Got a poorly chook

[kirsty b]

One of my girls has had to go to the vet today. Vent feathers all horribly mucky and smelly and her poo watery and yellow.
Vet thinks it may be some sort of parasite which worries me cos I wormed and de-loused them last week.
She's on antibiotics and has to be isolated from the other girls for at least a fortnight. Any eggs she lays have to be thrown away for at least 3 weeks.
I noticed her vent faethers looking mucky the other day (they have got dirty before, but not this bad, worming solved it last time but her poo has not been like this before), but when I saw they were getting worse I figured professional help was the way to go.
I have to call the vet in a week to let him know progress, and he will decide where to go from there depending on how she is.
This has also caused weight loss even though she is eating and drinking as well as ever. If anybody has any ideas of things I could tempt her with in order to keep her appetite up I would be most grateful.

Kirsty

[Sue]

Kirstyb
Oh, poor you and poor hen.
I had this happen with one of mine and as I'd only had them two months and they'd been wormed and with only one affected wondered if it was something she'd eaten. It also gets to look even more dreadful with a white chicken who loves dust bathing.
I wondered if it was apple, as I stopped giving them one ever other day and within a week she was fine or I would have been trekking down the vet as well. After a month I tried introducing an apple again and next day projectile pooing so reluctantly won't give it to them anymore, a pity as it is such a favourite.
Fingers crossed for a quick recovery
Sue

[kirsty b]

Steve brought the dog and cats in so she could go out in the garden for a bit this morning. She's eatingand acting normally. Poo looks more normal today. Gave her a gentle bath after the vets last night to try to clean some of the gunk off her feathers so they look a little better.
Want to get that weight loss sorted so offering her nice things to munch. She's quite partial to marmite on bits of bread
Will carry on with anti-b's and isolation as per vets orders.

[TPeers]

For little treats you could try cooked pasta or cooked rice - my hens go nuts for either of those. Make sure she has access to something green as well. (No not your welly boots!)

Hope she is better soon

Terry

[moggssue]

Can't offer any advice I'm afraid Kirsty, but sending lots of support and wishes through the airwaves. I hope she recovers soon and all gets back to normal. Take care, Sue

[daisychook]

Kirsty

Sorry, in my panic about my own chook, your inital post passed me by!

My Marge was v poorly, and I spoke to the vet, who suggested trying anything to get her to eat. So taking him to his word, I actually gave her baby food (apricot and plum compote to be precise!) she 'pecked' at it, but to give her a fighting chance of surviving I reasoned that she had to eat to have the strength to fight off whatever was wrong with her. There will be those who will perhaps disagree with me, but as far as I am concerned, I think it helped her - in the end I syringed it down her throat, (under her tongue so no choking incidents!), then syringed water down her to keep her hydrated.

This definitely helped I believe, and I suppose baby food will be v concentrated in vitamins etc etc. Obviously a week later she is now back on her layers, corn, brocolli and my failed cabbages etc etc, but I am sure it helped.

This may be irrelevant now, and I hope you chook is getting better, but just thought I would share my experience.

[kirsty b]

Thanks for all the replies guys.
My lovely little hen has been recovering well, eating an scratching and generally behaving how a chook should. Until a fox got in last night.
One Rhodie is dead, along with Shelly (mrs pepperpot), Chucky (ginger ranger) and one of the warrens. One Rhodie and a warren are in severe shock (they look as though they have been mauled a bit, but no actual wounds that I could see) and I don't know if they are going to survive the night or not. Two warrens are ok, one was in the bit I had isolated and another flown in in fright to join her thus keeping them both safe from Mr b@st@rd fox.
They are all a bit subdued, but I have tucked them up warm, and will see how things are in the morning.
Phoned vet, but he was really busy in consultations and has not called back yet. Will probably go down there tomorrow am.
Steve has done a sterling job making the run more like Fort Knox than a hen house, but if it helps safeguard my survivors then its worth it.

They say bad things happen in threes... fire, poorly chook, fox. Really hope thats it now.

Thanks for listening
Kirsty

[Sue]

Oh, Kirsty, what can I say, how devastating for you, we all live in dread of foxes getting in. I hope the others survive.
best wishes
Sue

[daisychook]

I echo what Sue has just said.

Thinking of you, its very sad to read your post. I was only saying earlier to my OH how everyone really seem to care about their chooks on this forum (not that others dont, - you know what I mean!!!), its so sad to hear this happening.

We live in the city but with woodland behind the houses and a big open park, so we can never be sure its safe, although we do let ours out in their run, they love it so much.

Hope your chooks that are left will be OK. Thinking of them (and you!)

Daisy x

[kirsty b]

I have now brought two worst affected chooks home. They are tucked up in the downstairs loo. I'll be amazed (and pleased) if the warren makes it through the night, but am cautiously hopeful for Rhodie who is more alert.
Just re-reading yoanbob's fox attack thread to get a few tips on how to help them through the next few days, most likely starting with a visit to my vet so he can look them over and assess their chances.

Your kind words mean a lot, nice to talk to peeps who have been through it too
Kirsty

[Headfry]

I too am so sorry to hear of your hen problems.
Big hugs for you all.....yes hens too!
HF xx

[kirsty b]

Warren and Rhodie have both made it through the night. Still tucked up downstairs and thats where I plan for them to stay until I know for sure which way things are going to go. Both look slightly better, Rhodie has tried to stand and Warren has manged to lift her head a couple of times.
I'm going to try to give them some water, via syringe if necessary to try to combat dehydration.

In the meantime, the run is going to get a really good tidy up, grass seed down on half of it and new bark chippings on the other. Have been told by a fellow plotholder that some ex-battery girls are up for re-homing in a fortnight, so may have a few of those. 2 weeks give us time to give our survivors some serious TLC and build them up, also to build a better house instead of the temp job I built after the fire.

Kirsty

[Jardiniere]

I only had three chickens given as a gift....one died recently and then another showed the same symptoms - dirty vent ...loss of appetite etc etc ...looked it up in my book"Teach yourself keeping poultry" and decided it was Coccidiosis . went to the vet and told them this is what i thought it was and they sold me over the counter some Amidurene (grave accent on the e)
which is made of sulfadimethoxine.
Gave it to both birds in their water for 8 days - ill one cured , non ill one now immune hopefully.
couldnt eat the eggs for best part of three weeks but only one lays and then only about twice, maybe three times a week.
am buying new hens soon - will keep the old ones as pets.as they were a gift i dont feel i could kill them!couldnt kill them full stop.

[kirsty b]

Chook on anti-b's never had loss of appetite. Vet gave me Baytril to give her. Gave her a bath and that took the smell away and she seemed to be doing really well until the fox attack. I fear that the stress of this could set her right back again, as well as having the other two lodging in my downstairs loo till they are strong enough to go back to the run.
Rhodie doing well, has eaten today, some marmite on bread and has started to drink. Will see how she is doing at the end of the week.
Warren in worse shape but has started to take sips of water and stand on her own. Can lift her neck, but not her head. Her recovery is going to take longer. Licked a tiny bit of marmite from the bread so I feel she is trying her hardest to survive this, will just have to take each day as it comes.

[daisychook]

Hi Kirsty, thinking of you.
The baby food is worth consdering syringing, just to get some nourishment down them - give them something to fight with!!!
IMHO our Marge got through partially because I did syringe her with water, to keep her hydrated, I am sure it helped.
Fingers crossed you see them tucking into food and water soon!!!

(at times like this you dont care what they eat as long as they eat/drink something!!!)

Daisy