1. What
is Coccidiosis and how is it treated?
Coccidiosis is a disease caused by nematodes called coccidia. It
affects the caecal tubes in the chicks' gut and if left untreated, is
always fatal. There are nine different coccidia, which can cause death
in chickens. In their day to day life, chickens pick most of these up
in small doses which allows them to make antibodies against them.
However, if they take in large quantities of a coccidia they have not
yet been exposed to, then they get sick and die. The more of these
different coccidia a chick can be exposed to in small amounts, the
safer and better protected they are. Coccidiosis is treated using the
sulpha drugs like Sulphaquinoxaline. I find it best NOT to put it in
their water (as the instructions say), but rather to dilute it 50/50
with water and squirt 0.2ml down the throat of each chick (the bigger
the chick, the more you can give). The water method is unreliable as
there is no guarantee that every chick will get the medication, in
fact some chicks will rather die than drink medicated water.
2.
How
can a sour crop or bound crop be fixed?
This is a common problem with ex-battery hens, especially if they are
allowed to graze on grass when they are first released. These birds are
not used to eating such natural foods, so they tend not to know how to
do it properly. Long strands of grass in the crops of such birds often
are unable to pass through the digestive system, bind in the crop and
ferment. Try giving the bird half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in a
couple of tablespoons of water. Hang the bird upside down and massage
the crop. The obstruction and the fermented fluids often come out. If
this does not work, you will have to do a minor surgery on the bird.
Take a sharp scalpel or knife and incise the skin down the front of the
crop. This is easy to do if you pluck the feathers from the area first.
Remove the obstruction through the incision and then sew the cut closed
with polyester thread, using small stitches. Feed the fowl a soft mash
food until the cut heals and gradually wean it onto harder foods. When
feeding grass etc, cut it into small lengths and this should solve the
problem.
3. What does "egg-bound"
mean and how can it be fixed?
This is where an egg gets stuck somewhere in the egg making organs and
is unable to be laid normally. Sometimes such eggs lack shells and can
quickly begin to rot causing major infection inside the hen. The
symptoms are the hen sits with her tail downwards and appears to be
straining to pass something from her rear end. She may make pitiful
chirping sounds indicating her distress. Sometimes a messy diarrhea-like
discharge may be evident. When the bird is handled, the pelvis area is
often distended and may feel hard to touch (if the egg is shelled) or
may feel soft and spongy. The problem is most common in young pullets
and old hens. Sometimes the bird may actually prolapse while trying to
pass the offending egg and can be quickly cannibalised by her
companions. This almost always results in death to the bird.
To help clear a shelled egg, gently massage the pelvis of the bird.
Try not to distress her any more than she already is. Take some
Vaseline or KY jelly and using your littlest finger, smear a little
around the cloaca (anus) and without pushing too hard, inside the
oviduct. To find the oviduct, gently push down at the lower edge of
the anus and you will see another little hole open toward the bottom.
Sometimes holding the bird over a steaming kettle can help relax the
area enough that the egg pops out. Some authorities believe breaking
the egg and squeezing the mass out is effective, but I believe that
the egg should not be broken if at all possible as the shell pieces
can cut delicate tissues inside the hen's body. For eggs without
shells, take a syringe (without the needle) and gently squirt warm,
saline water into the oviduct. Gently massage the area and hold the
bird head up and try to squeeze the watery mass out of her body. This
may take some time to achieve but patience is the key.
Once the bird is clear of the egg(s) place her is a slightly darkened,
quiet place away from other birds and feed her warm mash and cool,
clean water. Some hens never recover to lay again and others may begin
laying normally almost immediately.
4. What
is Tick Fever?
Tick Fever
(paralysis) or Spirochaetosis is caused by Borrelia anserina also
known as Spirochaeta gallinarum.
It is transmitted by ticks. There are two forms of the disease, mild and
acute. The acute form can sometimes kill birds with no prior symptoms or
warnings, though this is rare. Usually, symptoms present as depression,
ruffled feathers, loss of appetite, great thirst, hanging head and
huddled appearance. There is also a green diarrhoea
and later a darkening of the comb, paralysis and death. The mild form
general depression and sickliness are the initial symptoms, followed by
paralysis. Those birds likely to recover only have partial paralysis.
They will show a great need to drink, but have very little appetite.
After a couple of days, the appetite will return and the bird will begin
to improve gradually. During recovery, a jaundiced or yellow appearance
of the comb and wattles is common. The most effective injectable
treatment is Penicillin given intramuscularly. Terramycin given directly
of .01g per 50g of body weight is also effective. Once birds recover
from tick paralysis, they are actively immune for life.
5. How
can mites, fleas and ticks be killed quickly?
The
quickest way to "thinout" the pests (unfortunately it probably
won't kill them all) is to take the chooks out for the day (possibly a
good day to dip them in a Malathion solution), get some old feed sacks
or tarpaulins and cover the shed opening with them. You really only need
to cover the open wire sections. Get yourself a couple of those flea
bombs (bigger sheds need more bombs) available in most supermarkets and
simply set 'em going and get out of there quick. Then go around to the
back of the shed armed with a trusty spray bottle filled with kerosene.
You will likely see lots of nasties crawling out from between the cracks
of the shed walls. Give the areas they are coming from a thorough
soaking with the spray, making sure to get the kerosene right up inside
the cracks themselves. You will probably kill most of the bugs in this
way. Once the bombs are finished and the sheds are safe to enter, go
around the inside walls and spray everything down with the kerosene,
making sure to soak the entire perches etc thoroughly, especially along
their bottom surfaces. This will certainly set you on the road to
eradicating the bugs fairly quickly. Paint kerosene on the perches etc
and you should be bug free in a couple of weeks. If the thought of using
kerosene scares you, substitute Malathion instead, though with this, you
have to repeat the spraying after a week or so and repeat it twice to
get the eggs. Kerosene will kill the eggs as well. Remember to take care
in handling and using ALL chemicals particularly with regards to
breathing protection when atomising (misting).
6. How can chooks survive hot
weather?
Hot weather
conditions can kill chooks very quickly unless they are kept cool
somehow. Water misting, spraying water over the shed roof or cooling
fans are all effective means by which to keep chooks cool. They will not
cross a hot, sunny yard to get to water either, so make sure they have
ready access to a reliable source of cool water at all times. Remember
too, that water in exposed pipes and hoses can get extremely hot so it
pays to run off the hot water at various times during the day so that
the water going into the dishes is cool.
7. What is the best way to remove mud balls from chook’s
feet?
Mud balls on the ends of the toes can cause the
toes to constrict and actually drop off. It is not advisable to leave
them on for any amount of time. I use a small pair of pliers with
which to remove them. Under no circumstances just try to pull the
balls off. You will succeed in ripping the toenail off as well.
Carefully use the pliers to squeeze the offending matter and gently
ease it off the toe. Make sure you only squeeze the mud ball at the
end of the toenail because you don't want to crush the toe itself.
After a little practice, you will work out the right pressure to use
and it will be an easy task. If your birds are getting mud balls
often, then the ground must be wet and sour. See the section on the
next page (Muddy, messy chook house and yard? How to get and keep
a clean shed and pen) on how to minimise this by getting your
yard as dry and clean as possible.
8. What
is Vent Gleet?
This problem is not overly common, but can occur in chicks and adult
birds on occasion. It is believed in some circles that the infection is
in fact transmitted through the egg hence infection in young chicks,
though little work has been done to discover the actual cause. In older
birds it is certainly more prevalent in breeding pens. My own
experiences with this problems have been male birds that have become
affected... in fact, I can't remember having any hens with the problem.
It would appear to be sexually transmitted however in older birds, the
cause may actually be in the oviduct of the females... that would
explain infection of both chicks and sexually active males. Such males
would certainly transmit the problem to other, non-infected hens during
the normal course of mating, creating a greater risk to himself over
time.
The symptoms are: ulcerated, inflamed vent with a stinking discharge,
there may also be a copious discharge of thick, putty-like whitish pus
that sticks around the feathers of the the vent area. Birds with the
condition exudes an extremely foul odour that can be smelt metres away.
In summer, they can often become fly-blown.
Affected birds should be isolated, the really bad ones humanely
destroyed. Those showing early symptoms may be swabbed with 3% solution
of chromic acid every 3 days. Those that will recover will do so after
about 6 or so treatments. Some antibiotic ointments may also help,
particularly those with chlortetracycline.
9. Sometimes I can smell a sickly
odour among my chooks. What can it be?
The most common causes of such odours are colds and coryza infections.
The odour exudes from the birds' nostrils and can be smelt very clearly
when handling the birds. The smell is usually accompanied by a runny
discharge from the nostrils and sometimes the eyes. Treatment with
antibiotics usually fixes the problem.
10.
Removing spurs
A very old, experienced friend of mine
gave me this advice some time ago on how to remove spurs. Wrap the leg
and foot with a thick cotton cloth, leaving the spur exposed of
course. With a sharp knife, score a line around the base of each spur
about 1/4 inch from the base. Take a potato and heat it in coals (or
oven) and when it is nice and hot, stick it over the spur and leave it
for a few minutes (you can see the cloth is there to protect the leg
from the heat). Take the potato off and twist the spur and it should
come right off in your hand. Dust the wound with some flour to stem
any bleeding and there you are. Best thing about this method is that
the spur often never grows back.
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