A heavy heart

[MillyJude]

I wondered if anyone had any advice for me regarding our two Pekin Bantams.

We got them 4 weeks ago when they were just coming into lay and they have been fine but for the last few days they have gone off their food, seem very lethargic and humpy and keep going back to bed.

For the last week or so they have been free ranging for a few hours each day with the large fowl flock (and one bantam cockerel) and three ducks, I haven’t noticed any large scale bullying, just a bit of short lived chasing off.

They are now back in their own run/free range area which I’ve moved deeper into the shade, and I’ve put ACV in their water.

They are vaccinated against most things, but do the vaccinations work?

Could it be the heat? Should I be doing anything more? These are our first bantam hens so I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing tbh.

Any advice appreciated, thanks 

[Cat tails]

ACV can stop them drinking enough water, so I would remove that.

Also are you sure they aren’t broody? Pekins are well known for being broody.

[MillyJude]

Thanks for the reply, I’ve changed their water to remove the ACV.

I’d discounted broodiness because when we’ve had broody hens in the past they’ve been bristly and furious whenever I’ve tried to move them. The Pekins just seem a bit quiet and sad and humpy, but they are both trying to fit in the nest box atm so maybe??
Is there anyway of telling if it’s broodiness or Illness?

[Cat tails]

Most of my broodies have been the hissing/spitting/biting my hand of kind, but not all are like that. Are they doing the low cluck?

As they aren’t laying anyway, I would close the nestbox/house and see if they start doing more normal chicken stuff.

[MillyJude]

No low cluck but I might leave the side door off the house (it’s an eglu classic) so it’s not snuggly in there and see if that changes anything, thanks 

[mullethunter]

Sounds like broodiness to me. My pekin has just today gone broody for the second time this year. She doesn’t do any growling or mega puffing up or anything either - just sits like a pancake - but then she is mega friendly / tame.

[MillyJude]

Thanks for the reply, they’ve stopped going in the house but they are still humpy and lethargic.

However I’ve just cleaned them out and found a little pile of red mite under the roosting bars, I’ve washed out the coop and sprayed with TMK so hopefully that’s sorted the mite but would a small pile of red mite cause such a reaction in the birds?

They are still only young and there’s only 2 of them so I guess relatively it’s a much bigger problem for them than a flock of 6/8 large fowl.

Edited August 9, 2022 by MillyJude

[mullethunter]

If you’ve seen an actual pile of mites then you probably have a much bigger problem than you realise. You’ll probably need to do a couple more clean out and TMK over the next couple of weeks, and have a really good look over your hens too. If it was me I would also treat the hens with ivermectin (not licenced for use in chickens).

[MillyJude]

Thanks, I’ve got some ivermectin so I’ve put that on them and I’ll keep treating the hen house.

I thought as it’s an eglu any mites would be visible? But do they hide in the cracks between the plastic sections?

I know when I took our old cube apart to sell there was a load of compacted bedding in between the front and the side sections. Does everyone else take their omlet houses apart when they clean them?

[mullethunter]

Yes they would definitely hide in the cracks. I wouldn’t totally unscrew it unless I had to but I would remove all parts that come out (divider and roosting bars in my Cube) and then I’d put all back together, close it up and use a smoke bomb to try to get rid of any hiders.

[Luvachicken]

Not all Pekins show the same broodiness patterns.

I have one that never goes broody, one that has been broody for a good couple of weeks and in and out of the broody cage, another that follows that scenario and one that growls, pecks hard and sticks her feathers up.

One of them also lays softies which can make them feel pretty rotten.

I imagine the red mite haven't helped how they feel but at least you are on the way to getting rid of them.