Poorly Peckford - Any ideas please?

Isn't it odd how they have these unexplained illnesses or health issues? I remember asking for advice on the forum last year about Barbie, who was constantly sneezing. She was otherwise bright and chirpy. What is now apparent is that since October last year, when I decided not to let the girls have the run of my garden anymore, that Barbies sneezing ceased. It only "clicked" a few weeks later. ? She must have been allergic to something, methinks.
 
I recall posting here last year for advice on Barbie, who was continuously sneezing, but otherwise had no other health issues. Since October last year, when I decided not to allow them free run of my garden through winter, it became apparent to me that Barbie was no longer sneezing. Took a few weeks to "click". ? That's the reason OH made them a large run. She must have been allergic to something in my garden.
 
Yes, that's another example of how sensible attention to possible environmental problems, and the willingness to 'wait and see what happens' can produce better results than a hasty visit to the vet. I'm glad they're all well and happy in their new run, Tweetypie. It must be good for the garden as well. Being an asthmatic, the grass pollen season is affecting me quite badly ATM, and there's no reason why chickens can't be allergic to dust in the same way. Difference is, chickens don't know how to use an inhaler!
http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10723
 
Chickens get hay fever- some of ours are sneezing because of the lizard orchids. We know how potent they are because we brought some into the house and had to get them out very quickly!

Doubt a vet would know that.
 
We have a hen that sneezes when it is dusty and she will also do it when scratching about in new straw. Bet most vets would say a chicken can't get hay fever
 
Yes, all is well with the girls and again it's great to have this forum for advice, especially for very inexperienced owners like me. The girls seem quite happy. They have 2 dustbaths, one is in full sun and the other in full shade. Paving slabs in 2/3 of the run and an area where I put fresh grass clippings once a week and clear out the same. The garden looks better now, too. ? I do miss seeing them roaming about, but the positives outweigh the negatives. At least I can watch the garden birds feeding.
 
Peckford is back to normal now ☺️ Interesting facts though about the hay fever... Bith Peckford and Doris keep sneezing too at the moment but can't say that it's a concern to be fair.
The thing with Peckford is that he doesn't crow anymore... He does plenty other cockerel noises but that's it. Someone said that it could be that one if the two new girls who us about same size as Peckford (compared to the others much smaller) might have taken over and is now top girl, with Peckford being 2nd in command... Does this sound like a good explanation? The other thing is that he does a lot of roosting / falling asleep these days... And literally anywhere... Currently having a nap in the garden near a small tree with Doris. Yesterday he napped for about 20mins on my daughter's lap, in the morning and then later on towards the evening... Any if yours do this?
 
Sandrine said:
The other thing is that he does a lot of roosting / falling asleep these days... And literally anywhere... Currently having a nap in the garden near a small tree with Doris. Yesterday he napped for about 20mins on my daughter's lap, in the morning and then later on towards the evening... Any if yours do this?
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I don't know about my chickens, but I certainly do!
 
Ah ah yeah me too!!!
He's just had another 20 mins or so on my lap lol
 
i'm not too sure about him on that video, Sandrine. I hope he's going to be all right, but although he does look sweet, sleeping on a lap, it's not normal behaviour for a young cockerel, I think. Probably nothing you could do about it that you're not doing already, keeping him comfortable, though - only time will tell.
 
Oh! Peckford! His comb is red which is a good sign (not lacking oxygen which would be a very bad sign) and feathers look glossy. Its something odd going on though as Marigold says. You say others are unusually sleepy too?
 
My girls always seem quite active. I don't think I have ever seen them snoozing, uninterrupted, for more than 10 minutes.

In the blazing heat last summer, they had more regular naps to cool down in the soil and under shrubs. As they now have a large enclosed area, they have shelter under their coop, with a perch, plus an additional shelter at the side. I rarely see them napping for more than 5 minutes and only a few times during the day.

I hope Peckford is OK and its not an underlying issue as others have suggested. PS trouble with vets, they just like to take your money and you often don't get answers
 
rick said:
Oh! Peckford! His comb is red which is a good sign (not lacking oxygen which would be a very bad sign) and feathers look glossy. Its something odd going on though as Marigold says. You say others are unusually sleepy too?
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No the others seem fine actually in comparison. It is really just Peckford. I didn't think that it was normal for him to fall asleep just like that... He's always been very gentle anyway, in comparison to Tom (the Ancona cockerel we had to cull because he was so aggressive) and he's quite happy to be held or to be on your lap anyway for a few minutes if he's not busy looking after the girls lol
The other odd thing we have noticed is that we have noticed with his behavior is that he's not acting like the boss much anymore, lik ethe gentleman he used to be. For example, when we give out sweetcorn or treats he eats them now instead of offering to the girls like he used to. He's more like one of the gang now, rather than leading it. Although saying, I am not sure which one of the others is the boss now though, as I have not seen anyone behave clearly like a leader lol

Peckford's comb was a little paler today, but not all the time, mainly first thing in the morning, and back to normal the rest of the day. Also, his nose is a little runny. I have cleared it the other day, and today it was looking better. and of course there is still the fact that he doesn't crow anymore. I do hope that he'll be ok eventually... He wasn't anywhere near as sleepy today, even when I held him for a bit, whilst checking his nose out.
 
I think big combs vary more, day to day, in their redness. My hen Pom has a very small comb and it is always (when in lay) a rude red! (Pom for pomegranate.) Lulu has a huge comb and it shows changes much more - even a little purple at the tips sometimes but she is fine. I think Peckford has a bit of a cold (mycoplasma probably.) It is so common in chickens that there isnt really anything that you can do other than good food and clean water.
Vets, I think, are useful up to a certain extent. I had a CLB hybrid with very small nostrils that was saved from the inevitable with the snuffles by a prescription of antibacterials (ok - antibiotics!) But I wouldn't do the same again. Betty the CLB was so prone to dust induced repository problems it got her in the end anyway. But then the fine dust was my responsibility!
Part of the trouble is that all of the guidance, to vets and altogether, comes from the poultry industry. There is more known about chickens health out there in the industry than any other farm animal but the recommendations are industrial too. Mycoplasma in the flock? May have been in the past antibiotics - 20,000 birds in a barn! Expensive! Cull them all was the other option. More practically for us it is a sort of bacterial cold that birds get and generally have a good resistance to given the chance and a pinch of luck. Salt solution is good for wiping beaks as it lessens the chance of washing bacteria further into the air passages.
 
Hello Sandrine. Sorry to read about Mr Peckford.
I don't know what is wrong with your rooster I'm afraid. However, I did notice in your first post that you recently made a change to his diet. I noticed you had changed to a layer feed and while you mentioned the protein content (you don't mentioned whether the crude protein is animal or vegetable derived) you don't mention the most important factor when caring for a mixed flock which is the calcium content of the feed.
Layers pellets/crumble is for laying hens. It will mention this on the analysis label. Obviously, roosters do not lay eggs and are unable to process the high levels of calcium provided in most layer feeds. The long term effects of feeding roosters, cockerels, non laying pullets and senior hens who lay few eggs the high levels of calcium in layers feed can be liver and kidney damage.
The most extreme signs of too much calcium in a roosters diet is Hypercalcemia, symptoms can be comb going purple, unsteadiness and unexplained death.
The problem with calcium related liver and kidney disorders are they are invisible until the liver or kidney packs up entirely. A necropsy often shows the liver or kidney damage.
As a general guide when keeping a mixed flock a feed containing 18% protein and 1% calcium is preferable for longevity. Most feeds supply the eight essential amino acids to make a complete protein and the values of the minerals, vitamins and fat tend not to vary much.
If your flock free ranges your hens should, given a variety of forage, pick up extra calcium from this. If you keep your chickens in a run then supplying ground up egg shell or another form of calcium carbonate in a separate dish is the way many ensure the calcium supply is adequate.
It is worth bearing in mind that commercially produced feeds were designed for the egg industry where maximum egg production was the foremost consideration. Given most battery hens are slaughtered at two years old as egg production declines, feeds for longevity and roosters were not a priority.
I hope Mr Peckford recovers.
 
Hi Thank you all for the advice, experience sharing and insights in the chicken health. I used to keep hybrids in the past (not the bantams type) and other than the dreaded red mite, i never had any problems at all. But now all of a sudden with this flocks things are rapidly on the decline, or so it seems. I am guessing that pure breeds are by nature more fragile...

For the feed Shadrach, I have reverted to the one I had before, with VermX is it... ? Can't remember of top of my head. I felt not all of them seemed to enjoy it and weren't eating much. To be fair I had not noticed that you could get anything else other than layers pellets... (Put aside for chicks and growers). Peckford doesn't show the signs / symptoms you're mentioning, so I'm guessing this is not the issue here.
I do think now that it's a mixture of two things... Impacted crop and the cold. I keep making sure he drinks as much as possible, I massage his crop regularly and try and help it clear but mixed with the cold - I have to clear his nostrils (sorry can't think of the proper name) everyday. His comb is not floppy but definitely a lot paler, and his skin around his face also pink to pale pink. Everytime I massage his crop, he doesn't gain quite a bit of colours. Still very sleepy, and has lost quite a lot of weight I think. His crop wasn't impacted at the beginning of him being sleepy, so that's only just come up recently. He is isolated with one of the girls who also seems to have trouble with her crop... And today we have lost Doris. I am nit certain as to why because although she has lost loads of feathers and was very scruffy, she seemed well enough to run around the garden. She did get a bit of a impacted crop too, but I did manage to clear it. I think the lack of feathers came about because of a visit from a fox. I think he got away with some feathers but nothing else from Doris...
 
It does sound as though it is more old age than anything else I really can't think of anything that could help sorry
We lost our old bluebell today she who was like Darth Vader on speed. For someone who spent her life beating anyone and anything up, she literally just went to sleep and that was it,still she was 6 1/2, so she did well. We will miss her as she may have been a battle axe but boy did she have character.
Our littlest maran has already made her bid for top spot
 
You could take his temperature Sandrine. Its easy enough with a common digital thermometer. That will tell you if there is an internal infection (typically peritonitis - not always related to eggs.) An infection can paralyse the gizzard and make for what seems to be an impacted crop just because food is not being processed through. An infection usually goes off the scale with a chicken as the range of a medical thermometer is up to 40C. A healthy chicken is only a degree or two under that.
Worms? Vermex is useless for getting rid of worms. At best it may slow down their development a bit.
One the whole pure breeds should be less 'fragile' than hybrids as they don't usually have the over driven egg laying issues. My Orpington is a bit of a liability for her hips, weight fluctuations and messy bottom feathers - she is bread to be a dual purpose bird (eggs and meat) and that gives her some of the broiler problems as a pet that isn't on the table after one season. More sensible egg layer pure breeds that give it a rest after the first year shouldn't run into much trouble.
Sorry to hear about Darth Vader. Like Peckford, she has been a star!
 
Doris (the girl we lost yesterday) pretty much went like your bluebell did BYM. I found her in the nesting box, so she went to sleep and that was it. She was a small pekin frizzle and inly yesterday was still running up and down the garden for fear of missing anything! Maternal was definitely not one of her traits. She also was full of character, basically making up for what she didn't have in height! She was only 2 ½ years old though...
Peckford is not quite 1 year old yet. His hatchday is the 10th July, so not far off. And you are right, he has been an absolute star the whole time. I had to rescue him when he hatched because Doris was intent on killing him. We didn't know if he would survive passed 1 day old. He went from strength to strength from then on, copying every move his room mates Ancona were doing. Then when it was time to join the flock, he was bullied, went right at the bottom of the pecking order as the girls were putting Tom the Ancona on a pedestal. Tom could have been a rockstar!! Unfortunately we had to cull him because he was becoming so aggressive it was dangerous for us. Peckford took over the flock straight away, in a very different manner.. He has been a proper gentleman, whilst looking after the girls and protecting them. I do really hope he will get better but I am under no illusions that this not looking too good for him. Whilst still trying to help, I am making him as comfortable as I possibly can.
 
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