beccauk Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Hi we have lost 3 chickens in the last few months including one tonight she was fine yesterday and today just went . The chichken before had been under the weather for afew days she was also moulting we took her to the vet who gave us antibioitics and a liquid called baycox 2.5ml which was to be viven go her and ghe other chickens incase it was this bacteria that could spread through the chickens and by their droppings. she died the following morning so i took her to the vet for a post mortam and she came back after to say she was riddled with tumours which had caused her dealth that can be common in chickens. we have never lost this many chickens and wondering what else it maybe. the only big chage was we took out wood chippings and put sand in which seemed better and cleaner for the chickens. can anyone advise please and is it worth asking the vet to run any tests on their droppings for anything? we had 8 now we have 5 i dont want to loss anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 A friend tried 'sharp' (washed) sand in his run and they ate it! So he took it out. Can't see that would be a problem otherwise, although it can go mouldy. There is a condition called Lymphoid Lucosis, which is effectively chicken cancer Beccauk. It is the formation of tumours throughout the body and can't be cured. That sounds like it could be the problem and it is genetic I think, so all chicks of one breed from one breeder may be affected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccauk Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 Yes anything i have read about using sand would be deadly. Well thats good to know we did get the chickens from the same place but they are different breeds and she brought them in. But they have shown different signs one would be under the weather stood about tail down puffed up and then the last went down quick she had just been sitting on the perch more so yesterday than usual but temperature is dropping by and they do sit on the perch abit. They have been wormed lately. The only other thing i have done was make some pecking blocks that you bake in the oven I used oats, garlic ganules, oregano dried, cinnamon, raisins, treacle, egg, wholemeal flour, pumpkin seeds, green split peas and lentils both dried and mixed bird seed as i use it for wild birds, it had linseed, sunflower seeds, millet, etc is there something poisonous or a seed thst they should not eat or a seed shell. i do check if suitable for birds and know about raw potatoe, onion etc. thanks for ur reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 there nothing in that recipe that's poisonous to birds unless the egg and raisins have gone off if you've stored the pecking blocks to long raw spuds are only poisonous if they've gone green my lot help them selves to both spuds and potato leaves with no ill effects they also killed a rhubarb plant by eating all the leaves and stalks sand will go 'sour' after a time if it's just left but chickens should turn it over scratching in it. it should really have a dusting of powered disinfectant every couple of weeks the same as a any floor covering the only other thing with sand would be salt content (some sand is dredged or beach sand no quarried depending on were you live) and that it was sharp sand and not building or plastering sand it's getting harder to tell sharp and plastering sand from each other around here as the grit content gets lower each year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Nothing to add to the advice above, but I would stick with using Aubiose or woodchip in the run - easier to keep clean and will dry out the droppings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Should I not be using sand for their dust bath then? We bought some children's play sand which I had read should be ok. They're not really eating it - they peck at it every now and then, but that's it. That being said, they don't really appear to be using it a bath either, they just hop up and sit on it like a perch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 You 'can@ use kiddies play sand Andy, but they have been known to eat it. I would suggest soft, dry potting compost and/or wood ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 You 'can@ use kiddies play sand Andy, but they have been known to eat it. I would suggest soft, dry potting compost and/or wood ash Maybe I'll break out the chimnea and make a little mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I use a mix of playground sand, DE and Wood ash in our dustbaths. Dry potting compost...is this just the cheap grow bags you can buy for tomatoes or lettice dried out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Yes I buy cheap grow bags for their dust baths and they love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Anything dry and powdery is good, just not coal ash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 i presume you have to let then dry out? They come quite wet in the bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 once their out of the bags and under cover they'll dry out reasonable quick depending on the water content I've had sand this year in bags that's been sodden and unusable ended up using it for concreting path edgings in place personally I'd not use pre packed sand for a dust bath it can be a bit sour smelling at times. as for potting compost I use the old stuff from the tomatoes leave the pots under the greenhouse bench for most of the winter to dry out then I just empty a few of the pots out under the coop were the main dust bath is, it normally take a couple of day for the mob to break up the root balls and spread out the compost were they want it then I add more as and when Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccauk Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 Just to update i rang the vet to say we had lost another chicken but it was sudden. She still seems to think they could have Coccidiosis which we had stared treating them for. We are giving it in their drinking water as the baycox liquid is so thick like syrup they didnt like it by syringe. i am still abit unsure if this is the problem i asked about doing dropping samples but was quoted £70-£80 i didnt even ask if it was per bird. I have found a sampling kit online for around £15 which you collect the droppings and send it off. just wondered if others have had to treat their birds, some things i read about the bacteria sounds as tho it mainly affects young birds ours are 4 years upto 6. Our sand in the run is dry and well covered, it seems clean as their feet stay cleaner and the droppings are easy to sieve out they get coated like a truffle. We have converted a grain shovel inyo a sand sifter. Will try get photos on thanks for eveyones input becca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 only experienced Coccidiosis once and that was with 14 day old chicks it came on without warning on a Sunday morning all was fine when I let them out came back from the Allotment about 2 hours later to find one chick staggering about as if drunk and another a bit wobbly. luckily the forums were well visited at the time and I got a very quick reply to my post that it sounded like Coccidiosis found a pigeon supplies place local that opened Sundays took no more than 25 minutes round trim to get the stuff to treat Coccidiosis by that time I lost the first chick the second died not long after I got home and a third had just started to stagger about that one survived the other 2 never showed and sign of been affected. I've never had a problem with it since but I did start to feed medicated chick crumb to my chicks after that for a while stopped for a year with no problems. but the consensus was that the eggs already had Coccidiosis from the little I know about Coccidiosis it's rare for older birds to be affected and it's possible that certain breeds more are susceptible than others. Lewis or The Dogmother will have a better grip on the subject Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Sjp's right about it mainly affectung chicks; that's why medicated chick crumb is advisable. Baycox etc are strong stuff, and a bird will need building up afterwards with Nutridrops or the like. The key to avoiding it is good husbandry... Keep the run and litter dry Rake it over weekly with a sanitiser (ground sanitising powder or biodry are good) this is especially important in the dark months when they spend so much more time in the run. Quarantine any new stock Worm regularly Observe and check your flock regularly, read up on symptoms Keep any hatching clutches away from the regular flock, in their own broody coop I have heard about the possibilty of cocci being carried in eggs before, but don't know enough about this....must read up when i get a moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQsm Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 I have been using wickes sharp sand in their dust bath for a while. Thread on the dust bath here They have a dedicated grit tub but still like to eat some of the sand. It's sometimes visible in their droppings but doesn't seem to have any effect on them, figured it is just finer grade grit to them. I'm not 100% if wickes sharp sand is washed or not. I think it might be as the bag contents are usually slightly damp and I never see any dust coming from the bag. Found lots of reports of people using it online without ill effects, only warnings I found were about different types of sand. Actual run is wood chip covered btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 My girls have a run floor of sharp sand. I have never had a days trouble with it. Yes it's a bit heavy if wet but it dries out and dries out the droppings. I have a large cat litter sieve to remove droppings. I can't recommend it highly enough and the girls have never had an issue with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drooster Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 On 10/26/2016 at 9:59 PM, beccauk said: Hi we have lost 3 chickens in the last few months including one tonight she was fine yesterday and today just went . The chichken before had been under the weather for afew days she was also moulting we took her to the vet who gave us antibioitics and a liquid called baycox 2.5ml which was to be viven go her and ghe other chickens incase it was this bacteria that could spread through the chickens and by their droppings. she died the following morning so i took her to the vet for a post mortam and she came back after to say she was riddled with tumours which had caused her dealth that can be common in chickens. we have never lost this many chickens and wondering what else it maybe. the only big chage was we took out wood chippings and put sand in which seemed better and cleaner for the chickens. can anyone advise please and is it worth asking the vet to run any tests on their droppings for anything? we had 8 now we have 5 i dont want to loss anymore... Yes, any bean or part of the plant is always fatal, Lima beans are the worst. Raw or dried they contain phytohemagglutinin which will kill in a matter of hours and there's nothing you can do once ingested apparently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
