Slow starters

[boskelli1571]

A couple of my Breda chicks are filling out very slowly, so I have started giving them a bowl of 20% mash with a Poultry Cell mixture in the am & pm.

    I know some hens don't seem to like the Poultry cell, but these two are gobbling down the food - so I'm hoping they will put some meat on their bones.

Otherwise they are doing good I know scrambled eggs etc. is also great for a good protein boost, but if I did that for them, all 50+ chickens would want some!! I would be cooking for a small army

[seminolewind]

I always give my chicks a treat of chick feed mush every afternoon and they gobble it down! Puts the weight on.

[maryellen]

So you mix chicken food with water and the poultry cell? Almost like fermented feed?

[seminolewind]

What I do is put some chick feed in a bowl and add warm water and stir with my finger and add more water until I get the right consistency. Nothing fancy.

[boskelli1571]

Aug 4, 2018 6:15:41 GMT -5 maryellen said:

So you mix chicken food with water and the poultry cell? Almost like fermented feed?

I fill a small bowl with 20% crumbles, add the poultry cell mix (1oz/1gall.) until it becomes a wet mash - they love it! So do all the 'big girls'....

    The smallest of the Breda chicks has become quite tame, so she sits on my lap with her kibble bowl in front of her - I think she is spoiled!

[seminolewind]

Awww, I wuv it when they like me. The mush is cheap and the chicks think it's a really big deal!

[maryellen]

Im going to try this

[boskelli1571]

Aug 6, 2018 15:53:24 GMT -5 maryellen said:

Im going to try this

Warning! You will have Very Spoiled chicks   

[seminolewind]

LOL! yes but they will love you and get heavy!

[boskelli1571]

Have you needed to try it yet ME? My little white splash Breda loves the stuff, but I don't see her putting any weight on....at 16+ weeks I'm thinking she may have LL. I certainly hope not b/c she is such a sweetie. She sits in my lap 3x day for special feeding so she can eat in peace, although I really don't see her being pushed around much.

[maryellen]

What is LL?
Mine all ate the wet like crazy, but they are all pigs anyway and eat their food like mad. Im going thru 50 lb bags of chick food at 24% protein like mad(i take it in so its not rodenrs) the 13 chicks and 7 month olds are growing like weeds.

Have you added kaytee baby bird formula or added higher protein chick food? I noticed mine do much better on the 20-24% protein chick food. Harder to buy, dumor has it but i stock up as everyone here buys it.

[maryellen]

I gave some to both sets of chicks. They refused to eat it.
Gave it to the adults and they devoured it

[maryellen]

The adults ate the whole bowl lol. Smart for sure

[dawg53]

LL is Lymphoid Leukosis.
www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry

[maryellen]

So what do you do? How do you tell besides a necropsy?
Maybe the breda chick is just a slow starter? Ive had a few chicks start out slow and be small then once they hit 8 months out they doubled in size

[maryellen]

And if it is LL, does that mean all the bredas you got from walts ark has it?

[boskelli1571]

Aug 19, 2018 8:16:00 GMT -5 maryellen said:

And if it is LL, does that mean all the bredas you got from walts ark has it?

LL is pretty vague to diagnose - weakness, reduced appetite, dehydration etc. Bredas seem to be particularly prone to it, from low gene pool I suspect.

I have had it in some Bredas before so I have experienced it, sadly. They simply just fade away, it is a type of cancer that usually attacks the bursa of Fabricius and so reduces their resistance to everything.

It doesn't necessarily mean they all have it. Waltz has at least 3 lines of birds and so far my only problem children are the splashes.

It can be passed from Mama through the egg and although considered 'infectious' it really isn't contagious, at least in my experience.

The little white one will eat - I hand feed her 3+ times/day and I manage to get her to drink, but she is so lightweight and half the size of her sibs. The other splash is a roo and he appears to have a bit of a walking problem which could be osteopetrosis from the LL - am monitoring him.

Aside from the 'super gruel' they get oregano mixed in with it, scrambled eggs - anything high protein to encourage growth.

All the others look good and are growing well - hoping for the best

[seminolewind]

I think the problem with these diseases is that the symptoms are so similar for many of them and other ailments. It's even harder when you get live chicks or have those that have a smaller gene pool.

[boskelli1571]

Aug 20, 2018 10:33:41 GMT -5 seminolewind said:

I think the problem with these diseases is that the symptoms are so similar for many of them and other ailments. It's even harder when you get live chicks or have those that have a smaller gene pool.

In general, the 'cut off' for Mareks is around 14 weeks or so accordingly to most sources. The LL problems seem to start around 16 weeks. The 2 viruses are completely different, but cause similar problems just at different times of life. My little white splash is quite perky this morning but she's just a bag of bones under the feathers. Hoping for the best.

[seminolewind]

I have read that LL is rarish. I've had 6 or more get paralysis and other mareks symptoms, well the last 3 were 8 months old, and I've had the rest over a year old, up till 2. So really the only way to tell is a necropsy to see where the tumors are and a pcr test. My first line of fire is always treat for cocci. And make sure they are eating and drinking. More you really can't do. Cocci can live well in a a sub symptomatic state, just slow to gain and not lay alot of eggs.