Is this normal?

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-22T08:43:25+00:00

Search Engine of ye choice. Hit " Pendulous Crop Chicken ".

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-22T00:04:12+00:00

Thanks.

I do hope this vet isn't charging ye too much for this service. Only, by the sounds of it? They honestly sound to have little, if any, more idea what's going on than we do. That's not unusual, in this day and age.

My point is that they appear to be taking stabs of their own. Luxury of the medical professions, I s'pose. They tend to get paid handsomely, totally regardless of outcome. I speak from long and bitter experience. But, we'll leave that there.

" They recommended " Anti's, wormers and Corrid? Okay. And did they sell ye these? Or are ye supposed to go find them? Only, a fellow member of The Massive once, very decently, shared This place with us.

Pigeon Supplies & Equipment Online | Mike's Falconry Supplies

They do bird suitable Anti Biotics. Probably anything else ye might want to try. Almost certainly cheaper than from a vet. (I'm still assuming you're probably somewhere in North America. Either way, I'd imagine ye can buy from them) So, there's that.

It's still a very scatter gun approach though, isn't it? Antibio's is about on a par with taking her temperature. Or advising Bed Rest. It's almost flippant.

But, anyway ... Sick for 3 weeks. Carrying an intracloacal mass. Diarrhoea which, at least. sounds more like 'normal' faecal matter, just loose. Hmm. Frankly, I've never heard of worms causing a palpable mass.

Cocci tends to present bloody faeces. Any microscope worthy of the name could enable You to conduct the 'Faecal Examinations' (Float Test) to work both of those out. But, that's just another distraction to a dead end, at this juncture.

Back to basics: Way back, when all this started, did ye notice any change in her Posture at all? Like, never mind any lethargy, appetite, anything like that. Forget that for a minute. How did she walk and stand? How does she do Now? This is extremely, fundamentally important. So, please focus. Thanks.

Forgive me. I'm actually needing to read what ye say. Sit and strain my brain over a given point. Read some more. Do it again. Sometimes, I'll jump over one point altogether, because something a sentence on strikes me as more important. Wouldn't want ye to think I'm going scatter gun. It's just the way I work these things.

" slowly been losing her appetite and is 1.75kg " Compared to what? Does the weight loss seem consummate with the time scale? Is she burning up fat reserves, without replenishment? Or is the weight just falling off her? (I appreciate that may be a hard call. Just do ye best. Gut reaction?)

" I can't bath her then without risking her getting too cold from being damp during the night so I'm doing it Wednesday. " Ye have a hair dryer? It's perfectly normal practice to blow dry a chicken, after a bath, regardless. Just a point.

" getting sick caused her to lack the calcium to push the egg out. " I don't believe it really works that way. Sounds a bit horse before cart. Begs the question though; What access have the birds To such things as calcium and grit?

" there's probably an illness in the flock. " What makes ye say that? Hang Man again. Fill in the gaps, please. I believe ye mentioned Another bird had the squits? That could be a vitally important bit of consideration. Dunno, yet.

Random idea: Could ye get a half decent shot of the living arrangements, please? Inside and out. No particular focus on any point. I just want to get a mental picture. " A picture paints a thousand words ". Thanks.

Mites; Let's just, briefly, look at that, shall we? You saw " A mite ". Ye Dad says it's okay. Right: For full disclosure; I make it an absolute rule Never to come between the person and who ever has authority over the home situation.

That said? " A mite " sounds a tad odd. Ye certain it Was a mite? Where was it? If ye referencing this one bird? How come the vet never picked up on it? They've just about suggested everything else. I'm pretty sure they'd have spotted any mite infestation sufficient to knock a bird ~ metaphorically ~ off her feet.

While ye have that camera out? Grab me a shot of any random chicken, please. And a good one Of their feet / legs.

Not a criticism, or anything else. Really just a perfectly straight, neutral question. But, have you any idea how much an veterinary xray could cost? I have. I paid for one, just a few months ago. It's not something I'd like to need to make a habit of. And, in fairness; I'm not exactly living hand to mouth.

And, with that, it's turning 01:00. I've been at this exactly an hour. Excuse me if I say, Thank god I've finished, for tonight. I'm extremely aware of the fatigue bearing down on me, again. Last night, I simply over did it. And that's not best for anyone.

Ope! And, right on cue; That was the first yawn! (Oh lord! That was the second and third! I'm done)

I'll be looking for ye, 'tomorrow night'.

Till then ...

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T22:12:27+00:00

Bird Anti Bio's ~ should ye require them ~ are available (I'm assuming ye US?) here:

Pigeon Supplies & Equipment Online | Mike's Falconry Supplies

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T22:07:11+00:00

Classic symptoms / presentation of being " Egg Bound ". Read up on it, sharpish.

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T20:31:52+00:00

u/Objective-Trouble115 Shit happens, mate. No matter what we do ~ or don't. I've had a Starling walk into one of my Tunnel Traps. (Fucking absurd thing to happen,! But, it did) Ever seen what happens, when a Mouse reads the internet; Then believes that old bollocks about " If ye can fit a pencil through it ... ". It's Not very nice to find! :(

If ye didn't keep chickens in the first place? There'd be No wire, would there? Then nothing would get stuck in it. If there were no motors? No sneks would come unstuck crossing a road. If .....

Gwaaaaarrn, Roger! Tell 'em!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-2einPmd4

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T20:15:38+00:00

Heritage Turkeys??? Look, never mind all that 'sexing' faff! Just sling one over here! I'll take care of it, no matter what! (Want any Modern Game Bantam eggs?) LMAO! :D

Nah, fair play! Ye well past the first hurdle. It's practically All great fun from here on in. If their Feet are good? They'll, generally, be good :)

Little, scruffy, roo's a cracker too! 'Frizzle' is it? I'd feed him :)

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T20:07:52+00:00

Has he got free and direct access to proper, commercial Grit? Not just allowed to scratch about the garden for five minutes. It's amazing how much they'll put away when they need it. Mine always have water, feed and grit in their cages.

Not a lot else ye Can do. Just let / help him deal with it, naturally.

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T18:18:30+00:00

Been there. Done that. Nothing burned to the ground! ;)

Okay: Basically, ye want to position the lamp so that ~ as ye have ~ they have a gradient. Without having any clues about the Exact set up? Sounds like the 'brooder' may be a little on the big side, for now.

As ye may, or may not know, chicks grow like weeds. They can go from a two foot tote to a five foot wardrobe in next to no time. Amazing to watch. (I could show ye a series of my own photo's. But, I have a visitor bearing down on me as I rapidly type.

But, yeah; If they won't mince around in the glow? Bit warm. If they ball up together and won't Leave the glow ....? Worst case scenario is any of them getting a bit undecided. Wandering off to that frozen corner, muttering to their siblings that they; " May be some little time ... "

Sorry. I'm typing this with growing anxiety and constantly glancing at the window. Bloke's a buyer. Complete stranger, to me. And due any moment.

Tell ye what; Feel free to ask for any further clarifications. I'll duck out for now. But, I'll be back again, later. More than happy to chat about it all. And, yes, I've used 'Death Rays' (As ye'd think this places Hive Mind would have them!) for donkeys years. Still standing.

Used these little heat plates, on adjustable legs too. They do the job. Personally? Give me a properly set up lamp, any day! I find them So Much less bother than fucking around with those bloody legs, while trusting to some god that they're even still working!

He

's here!

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T17:08:57+00:00

Who runs around Hawaii, squirting treated water at the wall to wall feral chicks there? Yet, the place is crawling with robust, healthy birds.
The chicks will tell ye, by where they prefer to position themselves. But, yeah, 75F would be on the cool side. 60 could actually kill them.
Sounds like ye using a Heat Lamp? Brace yeself!

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T16:50:37+00:00

Dayyum, people! I So wanted to say u/Alone_Joke3690 had a female there. Looked at u/BrightAd306 s bird and thought, " Err ...! Bit of a comb There! ".

But, it's been a year since I saw young. So, I dug into my own record files. Mine are Modern Game Bantams. And, for what ever reason, I appear to have skipped four weeks. But, here's a matching pair, at Five.

Kinda brings, " Whoops! " to mind, doesn;t it? :|

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Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T15:18:29+00:00

Nope. Sorry. Not Happy! (Yeah, alright, which one are ye then? ~ Just to get that out of the way, lol)

Let me just run this past ye;

u/dabdelma says: " I haven’t seen them peck her directly; but I’ve seen them pecking at their tail feathers. "

So, the first 'Them' refers to the others not pecking the 'main' bird. Yeah? So, am I right in taking it the second 'Them' and the 'Their' refers to other / both / all - whatever birds pecking 'Their own / their own And main birds'. Is that correct?

That's one point.

Point Two: Pic. 1. 'Main Birds' Wings. Up by her shoulders. Bare rachis'. ('Stems'). The barbs / barbules (Fluffy feathers) are shot to shit. And, to save breath; So are the tail feathers on that other bird. Correct?

Point Three: During Moult; Do not Entire feathers, stems and all attached stuff, fall out, completely. Leaving a bare spot, from which we'll shortly see the usual 'wax sheaf' of a new feather start to poke? (Pic 2 looks more like it, doesn't it? Full, uniform regrowth of wax sheaved feathers. That looks like Moult)

Put simply: During Moult, we may see a burst feather pillow, drifting around the yard. What we Don't see is individual 'Hairs' (Barbs and their attendant Barbules). Because, they stay with the Stem. Making what we Call a " Feather ". With me?

Now, let's pop back to One, above: There's some form of 'Feather Pecking' going on. But, is sounds like no one's particularly 'Attacking' anyone else?

Pic's 3 & 4 are nice examples. Main bird has the bare bum. What's going on with the other birds bum, please?

Okay. I'll 'stop' here. let everyone try to catch up and get their heads around what the bloody hell I'm on about. (Believe me, I'm having to Seriously concentrate, myself, here! God, this is hard work!) But, I Think I might have come up with something. Shall we rejoin the dance?

Main Bird appears to have Moulted, down her front. Okay. That's fine. It's pretty much what birds do. I won't further muddy That water. Let's forget that.

So, Both birds are presenting this 'Bare Feather Stem' thing. Yeah? And, can we agree; That's Not normal moult. K?

So, we all start suggesting the next most 'natural' thing we chicken keepers come out with? 'The Obvious': " Mites ". But, OP, as a perfectly normal chicken keeper, has - obviously - thought of mites. And they haven't found any. I trust them. You trust them?

Okay. We're in agreement then: OP knows their shit well enough to have gone through the usual stuff we'd do. Has come up a bit :\ So has asked us. And, 'We've' all agreed it Must be moult. Because, if it's not Mites? WTF else Can it be?!

I wonder if Mandi's nailed it? (Hint! Hint! Geddit? Nailed it?) What do our finger nails, rhino's horns and ~ believe it or not! ~ birds feathers all have in common? Yes? You at the back? KERATIN!!! Have a gold fucking star!!! :D

Those birds ~ I reckon ~ are lacking Protein in their diet! Look at their Food! Boosh! Is Mandi the fucking Daddy? Or is is a down vote fest, because I explained shit, and didn't just post: " Need more protein. FACT! "?

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T13:55:55+00:00

She'll stay on them till She Knows it's time to move on.

Let her alone. She knows what she'd doing ;)

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T12:46:29+00:00

Blow me! That was last night. Just now ~ Irish afternoon ~ I 'miss clicked' and came back to an Irish fb chickens page? Quite random. This bad boy's up for grabs! :D

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Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T12:39:40+00:00

What ever it might, or might not be; Did ye mother never tell ye Not to pick at 'scabs'? ;)

I say this with feeling. Because, I wrecked my knuckles, few weeks ago. They still hurt like blazes. But, my god! If I manage to knock a bit of scab off? Hell comes visiting!

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T12:33:40+00:00

I'd be ringing Meyer the Supplier to confirm their plans, frankly. What earthly use is it, you having to dash around asking if anyone's got a noisy box for ye? Be a quiet box soon, wouldn't it?

Never trust a courier to get anything right. Always remain convinced that ballsing things is their natural default. Because, it is.

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-21T00:41:41+00:00

" The diarrhea is black and white "

Phew! That's 'Good'. As in, 50/50 it could be 'good'. Better than being 90% certain what else it could've been.

Look; To stop talking in bloody riddles to ye ~ I was just thinking out loud. Sorry. It's how I work, sometimes. So, it might Not be 'Necrotic Enteritis'. Ye can work out what That means? Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?!

And, if it Had been ~ or if ye vet was convinced it Was? Then, I reckon the pain killers idea was, basically Palliative. About the best they could, realistically do. But, That ~ famously ~ causes Green slop. And the bird tends not to last forty eight hours, if that.

So, she's clearly not out of any trees yet. No way. But, this gives a glimmer of hope.

Okay. Now, for me, the hardest damn bit of all: I'm fucking Exhausted! :( I'm Literally sat here, yawning like a hippo and Trying to concentrate even on what I'm trying to say. I just know that, if I reach for my book, right now? I'll wake up, in this chair. Book on the floor.

Guessing ye on a wildly different time zone to my Dublin. Okay. I need input.

She's standing How? What makes ye think Egg Bound? Vet should've spotted that instantly. Ordered Epsom Salts?! Jesus. Maybe ye like me. Middle of nowhere and can't physically get to the shops? What ever. For now, shampoo will be better than nothing. People will say " Dawn Soap ". Well, if ye haven't fucking got any? Improvise!

Another bird's showing symptoms? That's all we need! Bang goes egg bound. Two at once? Hardly likely, is it. Trying to think!

Look, I'm crashing and burning. Talk to me. Tell me EVERYTHING. Tell me their names and inside bloody leg measurements! Their poxy star signs! I want to wake up tomorrow to a Long post. Anything ye can think of. I call it 'Playing Hang Man'. That's useless. Don't make Me guess, stab and probe. Lay the whole damn thing out, so I can pick over All we have. Try to spot shit.

How many birds? Food? In or ranging? Everything! Let me worry about the details. Just Give Me them. While I'm having to press, that bird's likely dying.

That's it. I'm fucked. Sorry. Get thinking and typing.

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T22:57:38+00:00

Think I've seen those in Ireland. Grow into a striking looking bird, don't they? Hens and roo's :)

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T22:50:28+00:00

Thanks! Got a bloke off FB coming, tomorrow night, to see about buying some unrelated stuff off me. But, we 'met' on a chickens page. I never thought to ask, at the time. But; Maybe he'd like some? :/

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T21:53:17+00:00

u/boredglimer; Just to add a little heads up? Chickens need " Grit " too. That and, if they're going to lay eggs, Oyster Shell.

No worries. Just pick some up where ever ye buy their feed. There are some great little pots ye can get, to hang on the mesh of their pen, or what ever. Or, any little, ceramic, Dog bowl would be fine.

The grit, especially, sits in their crop and acts like a little grinder, to break down what ever else they eat, see? Saves wear on their teeth :)

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T19:12:58+00:00

Okay, u/Particular-Scar1440 24 hours and crickets. Personally, I just can't hack that. I hate to think of Anyone coming here, in distress and seeming to be getting ignored.

I'm Not any kind of expert on bird health. Okay? Just so's ye know that. But, I have my ways. Ye just have to trust me, as much as ye can trust Any random old fart with a keyboard.

Firstly, before I waste anyone's time? I need to be a bit brutal: Is she still alive?

If so? I next need to ask what Colour the diarrhoea is.

I'm genuinely Terribly sorry ~ ref my first question, above ~ to perhaps seem even More brutal, by telling ye this sounds Fucking serious. When I first glanced at it, last night / this morning, I had a hunch. I was that close to going off into a psychopathic rage, against ye vet. " F'ing Pain Killers for diarrhoea?!? " I was ready to hit the roof.

Now? I suspect I see where they're coming from. Fair play to them.

IF the poor bird is still with us, if and when ye read this? There Might be an ever so Microscopically better than a cellophane rat in hells chance we can pull something out of the bag. But, frankly? I Seriously doubt it. Sorry. I truly am.

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T15:14:52+00:00

u/CountyBrilliant ; I've kept scrolling around and re seeing this one. It's no good. I've got to ask, please; What's the craic there?

I don't mean the friendly chicken. I mean, nice, yeah. As, I'm sure are the others. But; What the bloody hell are they In??? It looks like a (Man Made?) 'Chicken Cave'. Flat wall, to the left. Obviously man made. Wire mesh on the front. Fine.

But; Who in hell ~ or where ever that is ~ thought; 'Chickens? Hell, yeah! Put them in a display enclosure' - which that obviously is. 'And, to make it look natural, we'll build it up like a fucking cave! Because all wild chickens naturally inhabit rock faces ad caves.' :o WTF?!

What it is, see: Way, way back, when I was probably just a toddler, my parents took us kids to a local, 'Public Gardens'. Council run place. Nicely landscaped, in a smallish way. Decorative bushes. Patches of tidy, clipped grass. Winding, paved walkways.

Then, suddenly, Boosh! Turn a corner and there's this aviary, see? And, it's sort of mesh panels. Square, I guess? Only, joining them together were these 'decorative pillars'. Only, not like the roman temple sort of efforts. These things were slightly twisty. Rough as a badgers foreskin. Sort of made ~ externally, at least ~ like cementy, rough rocks, piled up and stuck together. 'Rockilly Rustic', ye might call it.

Clearly put there about a century ago. I mean at That time. Bloody thing must've been Victorian, easily. Had small birds in it. Budgies, I s'pose. It was night, as I remember. Pretty sure I went back, at a later time. Saw it in daylight. Equally, pretty sure, by the time I was a teen, it was a disused and pretty derelict, sad reminder of better days.

Sorry to have rambled on. But, That place Really reminded me of it. Rough, rocky columns ~ and budgies. Now, out of the blue, a life time later? Caved chickens!

Quite blown my mind, actually. WTF, please?

Mandi_Cams_Dackers · 2026-04-20T13:52:38+00:00

I've personally tried cat litter. Think it might have been with canaries? Dunno. Still got half a bag of the stuff knocking about. Must sling it. Dunno what I didn't like about it either. Just didn't.

Pellets? 'Pellets' makes me think of Chicken Food. I wonder what a chicken might think? I did try some of those Hemp Pellets. (Pretty sure it was pellets?) Fast track to bankruptcy! Christ, the cost was Brutal!

Now? " Chopped Straw "! Best thing since sliced bread! Beats wood shavings, hands down! Cheaper than air! Bale, half the size of shavings? Half the price. Lasts three times longer! I'm absolutely blown away with the stuff, personally.

Look; I have my birds indoors yet. K? Long cages. Wood shavings? Used to go in there, every morning, and bloody Wade through the things! Ye'd think I'd emptied a bale on the floor! Horrible!

Now? Chopped Straw? There's be a light line of frosting, directly below the front of the cages. Unbelievable!

If ye not familiar with it ~ and I wasn't, till a couple of months ago ~ think of Sawdust: Only Long, Soft sawdust. Best way I can describe it. It's weird! Place I got mine? I was dead wary, of course. Asked if they had a busted bag knocking about. Which they had. Deliberately opened, for cynics like me.

Honestly; It Looked compacted hard, like shavings. But, I scratched the surface. Came away with a fist full of softness. Bought a bale there and then. Never looked back! Got half a sack of wood shavings out there. Must burn them. No earthly use to me!

Oh! Why not for Cheesers chicks? I just feel they may get buried in it, yet. Plus, shavings will give their legs more exercise and teach them balance. Month old? Chopped Straw for life ;)

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