sandyhas3chucks Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 My rescue girl has had the odd sneeze or 2 for some weeks now. She has been Moulting gentlly & now not so gently, but still has lots of feathers. I should have weighed her months ago, but either she has lost weight though not a lot, or it is the feather loss makes her look slimmer. now she is bit sniffly, can't hear rattle. eyes are good and bright & she is happy good bright, eating well drinking well. cheeky, but sometimes does those watery milky like poohs wth bits in, other times lovely firm normal ones, along with the yukky normal ones (not pooh obssesed at all ) (she's the one that does the weird 12 hour lay from timew to time & laid a lash before Christmas & laying ok again. SOOOOOOOOO At what point should I take her to the vet, as it has been a while now. She has citricidal sometimes in the water, none of them like the lifeguard in the water much. Poultry spice now & again & garlic powder the same. Is this fairly normal? no one else is snuffling... yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 She sounds otherwise healthy so I would not worry too much. My girls have been sniffing and sneezing occasionally for several months in the cold weather but are eating and laying fine. I'm gibingACV, echinacea and garlic powder to help. If there is any sign of rattling in the chest or yellow/green mucus or lack of appetite then take her to the vet. I personally prefer to avoid the vet and the drugd they dish out. Just go with your instincts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 if its just sniffles without wheezing/rattling and the hen is still perky & eating and drinking I personally wouldnt go to the vet yet. Keep a close eye on her, as I know you will ....and if she gets worse or doesnt get rid of the sniffles at all then maybe it might be the time to get some antibiotics as if left for a long period of time I would imagine as with us humans eventually it all goes down to on their little chests....(my Sam died of a respiratory infection). There's a lot of the sniffles about though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs AVP Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Not to worry anyone but my hen was still eating and drinking and I wasn't sure whether to take her to the vet or not!! The vet said Hen's hide their illnesses up to 80% so he said that I wouldn't have neccesarily know she was really ill. Hope she gets better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 hmmmmmmmmm?????????? it just seems to be lingering. think make an appointment now for tom as it's Friday. If I do it now I can get a better time too. can always cancel if I change my mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs AVP Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That sounds like a good idea. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Try her on the exclusion diet to firm up her poos Sandy: 1. Dry food only - pellets and NO treats or veggies 2. Add Bokashi bran to the feed 3. Make up porridge with pellets, Bokashi Bran and live yoghurt 4. Add Avipro and ACV to the water Two or three days on this usually sorts out any squitty bums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Try her on the exclusion diet to firm up her poos Sandy: 1. Dry food only - pellets and NO treats or veggies 2. Add Bokashi bran to the feed 3. Make up porridge with pellets, Bokashi Bran and live yoghurt 4. Add Avipro and ACV to the water Two or three days on this usually sorts out any squitty bums. Thanks Claret, no veggies means no free ranging? no grass? Has bokashi.... & yoghurt funnily gives her squits? Am confused over the runny poohs as it is erratic and as she often does totally normal ones .before & after. And fine overnight too. WAS wondering if it is the frozen lolly grass she has been eating , though not affected others. Will add the Avipro to the Water (with citricidal) ? Shall I stop the poultry shield? (which is only a little as they don't much like it?) she has been having extra protein due to her moult, & corn to help keep her warm, as have the others. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Try her on the exclusion diet to firm up her poos Sandy: 1. Dry food only - pellets and NO treats or veggies 2. Add Bokashi bran to the feed 3. Make up porridge with pellets, Bokashi Bran and live yoghurt 4. Add Avipro and ACV to the water Two or three days on this usually sorts out any squitty bums. Thanks Claret, no veggies means no free ranging? no grass? Grass will be fine, just no other green stuff Has bokashi.... & yoghurt funnily gives her squits? Am confused over the runny poohs as it is erratic and as she often does totally normal ones .before & after. And fine overnight too. Could we be talking about the caecal poos here, are they yellow and frothy and every 10th poo or so? WAS wondering if it is the frozen lolly grass she has been eating , though not affected others. Will add the Avipro to the Water (with citricidal) ? That's fine to mix them Shall I stop the poultry shield? (which is only a little as they don't much like it?) she has been having extra protein due to her moult, & corn to help keep her warm, as have the others. ??? Cut out the corn and other stuff, just pellets and Bokashi for a few days - let us know how you get on. I usually do this routine and worm as a precaution and see how it goes. If she still has lots of runny poo, then she needs to go to the vet with a faecal sample if you can get one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 thanks will do. no not caecal poohs. the watery ones, says could be to hot & drinking too much, worms, or was it kidney or liver? not foamy like water with pellets in or milky watery with wet bits pooh in. Not overly worried with all the normal ones as well. OR should I be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 If she is also doing normal poos then I wouldn't worry about it - bear in mind that they scab around for allsorts of disgusting things to eat - they're bound to get dodgy tums every now and then.... eating too many slugs can have the same effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 BINGO! she is the best slugger/snailer out also frogger & mouser! will watch her! more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That couldl be it then Sandy - if they fre range and eat all the rubbish around then they are bound to have any upset tummy every now and then. Perhaps it's best to worm more regularly with a broader spectrum wormer like Panacur 10% (*not licenced for use on poultry in the UK), put Bokashi Bran in their feed as a habit and ACV in the water every time you refill it. That will help to keep the nasties at bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 ta... stopped DI in dry as the powder clouds bothered me, only put in damp food now, & garden dust baths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...