help!!! just got 2 severely malnourished hens

[hellafarms]

I had a friend who told me about chickens that were living in very poor conditions near his work so one day I just stopped by and visited with the people and talked them into selling them to me .I had to give way more money than what they were worth,but after I picked the first chicken up off the muddy roost that was in a coop with no top or protection from the elements it was worth it these chickens has no breast that I felt at all the only thing they had been fed was table scraps according to the owner.So I took 6 scrawny chickens home and put them in a chicken tractor that was about 6ft wide and 8 ft long.I then started feeding them about 6 good handfulls of hen scratch that I poured wheat germ oil on twice a day and kept a feeder full of medicated chick starter by them all the time.The outcome was awesome it took about 2 months for them to start looking normal again but they have made a full recovery and I am now getting good fresh brown eggs. hopefully this info is helpful to you so good luck.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Can horse ivermectin be used? do you put in in with their water or food? And how much? Thank you.

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[nature nut]

Ging3rhoffman I'm not sure if the ivermectin used is the same as the one for horses. It probably is the same medication but you'd have to know how to convert the dosage to a chicken sized dose.

Hellafarms, sounds like your chickens were in the same situation mine were. I'm glad you bought them. They all deserve a happy life. I can't wait to see what these two look like in a couple of months! I'm going to post some pictures on an update in a couple months. Did you take any pictures of yours?

 

[threehorses]

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You can do - use a BB sized piece in the beak. Repeat in 6 weeks and then twice annually. This is for an average sized chickens over 4 months old. Use straight ivermectin paste for horses, not the stuff with meds added for tapes.

Actually if you're doing that, use SafeGuard instead (for horses or for cattle). I think that ivermectin would be WAYYYY too much for these hens as a first worming. Same thing - BB sized piece of the horse (10%) or cattle wormer in the beak. Repeat in 6 weeks and then twice annually.