4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[emmaw298]

a few months ago I posted about gertrude not being very well and took her to the vets who diagnosed kidney failure following xrays, blood tests and sending off dropping samples. the vet said she would survive a few more weeks but to bring her back when showing signs of needing to be PTS. i thought there must be something from a dietary point of view that may ease her symptoms and buy her some time. as a registered dietitian I know the importance of dietary management of humans with renal failure. so I searched and searched on the internet and came across some interesting things. one person I think on this forum, had found lash a few weeks after worming and wondered in the 2 were linked. someone else suggested that rarely but possible, renal failure can be caused by a pH imbalance in the crop which could be caused by worming. they suggested bokashi bran/live yoghurt to rebalance the pH. I also read on here someone suggested weetabix for renal failure, which would make sense as it is low in protein and would relieve pressure on the kidneys filtering the by products of protein breakdown, (though not sure chickens ingest much protein anyway in pellets/mash..?)

 

series of events as follows:

oct 08 wormed with double dose flubenvet as gape suspected

end of oct 08 lash found in eglu

nov 08 massive weight loss (virtually skin and bone), huge moult, ongoing watery diarrhoea and stopped laying. diagnosed renal failure and given weeks to live

dec 08 started daily feed of weetabix, bokashi bran and live yoghurt

feb 09 regained nearly all weight, all feathers grown back and laying again!!! one happy healthy hen!!

 

so have we discovered a miracle cure or was it just coincidence that she spontaneously recovered anyway?

thought good to share incase anyone else experiences similar problems

 

ps - as I can't be sure if the flubenvet caused the lash and then kidney failure I will continue to use it as we can be sure that flubenvet is an effective de-wormer so all the evidence suggests the pros outweigh the potential cons for now.

[Egluntyne]

Flubenvet, if not administered according to the manufacturers instructions , can give hens a bit of diarrhoea.

 

I've not heard of it causing renal failure. Have you contacted the manufacturer?

 

I daresay a lighter diet, not designed for optimum egg production, would have allowed the hen's system to rest and recover from whatever ailed her.

[..lay a little egg for me]

Have you seen this thread? http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36025&hilit=weetabix in with sandyhas3chooks describes a hen in a similar situation cured with weetabix.

 

I did some searching and found some info on the web suggesting that too much calcium in the diet of non-laying hens can cause kidney failure and also that foods with high magnesium content (e.g. weetabix) can counteract the effects of too high calcium.

[moochoo]

Glad to hear she's back in full laying action. Bless her, I definitely saw an improvement in just a week on her holiday with us. Whatever it is that's helped her is fantastic.

[chelsea]

sounds like a miracle to me bless her, well done you for perservering and giving her a chance.

 

Fingers crossed she comes along leaps and bounds.

[Lizzie]

Hi

I think Barbara has kidney problems so will give her weetabix this evening

Do you give this every day at the end of the day in addition to their normal food or at the beginning to ensure she eats ?

 

Many thanks

regards

Liz