Chicken boarders

[xScrunchee]

Oh dear, where to start??

 

Well-here goes...........

Brandee is not very well and I have no idea what is wrong with her

 

At first I thought that it was gape worm as she was loosing quite a bit of weight and gaping. She was also shaking her head. I gave flubenvet at double dose for 7 days to all three girls.

 

It did seem to be doing some good after about 2 days as the gaping stopped.

It then seemed that she had an impacted crop as it was large and firm and was not emptying properly overnight. I then gave regular crop massages, olive oil and maggots. This seemed to help-for a while at least!

 

Her crop now appears to be ok but she has not laid for nearly a week and yesterday I gave her 2 warm baths in case she had an egg stuck but this did not help!!!

She is loosing even more weight and is painfully thin but she is still eating. She keeps standing or sitting by herself and she is blinking a lot and closing her eyes.

Her tail is now down pretty much all of the time and she just looks really fed up.

This evening the head shaking is very frequent but she is not gaping at all.

 

What am I missing?? Is it something obvious?

I am going to have to ring the vet tomorrow but our nearest poultry vet is a 45 minute drive away which is going to cause her alot of stress so if there is anything at all that I can do for her I will.

I do not consider myself to be a complete dimwit but I have no idea what is wrong. There has been no coughing or sneezing, no discharge, cannot see a stuck egg and she has not really been straining, no swelling anywhere.

 

Hoping someone can help

[Lesley-Jean]

She's not a happy chook I presume you've checked for head lice particularly around the ears.

 

It's very difficult to know what's wrong with her without seeing her so I think the best thing would be to take her to a vet. Is there not a closer vet who might know a bit about birds

[xScrunchee]

Yes, I have checked her all over for lice and their Eglu has no sign of mites

 

I think that I will try ringing around today to see if I can find a closer vet but as far as I know (or have been told) there are no vets in this area that treat poultry and I really am concerned that such a long drive is not going to help her

I felt a bit hopeful this morning when I let them out as she seemed quite a bit perkier but now she is looking sad again.

[theherd123]

Oh dear im so sorry to read about Brandee.

 

It does seem like you have tried to rule everything out and a trip to the vet maybe the next step.

 

The shaking of the head could indicate and ear infection

How is her balance?

 

It could be a low grade niggling infection of some sort and a course of antibiotics will help get her back on her feet.

 

Even though she is eating it may help to mix up some sloppy porridge with poultry spice and avipro as she does seem quite run down. The water content will help keep her hydrated too.

 

Do keep us updated on her progress.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Sorry to hear about poor Brandee . I hope you can find someone nearby who can help diagnose what's wrong.

[Karen & co.]

Sorry to here Brandee is unwell I hope you can get a vet closer to home for her, as it sounds like you have done everything for her, hope she picks up soon.

 

Karen x

[Egluntyne]

Three of my hens were droopy and miserable a while back, one particularly so.

 

In addition to the symptoms you describe, they also had black scabby lesions on their wattles and combs.

 

The vet said it was fowl pox and that there was no specific treatment.

 

Have you checked her wattles and comb?

 

Just a thought.

[xScrunchee]

No black on the comb or wattles. Her comb is a little pale but is still firm and upright.

However-the tiny feathers around her earlobes (Not the feathers covering her actual ears) seem to be a bit fluffed out-no idea if that means anything atall??

 

The head shaking is not the same as when she eats something she doesn't like-it's more like little fast shakes. She does this even when her eyes are closed but I have looked into her ears and there is no crust, discharge, pests etc.

 

Really am at a complete loss-it seems that she just has so many things wrong all at once. The other two are completely fine although both of them are having a go at Brandee every now and again.

 

Also about 3-4 days ago I saw them all chasing eachother around the run trying to eat what looked like a 'lash' which could have possibly been from Brandee-not 100% sure

[Egluntyne]

Let's hope the vet can sort her out quickly for you.

[slip and pitch]

I know it'll be quite a journey for you but there's a vet at my local practice here in Braintree who is fantastic. He has had hens of his own for years too. Maybe if you felt the journey was too far from Dagenham,you might be able to talk to him for some information to pass on to someone nearer. His name is Robin Crighton and he's based at "The Veterinary Practice",Millenium Way,Braintree,Essex. 01376 528021. Hope you manage to get the help you need x

[LJ's Chooks]

I Know this is a stupid thought, but is she drinking. We've had a chook witht he shakes and one night i got home and she let me pick her up, could hardly walk and kept closing her eyes, stopped laying etc. sounds a bit similar...?

 

I think what was happening is that she simply wasn't drinking... I dont think she liked the super glug at all would tap it but i dont think she was drinking properly, and had survived on rain water etc which of course we've not had for a few days. I put a tub of water down and she just guzzled. by the next morning she seemed much stronger. We're on day 3 now and she is drinking much more and eating much better. We've replaced all the super glugs with normal drinkers and supplementory tubs of stones and water and she seems to be much better... fingers crossed, I'm sure she's not out of the woods yet but definitely better than she was.

 

how stupid did i feel!!

 

 

It has been really hot, could she just need water?

[xScrunchee]

Thanks for all the helpful comments but we have good news

 

Brandee has really perked up

Her tail is up, her comb is redder (although not 'red' at the mo)

She is eating and drinking more and just seems much happier. She hasn't laid yet but her crop seems to be emptying and filling perfectly.

 

Good suggestion about the water as I hadn't really seen her drinking for a few days but they have two extra large bunny bottles (1.1 litre each bottle) and a full glug so if she had wanted it-she could have got to it easily. I did see her drinking yesterday so that was a relief too.

 

Not wanting to 'count my chickens' so to speak but there is definitely a massive improvement-thank goodness

 

Hopefully she will continue improving and be back to her old self very soon

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's great news . I'm so pleased to hear Brandee's on the mend . What a relief for you!

[Egluntyne]

That is good news.