Hi Jay..or Bee..? I have been reading your threads all morning! My goodness, our situation sounds so much the same. I couldn't even get to the end of the threads...I had to jump up and do something more for my chicky babes! I make water kefir regularly and had a jar sitting on the counter for what has been a longer than normal time. I tasted it and absolutely no sweetness left...just that pleasant sour fermented smell. I also had a half loaf of bread I had baked...home milled organic wheat. So, I crumbled up the bread and soaked it in the kefir until real mushy. They took to the mushy stuff right away. I'm sure it's all gone now...has been about 10 minutes. The horses we share this property with had knocked over the chicken water at some point since last night so I took the opportunity to add the ACV to fresh water. I had been using a crushed garlic clove in the water, hoping to boost their immune systems and help them fight this....cold?
The chickens seem stuffed up to me. There is some gurglingish noises, some definite sneezing/coughing. However, my chickens were like your rescued flock at first, dazed, listless, quiet, and very scared of me. It has been about 6 weeks and the change is remarkable! Their feathers are grown in on their behinds, they are all perky and have been free ranging all day for the last 5 1/2 weeks. Like you, I couldn't keep them cooped up for nearly as long as hubby thought I should. I just felt strongly they needed to be in the sunshine eating grass and bugs! Hubby was scared they would go roost wherever they wanted to. My gut said they were so used to being in a coop all the time, they would know where to sleep. We did have one rogue who took to the pear tree for a few nights...a big rain storm in the middle of the night cured her of that! Anyhoo, I digress....feathers are growing in, although they are still losing big wing feathers (primaries?), they run to me when I walk outside, still won't let me touch them though. They eat every scrap of everything I put out for them..fruit, melons, a pumpkin, veggie scraps, ect. I see so much improvement...after reading your threads I see more improvement is necessary. They are white leghorns and their combs are in various colors...some really bright red and pretty...some very dull, almost pink with scabby looking things on them. Their feet look fine and normal. I have raised chickens before..from day olds...and have never had to deal with sickness or poor health at all. This is my first chicken rescue and rehab. I include kelp meal (icelandic) with their layer crumbles but I think fermented food would do much more to further thier recovery. I would love to be able to supplement them with the kefir water, since I make it for us anyway. Are you familiar with kefir water?
I do have a question for you...you have mentioned in other posts about the soil health in the coop. This is where my experience is limited. This coop they are in is very old. I mean VERY OLD. Many, many generations of birds have lived in it. When we decided to clean it up and get birds I was skeptical. We had always started with fresh built in the past on chicken virgin land. We raked out old *stuff*, put in new roosts and some newly built nestboxes in addition to the old nestboxes. I dusted the whole place with DE to kill mites. We laid fresh straw in the floor and have kept adding a fresh thin layer daily. The girls dig in all this to dust bathe and just for general chicken purposes. We only close the coop at night, they are free to do what they please. They spend a good portion of time in the coop, in spurts. What can I do to either asses the health of my coop soil or just get on to the improving of it? I, like you, want to depend on only natural methods to keep the critters healthy and happy...I have 3 boys too...only they have waggin' tails! yet another digression...I believe the fermented foods would help with smelly poop...and possibly soil health? Do you think the chickens could be stuffed up from old chicken poop dust in the coop? I can't honestly think we got it all out of there. What would be your advice on my next best course of action?
I appreciate you sending me those threads. I have gotten a big education today from your experience and willingness to share those experiences. Thank You and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
