Biker Betty Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have a poorly chook - there's nothing I can out my finger on but she doesn't seem well. And to make matters worse, I am off on holiday in the early hours of tomorrow morning and will be leaving her in my friend's care - my friend is relatively unconfident with the chickens so I don't think she'll be comfortable picking her up too much etc. She has never properly feathered since I got her in September (she's an ex-batt) but all the others are fine. She does seem to be growing some feathers now but with very slow progress. She is the head chicken but at the moment is not her usual bossy self at all - very withdrawn. She has a touch of the runs (but so has at least one other girl) today. She didn't come for food as normal this morning - just drank quite a bit - and then seem very uninterested in the lettuce I was offering her - she went up to it to see what it was and then walked away - she is normally very hasty with the treats. Then she went straight back into the house and sat in the nesting box for the next hour - at which time I had to leave for work. I checked them all over thouroughly on Saturday and could find absolutley nothing wrong with any of them. I'm going to give her some yoghurt tonight to see if that helps - perhaps she has a bit of a belly ache for some reason. I just wondered if anyone else can offer advice for things I can do in one evening before I head off? Thanks Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Whenever I have a squitty hen, I cut out all food apart from pellets and water for a day or two, as veg of any sort can make matters worse. The only addition would be a bit of bokashi bran added to the pellets, and some live probiotic yoghurt after a day or two. That usually settles any funny tums down quite quickly. Have they beem wormed recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker Betty Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 No but there is absolutley no evidence of worms in their poo - I usually keep a close eye for that kind of thing. The only reason I gave her lettuce was to try and tempt her out of the coop to see if she would eat something. Will suggest to my friend that she adds a bit of yoghurt and I have plenty of bran so will mix that in. What about layer's mash - they normally have half and half mash and pellets - do you think it's best just to stick to pellets at the moment? Thanks fo ryour help with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 mine had no signs of worms also. but when I wormed them last year I was shocked at the result. This was also having wormed earlier on in the year. Mine came out in May, & one is only just feathering up now. If you post where you are there may be someone nearby willing to treat a sick chook at your house for you. re the worming that would be dead easy for your friend to do providing sick girl will eat a grape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
