Chicken bald back

[gavclojak]

Further to a previous post I made about my lovely Barbara, she is prone to having a slightly raised crop in the morning, this isn't unusual for her so I just keep an eye on her....however yesterday she was miserable, I wasn't sure if it was the crop, but she also had very loose motions then laid a softy.....as a two and a half year old ex-commercial hybrid I expect that's her coming to the end of her laying.

 

I had been massaging the crop and I went to a fishing tackle shop and purchased some white maggots....she wasn't interested at first but she saw the others having a go and was intrigued....she suddenly became a Rottweiler....guarding the box of said wrigglers...even from the top girl who looked shocked to her core!!

 

So my ladies shared half a pint of the most heinous things I have ever seen. I am scared of nothing and have three kids and work for the NHS so not much fazes me but maggots....sorry but they don't deserve to breath the same air.....they are the most evil things I have ever seen...sent straight from Beelzebub himself....

 

So my question is, does it serve any purpose to give them this high protein treat as a Prophylaxis and will it do any harm to the other girls too...

[jimnpaula]

Maggots make me shudder too

 

As long as they're the undyed ones I can't see that there's any harm in them as part of a varied diet. We know they can help impacted crop, and if the girls found them in the garden they'd scoff them wouldn't they?!

[Beantree]

They have two main uses as far as I am concerned Gavclojak. They are an excellent protein boost to give when they are moulting as feathers need a lot of protein to grow. They can be used to break up an impaction in a crop.

 

I have stopped using them. If the maggots have been allowed to consume rotten meat they could contain Botulism. This causes sudden almost total paralysis and is often fatal. Same thing can be present in beetles feeding in compost heaps.

 

I now use sunflower hearts for protein (shell removed) and a massage to break up crop impaction.

[gavclojak]

Thanks, I did ask that question in the fishing shop about how they are "farmed" and apparently they are produced in a sterile environment..funny enough the girls ran straight for the empty box this morning...imagine there disappointment:)

 

And I hope they did the trick for Barbara as her crop was much smaller today.