My eco solution to rat problems

[berylandbabs]

Any help or advice please .... I got my three girls two and a half weeks ago (I'm a first timer!). They are beautiful buff orpingtons.

 

However, over the last few days, I have noticed that one seems to have constantly damp feathers just below her developing wattles (she is 17 weeks old). She occasionally has a dribble of saliva from her beak. She is fairly bright and perky, maybe just slightly quieter than the other two, and seems to be drinking and eating OK I think. Could she have a drinking problem or is it something more sinister?

 

Today she did a few runny poos of the mustard variety and is beginning to concern me. I would be grateful for any help or advice.

[Phosphorus]

Don't worry too much about the runny poos if only a couple, that is normal, they empty out the caecum (sp?) every tenth poo or so - smell disgusting, looks like runny curry

 

Not sure about the wet feathers below the wattles. I would normally look for the normal signs of chicken health and then begin to panic if something seemed amiss.

 

Signs of good health are:

 

Bright, full and waxy comb and wattles;

Bright and shiny, alert eyes;

Nostrils clean, no rasping;

Head and tail held high;

Breast full and plump;

Abdomen firm but not hard;

Posture erect, active alert;

Feathers smooth and clean;

Vent, clean and slightly moist;

Droppings firm gray-brown with white tips (with allowance for the curry poos )

 

Sounds like she might just be quieter in nature than the others if she seems perky and alert and is eatinig and drinking as usual. Does she seem to be doing normal chickeny things (preening, pecking at ground etc. or is she just standing about looking lethargic )

[Gallina]

It sounds to me like she is a dribbler. Maybe her beak has a slightly unusual shape, so that whenever she takes water, some of it falls out when she tips her head back to swallow.

 

I haven't heard of this before, but there must be some hens whose beaks don't close perfectly to hold water in, mustn't there?