Chicken bald back

[Mr H]

Hi I found a beautiful black Bantam on the roadside last week, lovely little thing and she loves my garden so looks like she has a new home but concerned that she keeps stretching her neck like something stuck in her throat, she has hickups (could be sneeze ) and started making a hee-haw kind of wheezing sound last night, although I have hand reared lots of wild birds from Corvids to Raptors I have no knowledge of chickens, could really do with some experienced advice, perhaps sooner than later

 

I forgot to say she is eating well, poo is consistent, eyes are clear and bright but a runny nose (clear in colour) she is very interested in everything and likes a cuddle so pretty good in herself I would say

[Beantree]

It might be gapeworm MrH? Not something I have experience of, but have been told the worms appear as small red 'cuts' on the inside of the throat. There may be pictures somewhere you can Google? The solution is worming with Flubenvet, which will be an expensive process for just one little hen. Perhaps someone on this forum could let you have 6g of the 1% Flubenzol powder? That is mixed onto 2Kg of layers pellets and the bird must eat only those for 7 days. She will probably only eat half a Kg.

 

Puzzled by the runny nose with no other apparent symptoms, but that could simply be an allergy due to poor condition and dust or pollen. We've had that condition.

[Mr H]

Thank you for a quick reply I have just been in wiki to look up gapeworm and it fits with how this little bird is presenting, I have looked down her throat to see if there are red worms in the trachea but there is a large build up of mucus restricting the view and her breathing which is a typical sign of Gapeworm and will asphyxiate her if not treated, I will need to move quickly to treat and save her so your advice has been invaluable thank you

[mullethunter]

Good luck Mr H

[Beantree]

The alternative was a respiratory infection MrH. But that is contradicted by her otherwise good condition at the moment. So good luck with her. She obviously found the right person.

[Mr H]

Oh they all find me ! I think they seek me out anyway

OUTCOME FOR OTHERS REFERENCE;

I decided due to the slight contradiction in symptoms it could be Gapeworm, or something more, so I bit the bullet and visited the vet this morning, turns out we did a bang up job of chicken diagnosis and its Gapeworm and a respiratory infection caused by said parasites, the one thing that I didn't mention in my first post was the really bad smelling breath (I thought that was just a chicken thing) which is a strong sign of infection apparently. Treatment is; Antibiotic injection, Flubenvet 1% for 7 days and Baytril 10% antibiotic drops 0.2ml twice daily via syringe in beak. All in £40. The Flubenvet takes some thinking about because the dose is 30ppm so 6g of treatment in 2kg of feed which would probably take this little girl a month to eat but if I keep her in and dilute it in her water too it should speed up application a bit without making the dose too strong.

Thanks again for your help I think she will be fine ultimately regards Steve

[Sentiant]

HI there Mr H sounds like you are on top of things, just as a little note there is a worming advice page here that may help you with administering the medicine:-

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=4619

 

As a new keeper i have found the information and people on this forum to be invaluable so any questions do ask

 

Good Luck with your Bantam

[Mr H]

Thank you Sentient I didnt have a clue before hearing from Beantree the all knowing super chicken, this is indeed a hive of quality forum members that I will be spending more time with because if "Peck" makes it through ok (yes I gave her a name) I will be getting her some friends to do the weeding with, my garden has hollowed out logs and tree stumps with gravel and , lots of overhanging plants so its like an adventure playground for something small like a Bantam thanks again all "Beantree got skills"

[Beantree]

That's a massive Baytril 10% dose for a bantam MrH. Normally 0.1mL per Kg once a day, or twice a day for a respiratory infection, so she must be bad. Good job you went to the vet. Normally their breath doesn't smell at all.

 

You won't be able to put the powder in the water because it doesn't mix. We use a little Olive Oil with the Flubenvet to better bind the powder to the pellets, because it doesn't adhere well to very dry pellets.

 

As you say, the next stage is to find her a friend, because most chickens don't like to be on their own at all. There are exceptions though, because we have had some who definitely prefer their own company. Sounds like you have a lovely environment for chickens. Surprised you haven't had some before.

[WitchHazel]

Smelly breath is usually an indication of a problem in the crop, sour crop. This is often caused by a blockage.

 

Her crop shgould grow during the day as she eats, and then be almost gone in the morning as the food is digested overnight.

 

Regarding the worming, this is done over 7 days. The amount of Flubenvet(you mentioned(6g in 2kg of feed) is only a ratio, you need to work that back to what your individual hen needs. You need to work out what she will eat over 7 days and treat that amount. Typically a laying hen eats about 100-150g of feed a day, so you only need to make up max 1kg of feed (which would be 3g, in your calculation). If she's a lighter eater, you could make up less. She will eat what she needs and therefore get the right amount of wormer. Any unused food should be thrown away.

 

It is also possible to buy Marriages pellets with Flubenvet already in them. For one hen, this won't be very helpfu, the bag will be too big, but you may find someone who lives near you that would be happy to share a bag? (My hens won't eat Marriages pellets, so it doesn't help me).

 

It has been known for some people to use an alternative method of administering Flubenvet, which I'm not sure Flubenvet support any more. This is to weigh out the required amount of Flubenvet needed for 7 days, work out approx how much is a daily amount, and then to dip cut grapes (or smething similar where the powder sticks) into the powder and feed that to the hen. I think one of the reasons Flibenvet decided this wasn't suitable was because it meant the hen got the whole day's dose in one hit instead of spread out during the day. To counteract that, I would have thought that giving flubenvet dipped grape pieces several times spread our during the day might be more like feeding the pelleted way. But I'm not a vet, so am not qualified to advise.

 

Hope to hear how she and you are getting on

[Mr H]

She is definitely going to need company she is trying to nestle up to my dog Jess at the moment so not going to be happy alone, yeah not sure why I have not considered chucks before but I get a lot of waifs and strays of one kind or another so usually have my hands full, I hand reared a couple of Rooks and a song thrush this year after being orphaned in heavy storms in spring, that kept me busy for a while, lucky to work from home and have the opportunity because its a rare privilege with rewards few get the chance to earn regards Steve

If I knew how to put pics on here you would be amazed how close wild birds can be

[WitchHazel]

One thing, are you sure she's a bantam, and it's not just a young boy who has been abandoned?

 

I only mention that because a non-chicken-owning friend recently found a young cockerel in her garden. We searched to see if soneone had lost him, but have had to come to the sad conclusion that he was dumped.

 

{SOAPBOX]More and more irresponsible people are hatching chicks without making provision for the boys, presumably thinking they can rehome them, or they won't crow, or something. Then, when they end up with boys they "set them free", which usually means the poor things die of starvation or get eaten by fox. {/SOAPBOX]

 

It might be worthwhile making sure, before you get a friend.

 

A lot of people on here are very good at sexing even young chicks. They usually need an overall shot, a head shot, and ideally a shot showing the hackle area - the shape of the hackle feathers are a good indicator of gender.

 

I hope she's a she, because it sounds like she will really have fallen on her feet with you.

[Mr H]

WhitchHazel you read my mind I calculated what the total dose would be and divided by the days then sprinkled the daily dose on a wet piece of wholemeal bread, which she loves then plan to give her one third of it three times a day, she has her pellets available in between, my thinking was that I could be sure she had the correct amount everyday no matter how many pellets she ate, I will be checking her crop at various times to see if its clearing, judging by the amount of poo though (lots) don't think it will be a problem regards steve

[Mr H]

Ah ? that's a thought, boy or girl ? "Ooops, word censored!" I had not thought about that do you know hoe to put pics on here ? I could post some for identification

[WitchHazel]

You need to upload to an online host (like Photobucket), and post a link.

 

AYou need a minimum number of posts before you can get photos to show up directly. Once you have the minimum (*and I don't know what that min is) you simply put Img tags around the URL and the photo appears as part of the post. There is an Img button along the top of the post.

 

Detailed info on how to do it should be in this FAQ http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=21972

 

Hope that helps.

[Mr H]

Right I am off to photobucket give me 10

[WitchHazel]

I'm off out now, so I proabbly won't see your pics until tomorrow. (Ilm also not expert at sexing).

 

If you don't get much response, you could try posting a new topic with pics in the Nesting Box board with a title relating to sexing of chicken. In your post, ask the mods if they would mind leaving it there for a little while before they move it to the chickens board. That way, people who might not be popping in to the "chickens" board may also see it.

[Mr H]

try this and see if it works

http://s804.photobucket.com/user/bluemincool/media/20140728_172819.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

and this

http://s804.photobucket.com/user/bluemincool/media/20140728_172757.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

regards steve

Edited July 28, 2014 by Guest

[Daphne]

I can't see them

[Mr H]

Sorry but as a newbie I cant put pics on so this is a link to photobucket, you need to copy it and past into google or whatever your browser is, it will then open photobucket to that photo thanks steve

[WitchHazel]

Steve, you should be able to make your links clickable. If you edit your post, highlight the urn, and then press the URL button which is in the block of buttons above .This will out URL rags around the link and make it clickable

[Mr H]

Hey you were right WitchHazel check out my girl now

[Beantree]

Sorry to say this MrH, but that looks like a young Pekin cockerel to me. Pekins are 'true bantams' in that they have no large fowl counterpart, so they are not a miniature bred version of the real thing.

 

I discounted sour crop because the poos were OK. That's not to say there is no issue there though.

[mullethunter]

Look for Miller30 MrH - she was able to sex my young pekins when I was unsure

[WitchHazel]

Absolutely lovely.

 

No idea of gender, although I have to say the hackle feathers look a bit pointy to me (therefore boy).

Also looks quite young to me, having googled for pics of black pekin bantams.