Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Oh dear . I suppose you can take comfort from her not being in any pain but it can't be easy to watch . Best wishes for the next 24 hours . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Oh dear - I've been following this thread and thought you had turned a corner, I will keep my fingers and toes crossed for the next 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I have found out what the white (or lack of colour) on Geraldine's earlobes means and thought I would pass it on as 'useful information'. According to an acquaintance who has hundreds of chickens it is a sign of anemia. The vets had said the blood analysis showed this so it is no surprise. I've noticed for a while that Mash has white patches on her lobes. Anemia is lack of iron isn't it? Has anyone any suggestions what you could give them to remedy it? She's my most prolific egg layer, in March she only had one day off, so I'm always worried she'll wear herself out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Geraldine has rallied a bit today. She's walking around, and has even eaten a little - very different to yesterday. We have decided to crop feed her a little less, in the hope of stimulating her appetite. Trish has also been hand feeding her with bits of moistened bread, in order to get her used swallowing again. It seems to help as she has had a little peck around. We don't know how this will turn out, but it looks like if she does recover it will be a long process. We'll keep you updated of any major changes. PurpleTree - Geraldine had white patches on her lobes anyway - they just got noticeably bigger. As I understand it, the ear lobe patches are an indicator of egg shell colour - hens with white patches lay white eggs, and hens with darker patches will lay darker eggs. I wouldn't assume that you have a problem unless you've noticed a significant difference in the size of the patches, in conjunction with a noticeable change in condition and alertness. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Still thinking of you, big hugs. hope she carries on fighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Well, Geraldine is still going, still wandering around, still pecking, still eating a little, still being crop fed, still having antibiotics and still being given every chance to get through this. We still have everything crossed. Nick & Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 That's good news - sounds a bit more hopeful . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathybc Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 poor you and poor hens. Keeping my fingers crossed for you x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Thank you. We took Geraldine to the Vet today and had a long consultation. Geraldine has been given a vitamin B12 jab to try to stimulate her appetite, and has been placed on a different antibiotic, plus another drug to try to stabilise her liver function. The problem is that an accurate diagnosis can't be made without an internal examination, and that would kill her. So, we carry on as before and hope that she starts eating soon. The senior vet has confirmed that she is in absolutely no pain, and seems very bright, so we will do our best for her and give her every chance to make it through this. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Just seen this thread. My vet said Marmite, for vit b also iron(maybe) Is she drinking?(on her own) Dehydration makes em lethargic. (just a thought,) sounds like you are doing a great job. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Hope that she gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 We have seen Geraldine drinking, although it's a rare event. Her critical care Formula is mixed with water, so she's actually getting more water than she would normally drink. She still looks bright, but is lethargic, and we don't seem to be able to stimulate her appetite enough to get her eating properly on her own. We are continuing to hand-feed her moistened bread, to keep the 'swallowing' muscles active. The new antibiotic and other drugs will hopefully kick in soon, and we'll have to hope that that makes a difference. Nick & Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 The only thing I have to suggest is to take her into the garden on her own I dog up worms for her if that is all she is happy about. I wish you all the luck in the world, know just how you are feeling. Have you tried honey in some luke warm water? Perhaps drip some onto the top of her beak, to start with. hugs Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 UPDATE:- After crop feeding, dosing her with her medications, and hand-feeding bread to Geraldine this morning, we let her free-range in the garden. We shook some bird seed for her to peck at, which she did - but without much enthusiasm. Later on, Trish went out to clean the Eglu, and Victoria and Geraldine followed her up the garden. Victoria was hanging around the compost bin, so Trish opened it up in the hope that Victoria's probing around might stimulate Geraldine. RESULT!! Geraldine had a scratch around for about half an hour, and was eating everything that she could find. So I put a small pile of bird seed down for her, and that was wolfed down too. So we made up a small porridge cake, which was also wolfed down. We then tried her on her favourite Stilton rind, and that was eaten too. So we then tried some dried meal worms - all gratefully received by Geraldine, Since then she has been much more like her old self. She has had a dust bath, been sunbathing, and spent the entire day walking around the garden eating everything in sight. We didn't give her a lunchtime crop feed because we wanted her to eat for herself, and she has done just that. This evening, when we give Geraldine her medications, we will give her a smaller amount of the supplementary feed - depending upon how full her crop is. We are not counting our chickens yet (pun intended) but this is the most positive thing to have happened in the last two weeks. We now have to hope that she carries on feeding herself in the way, so that we can phase out the crop feeding altogether. Fingers crossed for tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 That sounds really hopeful . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 good to hear that she's picked up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Glad to hear the good news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 great what a few wiggling worms can sttimulate, . keeping fingers crossed for you still. hope we get good update later today too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 Today we've had rain, rain and more rain. We kept Geraldine in for the morning and most of the afternoon because we didn't think it would be fair to let her get too wet. She has been eating some of the food that we have been giving her in the run, but she's not as active as she was yesterday - probably due to a lack of stimulation. We have let her out now, and she seems a bit more sprightly, and has eaten some more food, but not as much as we hoped she would. She's had another root around in the compost bin, but the bad weather, and (presumably) all her activity yesterday, seems to have affected her energy levels. We have heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, but it should be dry on Wednesday so we'll try to get her to have another feeding frenzy once the weather has bucked up a bit. In the meantime we'll carry on crop feeding and trying to tempt her with things we know she likes. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Just in case anyone is still interested in this, Geraldine seems to be going from strength to strength, and is behaving like a normal chicken again (i.e. naughty). We'll have to see how she manages in the medium to long term. We'll carry on with the supplementary crop feeding until it's clear that she's putting on weight again, and I suspect that we'll be giving her some form of medication for the foreseeable future. Thanks again for all the messages of support. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidygirlsuk Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Great to hear ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisdog Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 That is great news, well done on your nursing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieadams Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Course we're still interested Glad she's doing well, well done you for all the effort, she's a lucky chook!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 OF COURSE WE ARE STILL INTERSTED. thats good, fingers still crosse plese keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 OF COURSE WE ARE STILL INTERSTED. thats good, fingers still crosse plese keep us posted. Yes yes yes! So please to hear that she has picked up, tlc and patience win again, hopefully she's back on the positive spiral again BeckyBoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
