NobbyNobbs Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 firstly i'm a little worried that my gingernuts beak is clipped very short and she seems to have trouble eating. is this normal? secondly does anyone know if the omlet birds are wormed before theyre sent? if not what should i worm them with? flubenvet is as expensive as the bird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 where did you get your chickens from? I thought only battery chickens were 'de-beaked'. If she's from a breeder, I'd have a word with them. Sounds odd that a breeder would de beak a bird. Flubenvet lasts forever as you only need such a small amount each time you worm them. No idea if the omlet chickens are wormed or not, better to ask omlet I should think. Maybe one of the mods might know??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NobbyNobbs Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 they were ordered with the eglu from omlet. the pepperpot has a normal beak, the gingernut has her beak clipped, she struggles to rip anything so can't eat greens like the other one, eats a lot slower and even seems to struggle with eating the layers pellets out of the feeder (she seems to prefer to pick up the ones fallen on the grass, but i can't leave the food there because of the risk of rats). ive ordered the flubenvet because the gingernut is so thin i'm now resorting to anything in the hopes she'll gain some weight. again, the pepperpot put on a lot of width when she started laying and looks solid (although my no means a bird you would consider eating!) but the gingernut looks thinner than when she came even though she's laying almost every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hi there, welcome to the forum! Would it help her to maybe have mash for a while as she might be able to shovel it up easier than trying to pick up pellets. Very strange for her to have been debeaked, I'd ring Omlet if I were you , see what they say. Even if they were wormed at HQ she could have picked something up so it won't hurt to worm her, a miniscule amount on a grape is the dose I think if she can manage a grape Check for mites too, they can lead to loss of condition, red mite is rare in an Eglu but not impossible. If you haven't got mash, lots of hens (not mine ) like their pellets made into porridge, she might find that easier to eat too - just mix some pellets (not many) with warm water and leave to SWELL!! You can mix in other stuff too, tuna, or olive oil, grapes sultanas, a good way to bulk them up and add extra vits if they need a pick me up Good luck Mrs B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Omlet birds are only wormed if samples show that there is a need. Flubenvet is a very useful product, and as has already been said, a pot will last literally for years. I rate it highly and would suggest that you invest in one. One of my girls has a dodgy beak and uses a sort of sideways action to shovel up her food. As long as the hen is not losing weight and is laying (if old enough) , I wouldn't worry too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepie Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm not much help really but my gingernut (Pecky) from Omlet has a diffrent shaped beak to the rest. Top beak much shorter. I did wonder if she's broken the end off or assumed this was how they were as my other 2 are pepperpots and have much pointier beaks. I'm just glad she hasn't got a pointy beak though as she pecks fingers. She will even jump vertically about 2 feet to get you if you are in the garden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah B Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm just glad she hasn't got a pointy beak though as she pecks fingers. She will even jump vertically about 2 feet to get you if you are in the garden! My Tikka does that for sweetcorn, it's funny to watch - glad it's not for my fingers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NobbyNobbs Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 Ethel did that too, but then one day she did it straight into the top of the run and fortunately has decided its not such a great idea. now they just try to eat my shoes and trousers all the time incase i'm hiding mealworms in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
