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*mummy_hen*

Poorly Chicken

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Would like your thoughts on one of my ex-bats!! For 2 days now she has been puffed up away from the others, sleeping and not moving around much at all. She is eating and drinking albeit slower than usual!! She ate some porridge this morning and whereas it would have been pecked up in seconds on a normal day, she casually ate it over about 15 minutes.

 

she does not appear to have any mites/parasite evidence and her comb is red. Her crop has emptied fine both days running. She also does not appear to be straining to push out an egg either and her abdomen is not swollen or red.

 

I have brought her indoors today for observation and discovered she has done a few runny milky/yellowy poos. It looks like the white part is formed normally but has been mixed with a yellowy fluid too. It is too pale to look like yolk to me though and there is no evidence of blood!!

 

any ideas???

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Not sure from your description, but it could be a soft egg, or runny poo. To be on the safe side, I'd give her just pellets (in a porridge if she likes that) Bokashi Bran, and put some Avipro and ACV in her water. A little live yoghurt wouldn't go amiss either. No treats or veggies, keep her warm and see how she goes.

 

You don't say how long you've had her, but ex-batts can suffer more in the winter, especially the older ones; you should prepare yourself that she may just be 'winding down', although I hope that this isn't the case.

 

Do let us know how you get on.

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Just a couple of other things to consider, if you haven't already:

Has she been wormed? If not, that might be worth a try, with a proper wormer, ie Flubenvet.

Try her with some probiotics - a bit of live yoghurt or some avipro. Bokashi bran in a feed can also firm up poos and help to settle upset guts.

Try bringing her indoors to warm up and feeding her up a bit, plus trying the above two. If these don't work, you may need to consider a vet's opinion.

 

Just realised I've repeated what Claret said! :lol: Hope she does perks up though.

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Thanks, we rescued her in late spring so i guess she is about 2 years old so hope theres a little more in her yet! I tried to bath her anyway to see if it was a softie but she didnt look impressed, rather than squating down she stood there still for the whole duration.

 

i'll try the live yoghurt now and will pick up some worming stuff tomorrow when i get a chance. If the yoghurt works, how quickly will i see an improvement?? i was concidering taking her to the vet tomorrow if she isn't better.

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UPDATE!!

 

Took her to the vet today and he said the outlook is not good. She stopped eating today and the vet said she is very thin. He gave her and anti inflamitory injection and an antibiotic injection and said if she is still alive on friday, he will give her some more.

 

i cant help but think there is more that could be done?? if she isn't eating..... should she not be on a drip or be fed by tube?? i might be being unfair but if it were my dog, i doubt he would have given him 2 injections and told come back friday if he is still alive!!!

 

think i am just bitter as there is nothing i can do but it helps a little to moan!!

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have you tried a warm wet mash? Grapes? oh on another forum pets at home sell this high protein paste for cats & dogs that someone recommended for poorly chooks. If she would eat a little then that would be good, my vet also gave mine a liquid feed, but don't know what was in it.

The vet also thought she would not make it but the anti inflam and anti biot seemed to do the trick along with the warm mash. I liked to use grapes as they have moisture in them too. try all her fav treats mealworm cheese.

Fingers crossed for you, I am sure more advice will be with you soon. good luck.

Is she in the house in the warm?

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UPDATE!!

 

Took her to the vet today and he said the outlook is not good. She stopped eating today and the vet said she is very thin. He gave her and anti inflamitory injection and an antibiotic injection and said if she is still alive on friday, he will give her some more.

 

i cant help but think there is more that could be done?? if she isn't eating..... should she not be on a drip or be fed by tube?? i might be being unfair but if it were my dog, i doubt he would have given him 2 injections and told come back friday if he is still alive!!!

 

think i am just bitter as there is nothing i can do but it helps a little to moan!!

 

hi mummy hen, it's freaky as I was just about to post on the forum as I have a girl who has exactly the same symptoms as your girl.

 

She has stopped drinking and eating on her own completely, won't even touch her favourite treats. For the past couple of weeks i thought it was just the really bad moult she was having.

 

At the moment I am syringing water mixed with oney and avipro into her, but I don't know how long she can survive on that. I am going to take her to the vets tomorrow and if i get any advice that may help you too I will post it here.

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hi mummy hen,

 

I debated on if to post on this thread or not but I said that I would, and you could have read it elsewhere on the forum anyway. My girl did not make it back from the vets today. I hope you girl is feeling much better today and you have better luck. Big hugs xxxxxxxx

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UPDATE!!

 

Took her to the vet today and he said the outlook is not good. She stopped eating today and the vet said she is very thin. He gave her and anti inflamitory injection and an antibiotic injection and said if she is still alive on friday, he will give her some more.

 

i cant help but think there is more that could be done?? if she isn't eating..... should she not be on a drip or be fed by tube?? i might be being unfair but if it were my dog, i doubt he would have given him 2 injections and told come back friday if he is still alive!!!

 

think i am just bitter as there is nothing i can do but it helps a little to moan!!

 

Sorry to hear this.

 

TBH the treatment you suggest is probably not feasable for a hen. As they get older they often succumb to tumours and the like and if this is what is causing her symptoms, ( and it might not be) then it wouldn't be in her best interests to keep her going that way. She would have no quality of life and the costs would be prohibitive.

 

I hope that the injections she has had will do the trick.

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