Urgent

[kathyd]

Probably be too late before anyone reads this, but what do I do with a hen whose breathing has suddenly become really really wet, and she's struggling to breathe normally? Her comb and crop are looking a mucky red, so I'm guessing it's not good news. Is it likely to be her respiratory problem come back with a vengeance, or could it be a crop problem? I began to try tipping her forwards to see if she'd sick up any liquid, but it was distressing her so I stopped. I've got her sitting in a box in the kitchen at the moment, breathing noisily. Any advice appreciated...

[Noosner]

So sorry to hear this KathyD. I can't advise as know nowt about chooks so hope someone will soon be along who can. In the meantime, hang on in there.

[kathyd]

Thanks Noosner. She's one of my first birds, a bit of an old lady, and she's always been my favourite if truth be told. But I've always known her time was limited, I just didn't expect it to be 'today'.

[wellywoo]

Sorry to read about your poorly hen. I recently had the same situation unfortunately I can't really help I simply did what I thought was right and put her to sleep. But I hope it works out better for you


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[Nicos]

Oh dear- sorry , no idea- but it does sound like heart failure ( in humans it's water on the lungs..and a blue tinge to delicate bits)

Favourite hens...hard one isn't it???..she's already been through a lot.

Perhaps if she makes it through the night antibiotics might help???


Let s know how you get on...thinking about you x

[kathyd]

Thx all . At the moment she's quite calm and therefore rattling less. When we found her in the garden she was making a pitiful attempt to call for help, in a panic because she felt exposed I suppose, and frightened because the more she panicked the more she couldn't breathe, hence the colour of her comb. However, I brought in her inside in a big box, carried her upstairs to the bedroom and the bathroom while I got changed and into the bath (NOTHING disturbs bath night!), and by the time I'd got into the water she'd climbed out of the box and flapped up onto the loo seat to see what I was doing... so obviously feeling a lot better! She's a very human-friendly bird, and recently she's adopted me as her best mate I think, after her friend died and her other friend is with chicks at the moment, so she enjoyed the attention she got . She's a bit less bluey, but still rattling and won't eat, although determined to have some shell because she presumably thinks she's laying an egg in the morning bless her, and I'm not assuming she'll get through the night, but at least she's happy for now. I must admit I've put her back in the coop because she's the only one who sleeps inside, all the others sleep on a roosting bar on top, and she's been mixing with them until now anyway so another night won't make any difference. She seemed happy to be back in familiar surroundings, and I'm just waiting to see what the morning will bring... I'll try the antibiotics Nicos, if I can get her to eat anything to mix them in - she won't take them off a spoon, and I'm loathe to try the syringe and squirt it down her beak - she fights all the way and I think it'd do more harm than good. The stuff's pretty useless anyway, it's never seemed to help much in the past. But let's wait and see - all might be bright and sunny tomorrow, with smiles all round! Thanks for all your support and kind words xx

[Nicos]

I bought antibiotic tablets from our French vet for one of our chooks...(can't remember what they are called at the moment- but what everyone here recommends)... and our veterinary nurse asked if she was a special hen/breed for paying all that money on her!

Nope- she's just one poorly chook.

And so- why hadn't I bought a general dousing dose for all the chooks at the same time at less than 1/4 of the price???

Urmmm..because I was only treating one chook!

There is a totally different attitude to livestock here...and I can see that if one chook has a problem the the other free-rangers might pick it up...

so what I am saying is kathy- keep an eye on your other gals- it may be contagious???

fingers crossed it's something simple kathy
she gets on will you??

fingers and toes crossed xx

[Verinda]

I hope she's feeling better in the morning Kathy, it sounds like some tlc is already helping!

[kathyd]

I have to admit our vets are really good about the chickens, it's just they only seem to have 2 medicines available to give them, and neither of them works! I know it might be contagious Nicos = I suspect it's a particularly vicious dose of the myco thing she's always had, and which killed her friend last year quite suddenly. Unfortunately I think all the birds have been well and truly exposed over the time we've had them, most of them sniffle from time to time and one other bird ended up at the vet's a couple of years back with the same thing. Even when I bought 2 new birds last year, the first thing I noticed when I got them home was that one appeared to have wet nostrils and the other one sneezed! So I don't panic about it any more - failing culling the lot of them and starting again, which is unthinkable! - I'm resigned to being stuck with it and providing tlc as Verinda says when necessary. I'll definitely let you know in the morning how she is anyway, one way or the other .

[kathyd]

Lol, I just read my previous post which says 'I don't panic about it any more'! That of course is why I posted something called 'Urgent'! Oops . Not a lot to tell as yet - it was raining hard earlier this morning, and they were all still in bed when I went to open the coop. I got a right telling off, because naturally I am personally responsible for the weather around here. When I opened the coop expecting the worst, Dotty was sitting upright and peering at me in surprise for disturbing her beauty sleep. I couldn't hear her breathing over the racket the others were making, but I can report she's still with us and didn't appear to be panting. Let's see how the rest of the day pans out..

[Jay22]

Opened this thread this morning in trepidation, glad to hear Dotty is still with us!

[kathyd]

She's still with us, but is definitely not 'right' yet. She's been out and about with the others this morning, strolling through the orchard, albeit very slowly and carefully, and sitting under the picnic table. Her tail's up, crop less blue, and she seems amiable enough. However, even her usual favourite treats can't tempt her to eat - she shows an interest and tries, but can't bring herself to take anything. She dribbled some liquid earlier when she bent forwards to peck at the ground, but her breathing isn't as laboured as yesterday. She's currently hiding under a big camellia bush by the front of the house instead of inviting herself into the kitchen as she normally does if she thinks we're not watching. But while she seems 'OK' I'm going to leave her alone. She's recovered before, hopefully she will do again now the crisis of yesterday is over. I'm just dreading it happening again today, but I'm kind of as prepared for it as I can be. This group's been amazing with its support, thank you .

[Verinda]

Ah she's so pretty, I hope she'll be ok.

[kathyd]

Quick Update

Morning . Dotty is still with us! She was up and waiting with the others to be let out this morning, from where she free ranged slowly as far as the kitchen and has settled herself in the dog's bed for a nap having eaten a tiny quantity of mushy pellets for breakfast first. So looking good at the moment - it must be all those positive thoughts being sent her way, keep them going! She just needs to rest a lot and build up her appetite again, then I can start to re-educate her she's not actually a house-chicken at all, and the dog would like her bed back please. Or at least the cats would like the dog's bed back .

[Nicos]

Will she eat scrambled egg kathy?...I swear feeding that and moist porridge oats and raisins helped bring one of my gals through. Little and very often worked for her.
Certainly worth a try if you are stuck for ideas!