they think is more likely considering she's just passed a broken egg).

The local chicken-keeping farmer said, without having seen it though, that it sounded like 'White's Disease' - I assume he means Salmonella Pullorum (Pullorum Disease, 'Bacillary White Diarrhoea') and recommended mixing layers mash with mashed potato and some cod liver oil to see if that helped, and if not to then get to a vet for some antibiotics.

Whilst I'm writing here we do seem to be getting quite a few soft eggs this week - one of the chooks has laid soft eggs really early in the morning (twice with no shell) since we've had them (7 weeks now), ocassionally laying a normal egg, but we've never known who it was until now. Initially I moved them onto layers pellets which they liked but in a bid to try and get more calcium into their diet I started 2 days ago to mix the layers pellets with some ex-batts crumbs, though they really don't seem to like this and have concentrated on eating grass instead. Am I knee-jerking and should I just let them get used to the crumb/pellet mix? I also add their egg-shells (cooked) to their grit bowl, but today started to add it to mashed potato as they seem more eager to wolf it down then!

I just want to do the right thing by them :/

[cathangirl]

Hello KD,
You should have grit and oyster shell on offer at all times.  The oyster shell is for calcium.
Layers pellets and fresh water also at all times- but not in the coup, obviously.
Worming with Flubenvet is recommended 2 or 3 times a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn.
Hope this helps.  Sure you will get more info later.
cathangirl

[Foxy]

Hi Kopperdrake
It sounds like your exbatt has peritonitis caused by a broken egg inside, she may also have other eggs there backed up.
Treatment : the anitibiotics are critical if she is to survive, the pong may be a sign already  of infection.
STOP the mashed potato, only give her layers pellets/mash whichever she prefers with a little natural/probiotic yogurt mixed in.
Clean her bot if you can, and let her sit in a warm salty bath/bowl for half an hour which will  help her relax and if there is anything still there will help her pass it, it will also help clean and soothe the area. Check carefully for any signs of prolapse or swelling.
She will need an emergency calcium supplement to help her muscles push any egg fragments or further soft shelled eggs down as well as helping her shells harden. Use 2-3 ccs liquid calcium from the chemist or crush a calcium tablet (also from the chemist) in her water. do your birds have access to crushed oyster shell? Soft shelled eggs indicate a calcuim deficency or a problem absorbing the calcium. Cod liver oil is also helpful for this, just mix a teaspoon once a week in their feed should help. Another good supplement is Poultry Spice as this also contains minerals essential for egglaying.
Good luck with her and keep us posted
Good advice there re: worming from cathangirl!

[kopperdrake]

Thanks for the advice - very helpful!

Peritonitis was what the vet said as well. This morning she (Maggie) is passing proper poos again with no sign of white stuff coming out. I'll get some yoghurt now to add to her pellets and give her a bath - that was planned later today as she seems a lot chirpier now - bobbling at me when I talk to her and a lot more 'with it'. I'll also get some liquid calcium from the vets. I think I'll keep her in the big box for longer, I was planning on letting her free range with the other girls later today but if I still have to keep an eye on her food then maybe it's best for a bit more quarantine?

I have about three trays of grit/oyster shell scattered around as I was paranoid they're not getting enough but they really don't seem to take much. My thinking was that perhaps sticking them on normal layers pellets has not given them enough calcium, and that, together with them not seeming to take much grit/oyster shell on voluntarily has led to an increase in soft shells more often, with Maggie the one already prone to it taking the worst hit and ending up like this. That's why I've tried to get them back on to ex-batts layers crumbs mixed in with the normal layers pellets - supposedley it has more calcium in it?

Mixing the egg shells with a bit of mashed potato yesterday meant the egg shell was all eaten by the other three, and this morning no soft shelled eggs waiting for me in the box, but two lovely hard shelled eggs have just been laid. Mind you, it could also be that they're finally eating the ex-batts crumbs more willingly.

It's a mine-field this isn't it?! I'm just sorry these poor things are relying on me to learn as fast as I can.

[compostqueen]

I know that Munty, amongst others on here, recommends OSTREA oyster shell which is available from the pet shop as well as poultry places. Very good it is too and sorted my girl out with her soft eggs and in double quick time too

Good luck with your girly, I'm sure with all the care she's getting she'll soon be on the mend. 

Routinely I only use rough apple cider vinegar and Vermex (coupled with frequent changes of grazing area which I realise is not possible for everyone)  I know Vermex is not the whole answer and that Flubenvet is widely used   

[kopperdrake]

Thanks compostqueen I've asked the local suppliers and can't find one that supplies OSTREA so I'll have a shufty online to see what I can find

I'm going to add Verm-X to my Saturday coop cleaning ritual, I hear  you can use it as a spray as a general cleaner - and cider vinegar they already get I'm changing grazing area every fortnight - they get about 24 square meters in each grazing area, though they get full free range for at least 2 hours a day, all the time at the weekend if we're in it and can keep our eyes on them It seems to be enough time this time of year to let the grass grow back, though the worst damage seems to be the little UFO crop circles they make whilst scratching around the perimiter of their feeder

[compostqueen]

they do the grass good and it will be far greener than the rest 

Us Derbyshire lot got our Ostrea from Marshalls pet shop in Clay Cross near Chesterfield
thanks to Mickwood here who did the detective and leg work 

[Sassy]

I always ensure that they have oyster shell and grit available on the basis that it is there if they need it. I don't suppose it goes off. I do understand that it is very confusing as often on bags of layers it states there is enough calcium in the pellets. I was also told, when i first started with hens,  in 3 different shops that they would pick up all they needed when free ranging. When you read a lot of the info on here it does not seem to be the case!

[kopperdrake]

Sorry to resurrect an oldish thread but I thought I'd let you all know on here who've helped me out, that Maggie has made a full recovery and is happily laying again! It turned out to be peritonitis, but her eggs are fine again now, and they're all getting ex-batts mash every day to supplement normal free-range pellets, it seems to be working

Thanks again, and that's from myself *and* Maggie

[joyfull]

yeah thtas good news