tinkkletoes Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 i have a 5'ish free range rescue lady who's under the weather. she has runny/watery pooh, but not eating much except a few treats but not hen food. i have been dropping/ syringe feeding poultry power drops in water to keep her hydrated. i have been trying to worm her by mixing the power fluebendazole in with her favourite treats thinking that my be the issue. i have checked for crop issues, its empty. and felt around the back end & its soft & for egg issues internally, and it does not feel that there is an issue there. she squats & looks like she's puffed up, thou she can run when she sees me coming to get some water into her !! i am planning to go to the vets, in the next day or so ( no longer ). but was wondering if anyone has ideas of anything i could try to pep her up. want to fight for her & don't want to give up on her yet, thou this maybe her giving up.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 If she is moulting that would be perfectly normal. They will be rather lethargic and also eat the sheaths from the new feathers which fills them up with almost nothing. The result is just white water. Otherwise is her crop empty? Could be impacted crop or egg bound? Yes, vet is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkkletoes Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 hi, she is due to moult but not started yet. coop totally empty as had a persistent offender in that issue so good at spotting that. egg bound is a worry as stopped laying but she stopped about the same before starting moulting but yes booking vet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 We often find that older hens just stop eating for no particular reason. Happy to peck at bits of grass and catch the occasional bug. We try two things in no particular order. Wet mash made from layers pellets soaked in water or rearers pellets (can also be mashed). Important point is to remove the mash after an hour because it rapidly goes 'off', changes colour as it goes mouldy. Of course hopefully there will be nothing left to remove. We've just had this problem with our Marans. They are both slow moulting anyway but were not pooing anything much. Changed the layers to rearers and they are back to eating for France! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
