New episode of the podcast is up! You can find it over on Podbean, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
First, some homestead news! One of my girls, Meatbutt, has bumblefoot. This is a common issue with chickens, especially the more full-bodied ladies. I wanted to share a little information about it for anyone else who comes across the same problem in their flock.
Bumblefoot:
-A common staph infection
-From the British word ‘bumble’, meaning to walk unsteadily (denotes clumsiness)
-Usually a scratch or minor wound allows bacteria into the pad, which forms an abscess
-Early infection will be a soft lump in the pad
-Progressed infection will be hard and scabbed over, and this needs to be removed to treat the internal infection
-Soak and soften. Flush with Betadine or saline solution. Apply non-pain reliever antibiotic ointment and then wrap the foot. Move chicken to a clean and dry area if possible.
Hive Updates:
Overall, I am still not happy with what I am seeing in my apiary. Half the colonies do not appear to be responding to mite treatments, and most of them have no brood. There is quite a lot of honey, and I have more frames I can give back to the ones who need it, but I am worried that a long winter will easily finish them off. I still have some work to do, weather allowing; mainly just removing the Apivar strips and adding the candy and quilt boards. I think 2 colonies have a decent shot but I’m not so sure about the others. It’s very disheartening. All hives now have a mouseguard, wrap, and have been tilted forwards slightly.
Hive #1 (OH queen)
Previous mite count 9/300; new count 5/300
Treatment: Apivar
2 deeps; 1 full of honey, 1 honey/pollen/some empty comb
This is one of the hives that overwintered previously
Decent chance of survival
Hive #2 (Southern queen)
Previous mite count 12/300; new count 5/300
Treatment: Apiguard
2 deeps, 1 med; med full of honey, deeps a mix of honey, pollen, some empty comb, and a smattering of brood
Overwintered previously
Decent chance of survival
Hive #3 (Sask daughter-queen)
Previous mite count 12/300; new count 6/300
Treatment: Apivar
1 deep; honey, pollen, some space for brood
No brood currently
1 medium of honey ready to go back on when Apivar is pulled
Middling shot at survival
Hive #4 (Saskatraz mother queen)
Previous mite count 9/300; new count 15/300 (how??)
Treatment: Apivar
1 deep, 1 med full of honey
Did not see mites on the adults this time but did see a young bee with deformed wing virus
No brood
Some frames from hive #5 were added
Middling to poor chance of survival
Hive #5 (small queen, suspect Sask genes)
Nuc #1 (OH genetics)
Previous mite count 6/300; new count 8/300
Treatment: Apiguard
Worried they don’t have enough honey so added some frames
Pushed up against nuc #2 and wrapped together (they will share heat)
Had to DIY a mouseguard
Middling to low chance of survival
Previous mite count 19/300; new count 25/300
Treatment: Apiguard
Decided to sacrifice this queen (mated later in year, not handling mites well, etc)
Very little brood so decided to risk merging worker bees with hive #5
Good honey and pollen stores
Middling to low chance of survival
RIP Bubbles
The day before my last episode went live, I had to take Bubbles in to be euthanized. Bubbles was one of two hens that I rescued from the Cleveland animal control shelter in May 2019. Chickens are legal in Cleveland (roosters are not) and occasionally are found wandering. They’re rarely claimed and the animal control is not set up to house them. I have a friend who coordinates with this shelter as part of her dog rescue work, and she is the one who mentioned to me that Bubbles and Squeak needed a home. At the time, Agatha was living alone in the small coop as she was being bullied very badly in the main coop, to the point where I was worried the other hens would kill her. I knew she’d need some friends to get her through the winter (a single chicken kept outside without supplementary heat would perish in the cold) and I had been asking around. When I was told about these girls, I decided to go get them, especially since Squeak has a cut beak like my first rescue hen, Bobette.
It was a great decision and they quickly became a bonded flock of three. The Cleveland girls (as I called them until very recently) are very gentle ISA brown, production hens so there has been no bullying of old lady Agatha.
In the summer, I spoke about how Bubbles had heat stress. She was drinking huge quantities of water and suffering from the subsequent diarrhea. I brought her in the cool house and kept her on a high protein diet until things started to clear up. Once she was stronger, I also wormed her to be sure nothing was lurking in her gut. She recovered and went back to the special needs coop once the weather was a little cooler.
When Fall hit and the days shortened, Bubbles seemed to be uncomfortable during her moult. She was quieter and not eating as much. I started putting her favourite treats out each day, which seemed to do the trick as she returned to eating as normal within about 4 days. But she weakened again, seeming uncomfortable, and I noticed the diarrhea was back. It was at this point that I hauled her out to clean her tushy, and felt how swollen and hard her abdomen was. I immediately knew it was something very bad.
Looking through my ‘Chicken Health Handbook’ by Gail Damerow, none of the potential causes were good, and I knew I needed a vet visit. I scheduled one as soon as I could but Bubbles rapidly went downhill and, by the time we went, I asked the vet to euthanize her.
The afternoon I collected her, she was all hunched down, her comb was floppy, and she could barely keep her eyes open. Agatha was with her, cooing softly, and Squeak would check in on her occasionally. A bonded flock is a truly beautiful thing.
Sadly, due to COVID precautions, I couldn’t be with Bubbles when she passed. She was never particularly tame, though, so might not have been comforted by my presence. I did request to take her body home so I could perform a necropsy. As I suspected, she had salpingitis with some of the worst build up I have ever seen. More on that in a minute.
I buried her at the back of the property, next to the grave of Ginger. Even though I wasn’t particularly bonded to Bubbles, it hurts more to lose the rescues because they never seem to get long enough as a free chicken. I’m happy I could give her the chance to be more than just an egg laying machine in a cramped factory environment but I wish I had noticed her pain sooner and set her free sooner.
I wanted to talk about some of the more common reproductive disorders that occur in chickens. As I was writing up my notes, I realised I needed to start with an overview of the chicken reproductive system, and I’m glad I did because I learned a lot! I think it’s very interesting, and I hope you do as well.
The Reproductive System of Chickens
A fully developed reproductive system in chicken consists of one ovary and a multi-compartmented passageway called the oviduct, which is just over 2ft or 60cm long. A female chick embryo starts with a pair of reproductive organs (a right and left ovary) but normally only the left ovary and oviduct develop and become functional. Possibly this is to avoid the stress of carrying two eggs at once but it seems as if no one is really sure why this occurs.
A fully developed ovary consists of many undeveloped yolks (ova) and is located just below the hen’s backbone in the vicinity of the upper kidneys. As each yolk (ovum) develops, it is released into the oviduct, usually an hour after the previous egg was laid. During this journey through the oviduct is when fertilization will occur if sperm is present. The ovum is encased in albumen, wrapped in membranes, sealed in a shell, and given a thin protective coating called the cuticle or ‘bloom’.
This whole process, from ovum release to fully formed egg, takes 25 hours, which means that each egg a chicken produces is laid an hour later each day. As the cycle progresses and a hen reaches a laying time of approximately 3pm, she will skip a day of laying and restart the following morning. A group of eggs laid within a single cycle is called a clutch, and a typical clutch consists of 5 eggs.
If the cycle is interrupted by some kind of stressor (such as a predator attack or illness), shell abnormalities can occur. Occasionally, yolks are released less than 25 hours apart, causing two eggs to develop simultaneously. As these eggs move together within the oviduct, they can actually press against each other, causing misshapen shells. The need for extra calcium at this time can also result in thin or improperly formed shells. Seasonal changes also affect the egg shell with it being thicker in winter and thinner in the summer. Molting also interrupts egg production as protein is used to grow new feathers, and it’s not uncommon to find a few funky looking eggs when hens start laying again in the Spring. The occasional mishap such as this is nothing to worry about, and is a relatively normal glitch in the system.
Fun fact: egg shape is actually inherited!
Depending on the breed, pullets (young female chickens) start laying between 4-5 months with peak production occurring at 7-8 months. Laying gradually declines after this until the first moult at 18 months. This pattern continues as hens lay; following the annual moult, production is greater than it was at the end of the previous year but not as good as the previous spring. Basically, there’s a natural decline in production each year. This is why production hens are euthanized before their first moult; this allows maximum egg production with no break as young pullets are brought in to replace those culled.
Fun fact: chickens are capable of spontaneous sex change! Hens can develop the characteristics of a rooster. This usually occurs at the end of a hen’s reproductive life. As her left ovary atrophies, the latent right ovary can develop into an ovary-testicale that produces very low levels of estrogen as well as testosterone. This causes the hen to develop male sex characteristics such as an enlarged comb, leg spurs, male plumage, and in some rare cases, viable sperm.
Occasionally, spontaneous sex change is seen in pullets. Before their reproductive system fully develops, an infection can cause inflammation that causes the left ovary to pause in development or atrophy. In response, the right ovary becomes the unique ovary-testicle mentioned previously and the pullet never lays and instead fully presents as a rooster. Sometimes, once the infection clears up, the left ovary finishes developing at which point the ‘rooster’ begins to lay eggs. Historically, there are many accounts of witchcraft being evident in a town due to a rooster laying eggs. In fact, a famous case is that of poor Basel in Switzerland, who was burned at the stake in 1474 for laying an egg and therefore proving that he was a witch! It’s interesting to think that perhaps this natural, although rare, phenomenon is what caused these beliefs about witches.
Reproductive Disorders
When I looked up the symptom ‘hard, swollen abdomen’ in ‘The Chicken Health Handbook’ by Gail Damerow, I was able to identify a few disorders that seemed to fit the bill:
Ascites
cloacitis/infection of the cloaca
Egg bound
Egg peritonitis
salpingitis
Ascites:
‘Water belly’ or ‘dropsy’
Not a disease but a sign of heart failure
Results in fluid accumulating in the body cavity
Causes stomach to bloat but feels soft or squishy to the touch
Common in broilers/meat birds
Broilers bred to grow so fast that they have a very fast metabolism that in turn necessitates a large amount of oxygen
If need for oxygen exceeds the normally functioning heart and lungs, the heart pumps more in an attempt to supply body with needed oxygen
This leads to an increase in blood pressure between the heart and the lungs; this is called pulmonary hypertension syndrome
Bird lungs are more rigid than human lungs and cannot handle this increase in pressure, which in turn causes the heart to pump even harder in an attempt to overcome this resistance
This leads to enlargement and thickening of the heart muscles until the right heart valve can no longer close, causing blood to back up into the liver
Liquid leaks from the liver into the body cavity
This protein rich liquid is known as ascetic fluid, and is comprised of blood plasma and lymph fluid; it may be clear and water-like, or yellowish and jelly-like
Fluid in abdomen restricts air-sacs, causing an even greater need for oxygen
Skin and combs will turn blue-ish due to lack of oxygen
Eventually, the heart fails and the bird will die
Can try to prevent by careful feeding for a slower growth rate
In laying hens, not as much is known about this condition. Possible causes include tumours, liver damage, infection, obesity/clogged arteries, poor ventilation, ammonia fumes, etc
No cure or treatment. Palliative care or euthanasia.
Cloacitis/infection of the cloaca:
The urinary, reproductive, and digestive tract all empty through the cloaca so it is subject to disease related to these systems
Typical sign is a smelly, slimy discharge oozing from vent and sticking to the surrounding feathers
Can be caused by bacteria, fungus, yeast, protozoa, and parasites; need to identify cause to effectively treat
Early symptoms: loose, watery stool; soiled feathers around vent; soft, bloated abdomen; gas; redacted egg production; eating normally
Advanced symptoms: slimy discharge/diarrhea; straining; bad odour; hard, solid abdomen; red, swollen vent; anorexia/not eating
At the first sign of infection, clean vent and surrounding feathers with warm, soapy water
Gently squirt a saline solution into the vent and massage the area
If the chicken is constipated, fecal matter should start moving out at this stage
Once cloaca is clean, follow up with an iodine-based antiseptic like Betadine to rinse the area
Add vinegar to drinking water (1 tablespoon/1 gallon water)
If no improvement within a few days, repeat treatment and take a fecal sample to vet for testing
Advanced cloaca infection can spread up into colon and uterus so treat ASAP
Egg bound (oviduct impaction)
In the uterus, egg is shaped with pointy end facing down; as it moves through the oviduct, it turns so the large end emerges first
Sometimes, an egg gets stuck during this process; this is what we mean by ‘egg bound’
Unlaid egg material accumulates behind the stuck egg, causing distending of the abdomen, and eventual infection
Causes include: egg is too large (double yolks, pullet too young to lay); hen is obese (fat pushes on muscles, weakening them); extreme cold (muscles stiff and immobile); calcium (needed for muscle contraction); disease (swelling, inflammation of oviduct; weak muscles, etc)
Chicken will die if the egg is not passed/removed
X-ray will definitively diagnose but can sometimes feel the egg by gently palpating the abdomen
Symptoms: lethargy, straining, bloated abdomen, swollen vent, sudden onset
Treatment: Apply warm, moist heat (damp towel) and move chicken somewhere quiet and warm. Lubricate the vent and egg or use warm saline. Sometimes this is enough to ease the egg out. If not, gently insert lubricated finger and try to coax egg down while applying gentle pressure on the abdomen with your other hand.
Worst case: use a needle to remove the contents of the egg, and then use fingers to crush shell in such a way as to not cut the hen’s internal area. Rinse with saline after removal.
An avian vet can perform surgery to remove the egg but a/ it’s expensive and b/ the chicken might die until anesthesia
Egg Peritonitis:
Egg material that accumulates in abdomen without being reabsorbed becomes infected with bacteria
abdominal membrane becomes inflamed; periotinitis
Sometimes a bacterial infection of the oviduct causes this, which leads me to. . .
Salpingitis:
Inflammation of the oviduct
Often caused by bacterial infection
Typically effects high-producing hens because the muscle separating their cloaca from vagina tends to be more relaxed, which allows fecal matter to migrate up into the oviduct
Initially, may show no sign of infection but will eventually start laying fewer eggs before ceasing laying altogether
Material that normally develops into an egg builds up and festers in the oviduct becoming a mass that looks like cooked egg yolks, smells foul, and may include egg shells, membranes, and even fully formed eggs
Eventually, this mass becomes so large that is spills into the abdominal cavity, and constricts internal organs
The abdomen will be swollen and the hen lies and stands with their rear held low
Peritonitis is the inflammation of the abdominal membrane, which occurs as the mass spills into the abdominal cavity
Symptoms are similar to those of egg binding, and this infection can actually lead to egg binding
The oviduct eventually stops functioning and the ovary stops functioning and atrophies meaning that, should a hen survive this infection, she is unlikely to ever lay egg again
Early antibiotic treatment might help prevent advanced symptoms but most hens die within 6 months of the initial infection
Surgical removal of the mass is possible but expensive and usually has a low rate of success due to the weakness of the hen at this point
Kindest option is euthanasia
Prevention: no definitive way to prevent but a clean environment with fresh water, good food, good ventilation, probiotics and prebiotics can help
Sadly, even if you have the cleanest coop and very best food and care, hens can still develop this issue
Bubbles had an advanced case of salpingitis, which I confirmed via necropsy at home. I will post photos of the mass we found at the very end of this blog post, with a warning, so you can scroll down to view if you choose (or avoid it if you might find this upsetting). I do wish I had noticed her condition sooner as it must have been very painful but I’m glad I could set her free in a warm and caring environment.
Welcoming a new hen!
It’s nice to be able to end on a happier note than my poor hives, loss of Bubbles, and innocent birds being accused of witchcraft so I’d like to share with you all about my acquisition of a new chicken.
When I lost Bubbles, I jokingly wondered when the universe would see fit to send me another hen. Well, I should have known better than to say that outloud because, not even a week later, the same friend who found me Bubbles and Squeak reached out to say that Cleveland animal control had another chicken in. I expressed interest and within a few hours, I had arranged to go get her.
When I arrived, I was asked which chicken I was collecting. I thought there was only the one! Turns out, she came in with a very handsome rooster. I didn’t have an additional carrier so had to leave him behind but I promised to network him among my local chicken tenders.
The staff at AC told me the new girl was a black Australorp so I did some googling and reading through my books about this breed. They’re supposed to be sweet, calm, and gentle chickens so I was excited to add her to the special needs flock. I did see it mentioned that they’re often confused with Jersey Giants and that there is one way to tell: the colour of the soles of their feet! Well, my new girl (who I have yet to name) is very nervous and scared of people so I didn’t get a chance to check out her feet until I had to catch her to worm her. Turns out, she has bright yellow feet! She’s not an Australorp, she’s a Jersey Giant.
So let’s look at these two breeds.
Black Australorp:
Australia’s ‘national breed’, developed when black orpingtons were imported from England in the 1890s and mixed with the Minorca, White Leghorn, Plymouth Rock, and Langshan.
Utility: great egg layer (200+ eggs per year) with a meaty body, making it a decent dual purpose breed
Eggs are light brown in colour
Gentle, docile, and quiet personality
Single comb and clean leg; shanks and toes are slate grey, and the soles of the feet are pinkish-white or grey.
Roosters typically weigh 8.5lbs/3.9kgs; hens are 6.5lbd/3kg
Considered a good addition to most flocks
Black Jersey Giant:
The largest purebred chicken breed!
Developed in New Jersey in 1870 by crossing Brahmas with Langshan and Java breeds
Slow to mature and so expensive to feed, making them less desirable as a table bird than the Cornish breed
Roosters can reach 13lbs/5.9kg; hens 10lbs/4.5kg
caponized/castrated roosters can reach a whopping 20lbs!!
Calm and gentle, often middle to low on the pecking order despite their size
Not great flyers due to their weight but should be given space to roam to avoid obesity
Hens produce large brown eggs, and tend to have a long laying season, laying well through the winter months
Cold hardy but prone to heat stress in the summer
Clean legs; shanks and toes are black to dusty yellowish-green with yellow soles of the feet
What baffles me is that Jersey Giants are not super common. It seems likely this girl was purchased as a chick in the Spring or early Fall (she’s not laying yet but is only slightly smaller than my other hens) and then somehow found herself running loose in the city. She obviously hasn’t been handled much as she’s very scared of people, and she also had to learn that the run has a roof so I think she has been free for some time. It seems odd to me that she hasn’t been looked for or claimed. I hope someone out there isn’t missing her and just didn’t know where to look!
She was found with the rooster who is also listed as an Australorp. Having not seen his feet, I don’t know whether that is correct or whether he is also a Jersey Giant. Either way, I have decided to break my ‘no rooster’ rule and will be picking him up next week. I have been considering a rooster for some time so that I can let me girls free roam. I have so much good space for them to graze, and the roaming dogs in my area have not been by in quite some time so that problem seems to have resolved itself. A rooster is a good protector and should help keep them safe from predators like hawks and cats. I’d at least like to give it a go so I will be introducing him to the big flock once his quarantine is up. The special needs coop don’t have space for a rooster (and that’s the last thing sweet Agatha needs at her age!!) and so I will be building a chicken tractor/moveable run for them so they can roam safely.
It’s possible that the new girl might eventually go in with the main flock, especially if the rooster is also a Jersey Giant and I decide to incubate some eggs. For now, though, the special needs hens need a companion, and this skittish pullet would be viciously bullied by the big flock. As it stands, her introduction has been a little fraught. Squeak, who was beta hen before Bubbles passed, has gone full Alpha Bitch and has been making it very clear that she is in charge. Even Agatha took a few swipes at the new girl! On the plus side, Squeak has no beak and so can’t do any real damage, and Agatha just pulled some feathers. It sounds a lot worse than it is but things are already settling down. It will be interesting to see if anything changes when the new girl is double their size!!
That’s it for this episode. Thanks for listening!
And thanks to my sources:
‘The Chicken Health Handbook’, Gail Damerow
‘Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds’, Carol Ekarius
‘The Illustrated Guide to Chickens’, Celia Lewis
I’m really grateful for all of you, especially those who reach out via Instagram or the website. I really enjoy hearing from you and getting to follow along with your own homesteading, beekeeping, and/or chicken keeping journey. Instagram is such a fun place to hang out and meet like minded people! You can find me there as well as on Facebook under Homesteadhensandhoney. You can also email me at homesteadhensandhoney@gmail.com
If you're interested in viewing the necropsy photos of Bubbles, please scroll down.
