Pottage Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 She's tiny and reasonably featherless, and when I checked her over last night I noticed her poor little breast bone is really protruding. We weighed all the girls at the weekend so we could start treating with Ivermectin and she is only 1600 grams They are all ex batts and are fed mostly on layers mash & pellets. They free range in the evenings and weekends, and we've been separating Nugget of an evening to give her dried meal worms. Is there anything else I can give her that will make her gain weight a little more rapidly, and also is there anything she can have to promote feather growth? We had a monsoon like downpour last night and after she just sat there shivering and looking really sorry for herself. On the upside I have found out she adores the hairdryer (!) but I'm not always going to be there to warm her up when it rains. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10339523_10152450783644651_7280676351716535425_o.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I would try tuna and also squirt some nutridrops on it.That is what I do when one looks under fed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 ah bless her....when was she last wormed? You need to up the protein in her diet as feathers are about 85% protein. I give mine a little rinsed tuna in the afternoon, maybe look in to a tonic for her too. there is one called total moult but I gave not used one before so maybe hang on until someone can recommend one they use. haha Grandmashazzie and I posted at the same time saying the same thing....how embarrassing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I think I would also restrict her free ranging. You don't know how much she's eating when she's out. You could mix some olive oil with her food too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 She's being wormed at the moment. The vet prescribed the ivermectin for both the mites and worms, but I will likely give them all some Flubenvet too a couple of weeks after that finishes too, just to be sure. I have been adding verm-ex to their water daily since we first got them a week ago, that's a tonic right? I'm sure we have some tuna somewhere at home, I'll see what she thinks of it this evening. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I deleted my post pottage after reading your previous posts. Vermex do different products. One of them is a herbal tonic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I would perhaps worm with flubervent ASAP...I use ivermectin and worm with marriages pellets with flubervent already added, saves messing around. i do this every 3/4 months and still see the occasional worm in the droppings. its a case of keeping the worm load as low as possible.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Remember when you worm them that they can't have any other food or tonics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I found tinned cat food really useful for perking up ex-batts (but then I have a very wasteful Loki-cat who will not empty his bowl no matter how little you give him, so I always have left-over cat food). It may be cheaper than tuna and won't need rinsing first. You'll have to give it to Nugget on her own, or she'll get trampled to death in the undignified scramble! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 So we tried her on tuna, ham and tinned sweetcorn last night. She liked the breaded bit around the side of the ham, but the rest of it just got flung around the garden in disgust I've made her some scrambled eggs to try this evening and will pop and get some cat food at lunch time. There's got to be something else she'll like other than dried mealworms, ants and slugs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 how about sterile white live maggots?? mine loved them when she was below par, you can get them from a fishing shop and make sure they are the white ones as they are sterile and cannot pass on botulism which is a theoretical risk in the other ones......great source of protein....and as as i said before worm worm worm her with flubervent ASAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 I've ordered the flubenvet pellets! Fingers crossed they'll be here by the weekend Maggots I expect the girls will no doubt love them, it seems the more disgusting I think something is the more they want it! I've thought about live meal worms from a pet shop, I know I've bought them in the past to feed baby robins my parents used to get living in their greenhouses. There are a couple of fisheries right near my house so I'll try calling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I know right...I am scared of nothing but maggots terrify me....they are sent from the devil himself....but they worked for me on a blocked crop too...let them gorge on them, evil little beggars then worm with the pellets..........but remember no treats at all during the worming cycle, and keep free ranging till later in the PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Yes I've read about how maggots can help clear an impacted crop, how does that work though? Any poor insect that happens to cross the path of my girls gets quite savagely pecked to death before it's eaten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Ours swallow maggots whole, so they will be wriggling around in the crop Pottage. They are a rich source of protein and great when they are feathering up, but they must not have been raised on rotten meat because, as said, they may then carry botulism.This causes almost total body paralysis and is usually fatal. The same organism exists in beetles in compost heaps, so keep chickens well away from them. You should avoid anything fattening, like maize. She needs to build up body mass and really the best way is rearers pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Barbara had a crop that was still visible in the morning so I gave it a few days to clear and it didn't, by this time she wasn't herself so out came the maggots, initially she threw a few around, but once they got the taste it was a feeding frenzy. i fed the girls half a pint about 6PM,they were very much alive when consumed so I guess they eat there way through the impaction until they are ground up un the crop and digested. the next morning, barbara's crop was flat and has remained se but what was funny, they flew out of the cube and all ran straight to the area I fed them maggots and was looking for more....greedy ladies.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I see your ex batts were rescued on June 15th so they are very new to life as pet hens. I have found all my ex batts have needed some degree of fattening up, but I have never really given anything other than their layers mash and Life Guard tonic, which I think is excellent and a real 'must have' for ex batts. I also use it when the chooks are moulting. The most important thing is to make sure that Nugget is able to freely access food. Ex batts can be quite possessive about food when they are first rescued and if there are not sufficient feeders, hens lower down the pecking order can be chased away and don't get a chance to feed. I have found it helpful in the early stages to put out lots of feeding stations (cheap coop cups from the pet shop will do the trick), that way there is always enough to go round. As the hens settle down and fatten up, you will find you can reduce the number of feeding stations. At the moment I have one feeder for my 5 hens and they share nicely (most of the time!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 This might be a silly question but I've always wondered, if they have maggots, wouldn't they eat the other contents of the crop? So if they'd eaten earlier, wouldn't this just get consumed by the maggots rather than going to the hen? I've tried maggots for my Fleur's impacted crop (still ongoing but getting better) but now I'm thinking I may not have given her enough to clear it completely as I didn't let her gorge on them, just gave her one or two table spoons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 if they have maggots, wouldn't they eat the other contents of the crop? I just assumed that if the maggots ate the contents of the crop, it would still be in their maggoty bellies when the chooks digested them so they would still get the nutrition from the food anyway??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 I have another question, sorry! Sterile maggots - how do I know that they are "sterile"? I've just been speaking to my fishing friend and he said that the sterile maggots they sell in bait shops are raised in a sterile area, but all maggots are generally raised on meat. I'm guessing this is what you are are using though, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I just assumed that if the maggots ate the contents of the crop, it would still be in their maggoty bellies when the chooks digested them so they would still get the nutrition from the food anyway??? That's what I concluded in the end I guess it is the sterile environment that is important since the risk of botulism comes from maggots feeding on rotten meat in non-sterile conditions. Nugget is adorable by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
