gitwit Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hi, We recently introduced a 4 month Light Sussex hen to our established Gingernut and Miss Snowdrop. After a couple of weeks of argy-bargy they seemed to have settled down, even allowing her to sleep with them in the actual Eglu dome. So we felt reasonably confident leaving them alone for the weekend. When we got back we were very upset to find the new one ("Meep" - due to the feeble noises she makes) had no feathers at all on the underside between her tail and her feet, and the area around the vent (about 4 inches by 3) was one giant black scab. We couldn't even see the vent, there was just a slightly protruding ragged tube of dried blood and faeces that resembled the end of a pomegranate. We were convinced she was going to die, but seperated her from the other two, gave her her own accomodation, and daily had to go through the process of catching her, flipping her over, gently rinsing away the faeces and applying violet antiseptic. A few weeks later and the whole area has healed and she has most of her feathers back (she's also pink, but I'm sure she can live with the indignity). The only thing that concerns me still is the fact that her vent appears very small and is still encrusted with faeces most of the time as she has constant diarrhoea. When her vent was blocked with the scab we put the diarrhoea down to the fact that it was the only thing that could get through. Plus there were more pressing concerns at the time. She now has free run of the garden, so is getting much more grass and insects than she ever has, so maybe her bowels are still adjusting to that. She hasn't started laying yet, so is it normal for the vent to appear smaller before it's been "bored out" (sorry for the image) by the first eggs? Cheers, Iain P.S. normally we wouldn't have introduced a lone chicken to two established hens, but we were rescuing her from an even worse situation, bullying-wise. P.P.S. I should add that she is eating (boy, is she eating), getting bigger by the day (now significantly bigger than the other two), and stronger every time I pick her up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Things should enlarge when she starts laying. What a pity you didn't get chance to read **this FAQ** before introducing her. The facts that she was the only one being introduced and that she was so young will have contributed to the difficulties. Sounds as if she is making a good recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hi Egluntine, Thanks for the reply, that's reassuring. We did read the FAQ, and did everything really slowly. To start off with she was in the same area as the Eglu and run, but shut outside with the other two inside the run. She had her own food and water and a sepetrate place to sleep at night. We gave them all treats on either side of the run mesh to get them used to each other and to associate each other with nice stuff. Every now and then we would switch them round and she'd spend a day in the run, with the other two outside. The other two would then put themselves to bed in the Eglu itself, through the Eggport (Meep had a seperate sleeping box in the run). For the next week we would let them free-range together when we were at home, again seperating them at night. Then for a few days we let them free-range permanently, but still with seperate sleeping quarters, water and food. Then one night we noticed that Meep had joined the other two in the Eglu one night and not been chased off so we were overjoyed. This would have been about day 18 of the whole process. It was the day after that we weren't at home and, worrying about foxes, left them all in the run together (although still with a seperate sleeping box for Meep). We really thought we'd handled the process in a careful and measured way and were really disappointed (and more than a little guilty) at the carnage we discovered when we got back. The poor thing smelt like chicken meat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Poor thing. No need to feel guilty though. Hens can have an evil streak and with the best will in the world, you can't be there every waking minute. I have a little theory that the more hens there are, the easier the intros. Safety in numbers I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 As Egluntine has said, her vent will be smaller until she has started to lay, then the eggs stretch it. Try keeping her in the run ofr a bit so that you can monitor what she eats. Worm her as that may be a cause of her runny bum, and put her on an exclusion diet; feed her only pellets, probiotic yoghurt, Bokashi Bran and water with Avipro in it. That should sort out the runs. Her status should improve when she starts laying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hi, I'm revisiting this topic as there have been some developments... I'm not hopeful of the vent stretching when laying starts, as we were woken these last two morning by vigorous crowing! Just the "cock-a-doo", not the "dle-doo", but pretty unmistakeable nevertheless. So this presents us with a problem. We simply can't keep a cockerel. Our neighbours aren't impressed with the presence of chickens in the first place ("they attract rats...blah blah blah"), and a rude awakening each morning could well bring things to a head (we aren't officially allowed poultry in the terms of our deeds (something we didn't know about until we already had them)). There are a number of potential homes for the little feller, but I doubt any would take a chicken that wasn't in perfect health, and we *still* have the diarheah issue. It's not white, it's chocolate brown, but the consistency of one-coat emulsion at best and tends to cling to the feather below the vent. It's consistency has improved slightly since we've been trying various treatments. This is what we've tried: a) Nothing but pellets for a week b) Pellets supplemented with porridge-oats-mixed-with-live-yoghurt for a week c) Back to just pellets for a week, plus lump of bread with one squirt of Verm-X for three days d) Just pellets for a week e) Just pellets with appropriate dosage of Flubenvet f) Just pellets, supplemented with *pinhead*-oats-mixed-with-live-yoghurt (started that this AM) Really need to sort this out if we're going to convince anyone to give him a good home. Could it be the vent damage? Is his system smart enough to realise that only liquid will pass through his damaged vent and hence that's what it produces. I just don't know if that sounds plasuable or not. Plus his vent (after his regular washes) looks fine these days. If the worst come to the worst we may have to kill him, which I won't relish but am prepared to do. My wife will be very upset though, and not sure how to dispose of him. Can't eat an unhealthy bird, and the wheelie-bin seems very heartless. He's not small, so he'd take some burying. Hoping someone can recommend a treatment... Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Have you tried giving him Bokashi bran and Avipro? They may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hi Egluntine, Thanks for your reply. We haven't tried them, so I'll pop in to the pet shop for some AviPro on the way home. As for bokashi I guess I'll have to order online, unless anyone knows any bricks-and-mortar stockists... Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Just an extra thought, one of mine has dyhorrea every time she has live yoghurt! I know it is recommended to help it, but not this one. Avopro seems to help. Might weetabix help until the bokashi arrives? (thoughts anyone)? Wiggly & omlet are pretty fast at delivering. And one last comment, I tried everything everyone recommends for sqits, but after just over 2 weeks took her to the vet & couse of baytril sorted her. Fancy them picking on a little boy!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Sorry if this sounds really stupid, but you are absolutely sure he's a he? My 3 can do a mighty squawking which could, at a push, be mistaken for cockadoodling (or half of one!) I'm no expert on cockerals so just ignore me if I'm talking rubbish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Well, it's possible... it just seems very..ummm... crow-cr-crowwwww! rather than croooooww-cr-cr-cr-cr-croooooow-cr-cr-cr-cr. I'd be very happy if it turned out he was back to a she. But in the meantine it's probably a good idea to get this diarrhoeah sorted out anyway. I guess we'll never be 100% sure until he either lays an egg or one of our others lays a fertilized one. There's other things that point towards manliness, though. He's quite strutty now. His tail is very erect, with pointy feathers. Huge comb. Follows football. Is into cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Follows football. Is into cars... There's no doubt then . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Can you post a picture of him/her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hi, Here are two not particularly good photos of him/her...what do we think??? Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieandnick Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Oh yes, he looks very manly - spurs beginning on the back of his legs, tail feathers very manly too... Having said that, two of our girls have spur nodules on the back of their legs - they're very noisy vocally, and yet they are definitely girlies as they're laying. Hmmm. Hope you solve his problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 A boy. Very little doubt I'd say. Pointy hackle feathers, spurs, chunky legs, well developed wattles and comb, the begining of elaborate tail feathers, blokish stance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Yeah, there does seem to be a concensus developing here. Thanks everyone for the responses. We'll miss him, but I guess the main priority now is to clear up his runniness so someone else will take him in. Bokashi and Avipro is ordered... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitwit Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 Hi, Thought I'd update you all on Meep's situation. He's spending the winter with friends who have chickens and tolerant neighbours. As the days get longer we'll have to find him a permanent home - 8AM crowing and 5AM crowing are very different mattes - but for the meantime he's settled. The good news is that this is where he originally came from (and was bullied horribly), but now he's returned 3 times the size and with new-found confidence he's apparently not taking any nonsense. After pinhead oats, live yoghurt, bokashi bran, poultry spice, avipro etc it seems his bowels have just about settled down. We gave him a bath in a bucket of warm water before our friends came to take him away and, although his droppings are apparently still soft, they aren't what you'd call diarrhoea, -and his vent is nice and clean. On a side-note, our two girls (normally 6-eggs-a-week hens) had both stopped laying entirely for the last couple of months. We assumed it was a post-moult layoff but the day after Meep left they both laid. Coincidence? Or did they somehow know a cockerel was in their midst and were hoping to be fertilized? Thanks all for the help and advice, Cheers, Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 nice to hear update. Interesting as I have one not laid for months(no cockeral about) but thought maybe she has stopped altogther, but you have given me some hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
