My eco solution to rat problems

[MedusA]

My poor little silkie, Muggle is really not herself today. Very quiet and just hanging back and sitting on her own at the back of the run. I've put Avipro in the water and had her out to give her some by syringe to ensure she gets something. She's also eating a little corn from my hand, but not touching the pellets. None of the other girls seem to be affected.

 

Any suggestions?

Edited July 16, 2008 by Guest

[chelsea]

soft shelled egg on the way?

 

has she been wormed recently?

 

Have you checked for lice/beasties on her?

 

if you've done the above, then im not sure what it could be. Hopefully its just an "off day". Avipro is very good so should help. Let us know how she goes.

[MedusA]

Thanks, chelsea.

 

I think the most likely candidate is a softie, but when one of my other hens laid a softie, she was only out of sorts for a few hours before. Muggle's still the same this morning. Sort of "switched off". She'll drink a few mouthfuls if we put her head down to water (and Avipro) and will eat a few mealworms/corn/bits of grape from our hands, but will not seek out food and drink herself. We had to put her to bed in the eglu last night and get her out this morning, which is so unlike her. She is normally a boisterous active hen. Always on the go.

 

I've dosed her with Ivermectin spot-on which the vet gave us previously, just in case of worms or parasites. Also gave her Flubenvet already. Her crop seems fine and I can't feel an egg from underneath. We've only had the new babies a week or so, so I had already dosed them a few days ago, in case they bought any beasties with them from the breeder.

 

As a precaution, I've booked Muggle in to see our chook vet this evening. Possibly jumping the gun, but I know, from reading the forum, how quickly they can go downhill if they're not eating/drinking enough.

 

Fingers crossed she's going to be OK. :pray:

[MedusA]

Took Muggle to the brilliant Lesley at 608 Vets in Solihull this evening. She says Muggle has a VERY HIGH temperature and is a "really poorly" chicken. She gave her some Baytril and suggested they keep her in overnight for monitoring by a vet nurse and fluids if needed. We have to phone in the morning and see how she is. I'm desperately praying she's going to recover. She had several grapes just before we left her and was reasonably perky all things considered. I managed to cuddle her before they took her away.

 

Please can I ask everyone to send her some get well vibes?

[lisa33]

Get well vibes on the way to Muggle.

[chelsea]

oh dear, i hope she gets well soon.

 

the grape eating is a good sign.

 

Fingers crossed from me.

[hils78]

Flippin ek. Keep us posted. I am very optomistic these days regarding chickens getting better. Fingers crossed. x

[Seagazer]

Sending lots and lots of positive vibes - I'll keep everything crossed.

[Helen&Lee]

Fingers crossed.

[Egluntyne]

Poor girl. I hope there is good news tomorrow.

[peepie]

sending lots of hugs for you and muggle

[MedusA]

Quick update-

 

After phoning this morning and the vet nurse telling me Muggle's temp was still high , I later had a call from Lesley (the vet) to say that her temp had gone down a bit at lunchtime and she was definitely more perky. Lesley wants to keep her one more night to make sure she really has turned the corner, but as she isn't eating their food, asked if we could take some of her favourite nibbles to tempt her. We took a mixed tub of mealworms, layers'pellets, mixed corn, bokashi and raisins. They let us see Muggle and she does look a bit better, more alert and interested, and definitely felt cooler to the touch. She tucked into our food with gusto, which was very encouraging. We got her to have a drink too, so I feel happier about leaving her there another night. I hardly slept last night, I was so worried. Lesley checked with DEFRA re avian flu, but they said it was highly unlikely to be that. Hopefully it was just a "bug" of some sort. Fingers crossed she's winning the battle. Please keep thinking positive thoughts for her. I dread to think what the vet bill will be though!

 

But she's worth it!

[Steph101]

Hi Medusa

 

Just wondered how Muggle is now? Is she on the mend?

Fingers crossed for you. They're such a worry, aren't they?

[MedusA]

Hi Steph,

 

Thanks for the concern. Sorry, I posted about her homecoming in a new thread in "Chickens" She's definitely much better. We brouht her home on Friday, but she was still rather dozy and quiet so we set up a temporary pen in the spare room. Yesterday, she was much brighter and interested in what was going on so we took her out to the run for about an hour 3 times to get the other girls used to her again. Her best friend, Squib was very pleased to see her. She walked around a bit and snoozed in the sunshine, but was brought back into the house to sleep. This morning, we found her perched on top of the edge of the temporary pen, planning what to do next! She's out in the run having a dustbath as I type, bless her. Much, much better, thanks. I think she's won this one. :D

[Steph101]

Wow, that's fantastic news. Sorry, never spotted the other thread on chickens, and yet I've posted other stuff on there myself.

So glad she's feeling better. Sounds like she's on the mend, anyway.