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[Lorraine]

Hi all,

 

new to this forum and first post is for help. Bertha is not well and hasn't been well for a while. She's been to the vet twice and has had antibiotics once and then all six hens have had Baytril in their water. Basically Bertha seems very listless and uninterested in anything, is hunched up, isn't eating very much at all, seems to have an empty crop - you can really feel the breastbone. She wanders around a bit and then stops, closes her eyes or just stands there looking lost. She is eating woodlice but only for so long. Seems to be pecking at grass but not getting much and almost seems interested in food but just doesn't both eating anything. She's had a bit of water but it's not enough to keep her going. Poos vary but there have been some very runny brown ones recently but not sure if from her or one of the others. She's also very mucky round her back end with lots of dried muck on her feathers. She did have a period when she was lively and running round, full of beans but now we're back to square one.

 

She's off to the vet on Friday unless things take a turn for the worse but just wondered if anyone had suggestions on what else I might do. We've had a fair few soft shelled eggs over the past few weeks but that's from a few of them so I'm going to up their calcium. But the other girls are fine (fingers crossed0 and eating like horses. Very worried as she lost weight between vet visits and he feels if she loses more then we need to decide on her quality of life. Nearly had them all for one year from the BHWT and it seems unfair she may not make it.

 

Sorry for the essay but everyone out there seems to have so much good advice that I'm hoping to get help.

 

Lorraine

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Hi Lorraine,

 

Sorry to hear about Bertha. I did a dash to the vets with Daphne yesterday for almost exactly the same reasons. She was listless and motionless, drinking water but hadn't eaten in three days.

 

He said it was a worm problem - the dose of wormer he gave her has really perked her up in 24 hours and she is eating and active again. I had been worming with Verm-ex but sadly it didn't seem to have worked for us.

If Bertha has been wormed then I may not be much help, but it sounds exactly like our Daph.

 

Fingers crossed.

[Lorraine]

That's interesting as we've been using VermX too and wondered if that might be the problem but the vet didn't think so. Do you know what wormer your vet gave Daphne as I'd like to see if he thinks it would be worth trying Bertha on the same?

 

Forgot to say in my first post that her temperature on her two visits was 106.5 then 107. She was definitely running a temperature then but not sure about now - but likely it will be the same.

 

Lorraine

[Cazjohn]

We've had our ex-batts for just over a year and have had similar problems with some of ours.

 

Matt Willis (named by niece) had a week of looking so poorly we really thought we would lose her she was losing weight, not eating and fluffed up tried her with all her favorite treats - rice, spaghetti, bread finally dug her up some worms which she gobbled up and then was absolutely fine!

 

Pepperoni who had sour crop we syringe fed for nearly two weeks and is now fine.

 

We also use Vermx and had some fecal samples done recently that showed no worms at all so I'm hoping it's working.

 

The difficulty with ex-batts is that you never know quite how old they are and if they are coming to the end of their natural life.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Sorry no, but he combined two products in a small syringe and administered it orally, gave me a second syringe for Marjorie to bring home. It formed a white suspension.

 

I would guess at proprietary wormers also used for dogs/cats as this is mainly a small animal practice, so more likely Panacur than anything else. I was advised not to eat their eggs for a week so that also makes me suspect Panacur.

 

Whatever it was, it worked - and worming her couldn't do any harm. The fact that she has battled on for a long time could also hint at parasites, although I've no idea if they would cause the high temperature. I agree with Cazjohn about not quite knowing what has happened to hens before they become your hens - mine were barn laying hens and basically healthy and clean - but they look much better now than they did when they arrived- they have feathers and everything!

 

 

[Egluntyne]

Have you checked her feathers?

 

Mites and lice can make them very under the weather.

[Lorraine]

Well, Bertha is still pottering around today. She had a tiny bit of porridge this morning and a few mealworms when I got home. I think she's fine for lice/mites but I'm going to give her a dusting of powder this evening. Also got some limestone flour and cider apple vinegar in the hope they will help. And putting Battle's Poultry Drink in their water too. She doesn't seem interested in worms but woodlice are a different matter so off on a woody hunt too.

 

As you say, no idea about her past but as an ex-batt, who knows how her health will go. I have my fingers crossed she'll be ok but I need to get her to eat more. As the top hen she should be pushing the others around but it's more 'first to bed, last to get up' at the moment.

 

Will keep you posted and will ask the vet about Panacur.

 

Thanks for all the advice.

 

Lorraine

[chanters]

The symptoms you describe sound a bit like it could be peritonitis.

 

I had a hen who went through the same motions as what you describe, dirty bottom, runny poos, listlessness, hunched up, loss of weight and lethargic. She had a history of laying soft-shelled eggs so I suspected it could be peritonitis. Initially she was going through her moult and at first I thought she was having a rough time with that but she failed to improve.

 

After a few weeks of being up and down in health, I contacted the local vet who supplied me with some antibiotics. We completed the first course and still not much improvement so I took her to the vets again and he diagnosed peritonitis, supplied us with Baytril which I think by this time, we'd left it too long and unfortunately she didn't survive.

 

Someone on the forum has recommended Noroclav for treating peritonitis and has had some success, maybe you chould ask your vet if they have any of that?

 

I hope you have more success than me at treating what could possibly be peritonitis. Only your vet will be able to offer a more accurate diagnosis.

 

Hope Bertha picks up and continues to fight!

 

Best wishes,

 

Chantelle

[Gamebird]

I'm new to chicken keeping but from what I've read on this forum, from the more experienced keepers, is that Verm-X is just a deterrent and that Flubenvet is much more effective in treating worms and there is no egg withdrawal period. *See here* for more information.

 

Hope this helps.

[Christian]

It was me that used Noroclav for Babs when she had peritonitus. It worked 3 times but the fourth time we all agreed it was no longer fair on her.

 

It sounds like she has worms to be honest. The breast bone, hunched, runny poos etc. Try her on a dose of Flubenvet. You will see worms in the droppings tray the next day if it is! One of mine had very messy knicker feathers and was hunched. By day 2 of flubenvet she was back to her old self.

 

You must make sure she is drinking enough. Sugary water/water with honey to keep her fluids up.

 

Hope she is better soon and do let us know

[Lorraine]

A sad ending but we had Bertha put to sleep on Friday as the vet felt there was nothing more we could do for her. She hadn't lost any weight, which we initially thought was good news, but it was only because she was filling up with fluid. That was putting pressure on her which meant she couldn't/wouldn't sit down. Also still not eating and listless. It was a hard decision but the vet did an autopsy to ensure she didn't have anything contagious that could affect the other girls. Turns out the fluid was clear so she didn't have any infection but antibiotics wouldn't have helped. She definitely had egg peritonitus and her oviducts were very bad but her organs (kidneys, liver and heart) were all starting to fail so the vet assures us we did the right thing. We'd had a sample of all their dropping checked for worms and they were clear so that definitely wasn't the problem.

 

She went very peacefully and is finally getting some rest. She's being cremated and then we'll bring her ashes home to sprinkle in the garden where she spent so much time. We'd had her nearly one year (20 May would have been her anniversary) and she seems to have enjoyed her freedom with us.

 

The other four all seem ok so fingers crossed they'll continue to thrive. Hubby thinks we may re-home a couple more ex-bats in the future so who knows, a few more names may appear on my signature block.

 

Lorraine

[chelsea]

Im so sorry to hear about Bertha Lorraine.

 

What a touching thing to bring her ashes home and scatter them in the garden though.

[Mrs Frugal]

So sorry Lorraine. It's hard to let them go but it's the kindest thing when they're that poorly. RIP Bertha.

[Gamebird]

So sorry to hear about Bertha.

[Egluntyne]

Sad news.

[lisa33]

Sorry about Bertha

[chanters]

So sorry to hear your very sad news...brings back memories of losing my beautiful Bess to the same thing.