Can you help me with my sick chicken?

[T-lady]

Lily Hen (about two and a half years old) has not been right on and off for about 4 weeks now. Her comb is pale and a bit droopy, her droppings are kind of a white/yellow diarrhea and she's off her food. She's really lethargic and when she stands still she starts to doze.

We've been having some soft shelled / no shell eggs recently and I'm only guessing but they may been from her


Has anyone got any advice for me? I've tried a tonic in the water and poultry spice in the food. I really dont want to lose her but, although I've booked her in for a visit to the vet tonight, I'm not convinced they know anything about chooks.

Any advice is welcome ...

Tc
x

[Nicos]

Have you wormed them recently- and checked for mite in the coop?

[Suechooks]

If she's been lying soft-shelled eggs she may be heading for egg peritonitis or she may have retained some membrane
Are you sure she's not egg-bound. You could try warm bath to help relax and pass egg if its soft shelled
Have you checked for red mite in coop?
Have you checked her crop - is it empty in morning or full and squidgy/hard?
She does sound sick so hope the vet can help. Good luck

[T-lady]

They've been wormed with VermX this weekend - last time was two months ago - and definitely no mites in the coop, it's an Eglu (ie plastic) and gets thoroughly hosed down/disinfected every weekend.

I don't know how to check if she's egg-bound...

I'm not sure about her crop now you mention it. We pretty much just open up the pop hole and run like crazy for work. I'll check better tomorrow morning.

[Nicos]

I understand that Verm-X is only a preventative and once a bird is infested then it's not a treatment.
You certainly need Flubenvet for that.

Good luck at the vets

[T-lady]

Thanks Nicos, I didn't realise that VermX was a half-way house. I'll get on the internet for the 'good stuff'!

[Flummery]

Flubenvet is the one to use.
However, she sounds just like my Topaz who had the same symptoms and is the same age. Last Friday I was convinced we'd lose her. We took her to a local vet - fortunately we saw a young lady whose family kept chickens when she was growing up. She gave her a good overhaul, crop, vent, massaged her abdomen gently to feel if there was an egg inside or if she was hot. She suggested a course of Baytril (antibiotic) as she suspected some internal infection. Moments later, as she was getting the stuff, there was an enormous runny green poo - all over the surgery and my trousers! I think it had been blocked in there and the massage had helped it out. She is a different chicken now - no eggs yet but no softies either and she has regained her Boss Hen status. She's still on the Baytril twice a day. If you want a laugh, watch two rank amateurs trying to get a syrynge of antibiotic down the throat of a reluctant hen! And the more she gets better the less she wants it!

Good luck with her - if Baytril works for her you won't know she's the same chicken.

[T-lady]

Thanks for this Flum, it gives me hope - I'd hate to lose her. I wonder if it's too far for me to ship her up to your vet ...!

Love the mental picture of the dosing with antibiotics but dread having to do it myself. I know how tricky it is with cats, heaven knows how much worse it will be with a flighty little chicken.

[Feather]

Is she a hybrid who has being laying heavily for the past two years? If so, she may just have come to the end of her productive life, and sad to say, she may be on the way out. This has happened to two of mine recently, the same age as yours. I took the second one to the vet last week, after symptoms similar to your hen's, (laying softies, lethargic, pale comb, and in her case, feather loss)and he said she was just worn out. Because hybrids are basically bred for such intensive use and areusually culled after 18 months or so in commercial conditions, longevity isn't important when breeding hens for the commercial setups. I took my hen to the vet to be PTS, (I'm lucky enough to have a specialist avian vet who sees a lot of poultry)) and he said this was the right decision as she would otherwise go steadily downhill and also be at increased nsk of peritonitis from a soft egg breaking inside her. I do hope your case is different, but if the outcome isn't good, at least she'll have had a good life with you for the past couple of years. Good luck, let us know how she gets on.

And yes, Flubenvet every 6 months......

[Glutton4...]

...And yes, Flubenvet every 6 months......

Or as frequently as every three months if they stay on the same ground all the time.

[T-lady]

Update on Lily Hen's visit to the vet ... well he gave her a thorough once over and couldn't find anything wrong apart from a slightly distended tummy (phew, I was having real guilt worries about whether my chicken husbandry was at fault).

So, guess what Flum?

He's given her a shot of Baytril and sent me home with a syringe and orders to dose her once a day with lml of antibiotic. It'll be me trying to do the impossible tonight and my other half is away at the moment. If two of you are struggling how the heck am I going to manage!!!!!


Feather - she is a hybrid so I'm hoping that she's not so far gone that I have to have her PTS. I talked to the chicken breeder who I buy my chickens from and he said that she might be at the back end of her life but that's no reason for her to be off colour. So I've still got hope.

Anyway, I've let them out this morning and she seems slightly perkier. Her comb is a better colour and she came out of hte Eglu quite keenly and ate a tiny bit of food. Fingers crossed for ongoing improvements.

[Suechooks]

If you wrap her firmly in a towel including legs then kneel on floor with her between your knees you'l stop her from moving away and still have 2 hands free. Prepare the syringe before you start and leave it on the floor close to you. One hand to open beak, other hand syringe making sure you don't squirt it in her airway.
Simples!

[T-lady]

.
Simples!

Why do I have the sinking feeling that "Simples" just won't happen for me

Thanks for the hint though, I'll give it a go and let you know...

[Suechooks]

Why do I have the sinking feeling that "Simples" just won't happen for me

Thanks for the hint though, I'll give it a go and let you know...

Think positive! Be firm but not rough and be calm. She'll know if you're panicking. Some Rescue Remedy might help - for YOU not the hen!!!!! Make sure the towel is big enough too.

[T-lady]

Think positive! Be firm but not rough and be calm. She'll know if you're panicking. Some Rescue Remedy might help - for YOU not the hen!!!!! Make sure the towel is big enough too.

'K then, I'm positive, I'm calm and I'm loggiing off to go and do it.

Gin is on the side - my version of Rescue Remedy! I'll let you konw tomorrow how we went on. Thanks for the help today everyone.