Mud not so glorious mud… for hens, or the garden…
Pictured above are two of our three Light Sussex hens (with Billy the cat, just about discernible in the background). I found out recently that bark chippings are not good for hens as they contain aspergillus fungal spores that can cause respiratory infections, and so the chippings have gone to the compost heap for the very last time. There’s no way of knowing if the mycoplasma the hens got this summer was in any way connected to the bark chippings; certainly it was the constant heavy rain going on for months that would ultimately have finished them, and made for perfect growing conditions for the mycoplasma to wreak havoc, if I hadn’t identified the breathing problems, and sought out the antibiotic cure, in time.
tags: bark chippings, chickens, ex-battery hens, fungal spores, gravel, hens, mycoplasma, poultryHens show some improvement on antibiotics
The hens show some slight improvement, 24 hours into their 3-day course of antibiotics. The fact that they all survived the first day of treatment means there’s every chance they’ll all make it, and that there are no weak hearts among them. This morning the appetite of those worst affected by the illness has obviously improved, and they seem considerably more alert to whatever’s going on around them. It’s just so great to see them looking and acting a little better after a number of weeks in decline. I’m quite clucky about their well-being, and have been stressed all summer by the awful weather and what it might do to them.
tags: animals, antibiotics, hens, livestock, mycoplasma, pets, poultry, veterinary
RIPA NOTICE: NO CONSENT IS GIVEN FOR INTERCEPTION OF PAGE TRANSMISSION