Poorly bantam (picture added)

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Poorly bantam (picture added)

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Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 4:32 pm Post subject: Poorly bantam (picture added)

One of my girls is in a bad way

She started feather pecking a few weeks ago and now she's managed to draw blood and the other hens are picking on her. Some of the wounds look nasty, so I took her in and put iodine on them. While she was inside, she helped herself to a load of cat food, I hope the protein helps her grow new feathers.

She's such a battler, we got her for nothing as she has a crossed beak and the breeder thought she couldn't feed properly and wouldn't survive. We've had her 4 years now and because of the extra handling needed, she's very friendly.

Any advice on how to treat her? I don't want to separate her from the others, but I'm worried it's heading that way.

Last edited by Harvestmouse on Sun Jan 09, 11 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 4:45 pm Post subject:

People do feed poorly hens cat food (and to cockerels to give them a bit more get up and go), so that will certainly give her a bit of a gee up. Obviously not DEFRA recommended though

I'd probably separate her off for a bit if it's got that bad and give the chance for the wounds to heal and the feathers to grow back a bit; and maybe let the others get out of the habit. Why do you think she was pecking herself to start with? Might she have had lice or mites?

Something like poultry spice might help her if she's a bit run down, too.

Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 5:20 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Chez. I'll watch her closely for a couple of days and will separate her if things don't improve. It will mean introducing two other birds to the main flock to free up the "isolation ward", but that shouldn't be too much of a problem if I've got the poorly one out of there first so there aren't even more beaks to pick on her.

I'll be bringing her in daily anyway to feed her up. I don't think she's infested, there's no sign of anything and none of the others have any symptoms.

I'll make sure I put some poultry spice (love the smell of that stuff!) in their food tomorrow and will put some life guard tonic in the water too.

My dog tried to muscle in on her eating the cat food earlier and poor pooch got a peck on the nose for her trouble! There's life in that bantam yet.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 5:30 pm Post subject:
If you do leave her in with the others, I would magic spray, then put a slosh of sudacrem on the bleeding bits and finally spray with hair spray. It won't hurt her, and the pecking hens don't like the stickiness on their beaks. We have a duck, that was attacked by a falcon, on this treatment and it is doing fine.

Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Fri Jan 07, 11 2:22 pm Post subject:

Thanks everyone.

Alison, I left her in with the others last night, but bought her in for her daily treatment today and she's much worse, the blood was running several inches into what's left of her tail feathers and her back is bald almost up to armpit level. I'd post a pic except it's to gruesome! I've cleaned out the smaller coop and I'll take the two large fowl out of there tonight and put this one in there on her own until she's either better or is too sick to keep going. She seems bright enough in herself when I bring her in, so I'm quietly hopeful.

xx

animartco

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 1

Posted: Sat Jan 08, 11 12:10 am Post subject:

Chez wrote:

People do feed poorly hens cat food (and to cockerels to give them a bit more get up and go), so that will certainly give her a bit of a gee up. Obviously not DEFRA recommended though

She will also need plenty of oyster shell to help her grow new feathers.

Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Sun Jan 09, 11 1:04 pm Post subject: Before picture, not pretty....
2 days into isolation and, believe me, this is looking much better!

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