Solitary chicken - need advice

[fluffyknickers]

Took the girl to the vets today for worming (on another post !). I saw a Locum and he wormed them but then spoke to me as said they were all too thin, he said to feel the sharp breastbone bit and my three girls was sticking out too much.

 

I feel awful and felt like he thought I was neglecting them.

 

I did tell him that they have pellets always available, pellet porridge or things like pasta most nights and free range etc.

 

He said OK but to keep an eye on it. I said that Nugget has probably lost weight due to her extreme broodiness and perhaps its because the other two have worms.

 

So just wanted to tell you all but also to ask is there anything to give them over and above my normal to help.

 

Michelle

[Saronne]

I wouldn't worry too much.

One or two of my hens have sticky-out breast bones, too. They are regularly wormed and are otherwise very healthy and happy. They lay eggs most days. Does your vet specialise in poultry?

 

 

Saronne xx

[Chucky Mama]

My girls have unlimited pellets, corn as treat and free range all day long and are regularly Flubenvetted and are a picture of health...you can feel their breastbone very prominently on all of them bar the greediest Bluebelle who is a bit of a gut bucket but even then her breastbone is obvious, she just feels heavier to hold. I think that it is easy to assume that chickens should have the breast meat on them that we see in supermarket chickens which is of course pretty unnatural. I personally wouldn't worry about it. If they are wormed and have access to as much food as they want to eat what more can you do? Force feed them

[katieD]

surely a vet that says they are underweight should then be able to provide advice as to what you can do to change it? how stupid to make a comment and then not give you any advise, i feel annoyed for you!

 

laying birds dont carry much weight because all their nutrients goes into making eggs, just like milking cows often look thin.

 

i would see how they get on, like you say probably the worms etc. if you up the treats then you might have a problem with eggs etc?

 

you could restrict their freerange time?

 

good luck x

[stoice]

I agree with the above comments.

I'm guessing your girls aren't meat birds so wouldn't be so big 'up top' as they are layers. I think as long as they are wormed (as you say they are) and have access to pellets/mash and clean water with the odd treat, there isn't much else you can do is there? too many treats and you'll have fatter unhealthy birds that don't lay. I trust the vet didn't suspect any other underlying cause.

 

S xxx

[Sheilaz]

Mazzy, you'll probably find they will put on weight now they're on Panacur.

Having worms, even unseen ones, would easily cause them to be underweight, but you're dealing with that & they'll soon catch up again.

 

The vet was probably just making a true observation, and with regular worming I'm sure they'll be fine.

[Porkypie]

Please don't feel sad I would say my brown hen is 'thin' with a prominent breastbone and is very light compared to my other two. She is the smallest but lays the biggest egg everyday Now they've been wormed they may 'bulk' up a bit

[sjp]

if they're hybrids they not breed to be heavy or 'fat' they're breed to lay eggs my two eat like foods going out of fashion but I can feel the breast bone so unless they're boney and they eat well and lay eggs I'd not worry to much

[Egluntyne]

Laying hens, especially hybrids, do tend to be on the thin side. As long as they are eating well and laying, I wouldn't worry.

[The Dogmother]

I think that perhaps he's not used to hens; laying birds do tend to be on the thin side, some of mine are real skinny minnies, especially the younger ones.

 

Bluebelles are bustier birds and much 'denser'

 

So long as they are healthy, regularly wormed and checked for lice, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Janty]

I got really upset about six months into chicken keeping when a vet said that one of my hybrids was too thin. I couldn't feed them any more food as like the rest of you, they have food available at all times. I worm regularly so I couldn't do anything differently.

 

It's easy to say but try not to worry.

[Clur]

Did he weigh them? That's the only sure way of checking weight is within the normal parameters. I thought Florrie had lost weight as she feels v.boney at present, and our vet thought the same but had to double check on the scales just to make sure.

[The Dogmother]

If you handle and inspect your girls on a regular basis, then you will know if they lose much weight.

[Biker Betty]

This makes me so angry - when are normal vets going to get trained to properly treat chickens too? Isn't it the largest growing area of pet keeping in Britain?

 

Most times now I take the vet's advice (which is normally to put them to sleep!) with a pinch of salt unless they specialise in birds and poultry.

 

Last year with my inexperience, I had two girls PTS because the vet told me they were too skinny and he thought they had some kind of illness - I now know that's what they are supposed to be like! Fortunately I hold my ground a little more these days.

[jkl]

Mazzy - Cheer Up

 

My local vet said one of my chickens felt abit thin but she eats loads of pellets, has corn and grapes as treats and free ranges for at least 2 hours a day in a garden with lots of insects and other chickenly delights. I asked her what to do about it and she then admitted she didn't know alot about chickens. Didn't stop her having the cheek to charge me £22 for a consultation.

 

Along as there is regular worming, fresh water and food, she is eating and looks OK, then my advice is not to worry.

 

chin up.

 

jkl

[fluffyknickers]

Thanks everyone.

 

He did weigh each of them before working out the dosage of panacur. I cant remember each one exactly but I know that Peppa (who funny enough is top of the pecking order) weighed the most at something like over 2kg and the other were just under that.

 

They always have water, pellets with garlic, poultry spice and bokashi (need some more bokashi actually) and treats at night before bed. Until Nugget went broody all three lay every day.

 

Actually I will ask Pengy what she thinks as she has looked after them all twice!

 

Over the last week I have cleaned out every piece piece of aubiose and wood chip, cleaned the area layed down stalosan and now new aubiose everywhere. Diatom and red mite also puffed around for good measure.

 

Not sure what else I can do. Will keep an eye on them and see if they put some weight on.

 

I appreciate all your posts.

Michelle

[sjp]

I've had a look at a couple of commerical poultry sites one being ISA the spec for isa browns is 2Kg at 80weeks old

the other site gives 18 weeks of about 1.5-1.6Kg

hope this helps to put your mind to rest

[FoxFighters]

Dear Mazzy,

 

I totally agree with what everyone else is saying!

I took my to the vets and saw this very nice, very young man who had a wonderful bedside manner but absolutely no idea about chickens!

My had a bit of a bug and needed some antibiotics. He tried to convince me she was totally on her last legs and severely under weight as her breastbone was sticking out. She had been eating perfectly well the day before and previously to that.

I had all but signed the PTS consent form when my female intuition took over! I demanded antibiotics which he pescribed (Tablets, for a chicken!!!!!!!) and told me I would be back within the week to have her put down. Within 3 hours she had laid her 1st egg and got progressively better as the day went on!

I changed vets very quickly to one who had actually seen a chicken before!!

He said hybrid layers are meant to be 'skinny racing snakes' as all their fat reserves go to making eggs!

As I think someone else has mentioned you have to be really careful which vets you go to. Try to see one which specialises in farm animals as opposed to cats/dogs etc.

It made me really mad, I'm sorry you were told such rubbish. Try not to worry xx

[Guest]

No need to ask - I've just caught up with this thread.

 

They seem just fine when I have them - eat well and look healthy. If they have had worms they may have lost some weight but once you are treating them they should perk up. As for feelign their breastbone - on mine some of them have very prominent breastbones - the smaller ones certainly do whilst one the huge Sussex Ranger there is a good bit of meat there - but as well as being a big old bird she is a rubbish layer - she doesn't lay more than about 3 eggs a week and when she isn't broody she's moulting! Even when she is broody you can't feel her breastbone but on my good layers - especially the silver and amber stars - who are tiny - their breastbones are prominent.

 

Even my little brown hen has a prominent breastbone - althoug sadly I suspect she now has peritonitus too.

[Chucky Mama]

I am sure that your girls are fine but of course now that your vet has said this to you that you will worry what ever we say to try and reassure you. Do you know anyone near you with chickens? Maybe you could go and have a look at them to compare. I really do feel that this locum is not familiar with laying hens and is thinking of a chicken that he would get from Tescos I remember being quite suprised when I first felt my girls breastbones poking out.

[hilda-and-evadne]

I've had a look at a couple of commerical poultry sites one being ISA the spec for isa browns is 2Kg at 80weeks old

the other site gives 18 weeks of about 1.5-1.6Kg

hope this helps to put your mind to rest

 

This is an interesting thread. When I took my maran to the vet about a month ago, the locum said that she was underweight - weighing just over 2kg (she would have been about 42 weeks old then). My maran does have a more prominent breast bone than the much heavier Light Sussex but they were all wormed recently, have access to pellets all day long as well as a few treats, and run about when I let them out, and the maran lays enormous eggs.

 

So it sounds as if the maran is not that underweight.

 

Do urban vets receive any training in poultry health?

[Biker Betty]

It doesn't seem so! I've tried lots of surgeries in our area and still haven't found a vet who is able to tell me anything about them. They know chicken anatomy (if they can remember it from medical school) and that's where it ends.

I have never yet taken a chicken to the vets without getting the advice to put them to sleep. Last time, I had to take a girl in just to get some anti-biotics - I ended up giving the vet a little lesson on chickens - doesn't seem to justify the £25 they charge me for a 'consultation' really does it?!

[beach chick]

interesting discussion. when we had our columbian black tail Juanita pts a month or so ago, our (very good chicken) vet commented on how thin she was, with no meat on her at all. subsequently, I've spent a fair amount of time picking the rest up, and applying lice spray/powder.

 

my blubelle is def. the heaviest, she's a big solid girl. the silver sussex and buff orp both look big, but it's all feather. of the rest, I can feel their breastbones, but they also feel "the right weight for the way they look" if that makes sense - Juanita was def. a skinny minny.

 

they have a 50m electric fence, constant access to layers pellets, treats roughly daily, are wormed, etc etc etc. so I think if you pick them up and they feel less substantial than you expect, worth considering if there's a problem - otherwise, if they are generally well managed then you kind of have to just let them get on with it.

[Hen Watch]

Michelle, don't worry too much.

 

My 4 are hybrids. The gingernuts and amber star are all feather and not much 'meat' but they look substantial. However my Miss Pepperpot is tiny, skinny, with a sticky-out breast bone. In fact it just looks like skin pulled taut over bones. She eats for England, regularily wormed and is my most reliable layer.

 

I think it just depends on the breed and if they are healthy, happy, wormed etc then I would not worry too much.