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

[rachel m]

Hello everybody,

 

Sorry it's been so long since visiting the forum and that I've come back on specifically with a health problem but we really could so do with some advice!

 

Our hen Delia stopped laying eggs about 4 months ago after laying ever-increasing soft and mis-shapen eggs. We were quite happy that she stopped because we thought the repeated broken eggs would be stressful for her. We wondered if the condition was "egg-drop syndrome?"

 

She went through a molt a few weeks ago and now has lovely new feathers. On the weekend she started to show signs of being poorly (off her food, standing around slightly hunched lots and closing her eyes). The most striking symptom was white and watery (with green/brown bits) droppings. We known that green droppings implies bile therefore poor digestion but we don't know why?

 

We have started her on a course of Flubenvet worming treatment as a precaution (both our hens get a 6 monthly worming treatment anyway).

 

She still digs and scratches and has slowly shown signs of improvement (although drinks more than she eats and is slightly underweight compared to Nigella) but those green/white droppings are STILL there!

 

We read things and fear "egg peritonitis" and know this condition is often fatal, however apparently "hot legs" is an indicator and she does not have this (besides she is not deteriorating (but slow to improve),

 

We are still concerned about her and would welcome any advice you experts might have.

 

Yours gratefully

[Guest]

does her underside feel/look swollen and/or warm? Is she walking a bit like John Wayne? If so then it could be peritonitis. A course of baytril from the vet should sort it out but once they get it, it's likely to reoccur but she could have several more months of a happy life if you treat it, it's up to you whether to treat it or not. We always have.

 

I think you need to take her to the vet really.

[rachel m]

Have felt her tummy and it's not warm or swollen (felt soft and spongy and she didn't complain at all). As far as the "John Wayne" swagger , she could have been described as walking bit like that a couple of days ago, but now she is much quicker on her feet!

[Guest]

I'd take her to the vet.

[Plum]

The poo you describe could just be from drinking a lot or eating lettuce or veg, that makes it loose and can be water with lumps in, green and brown. The white is urates which is normal unless its foamy. There could be a reason for her drinking a lot.

My first thought was she could be getting a softie again which makes them stand around hunched as you know but you say she's picking up again and I would give her a tonic like poultry spice to pick up after a moult.

 

Like Poet says I think I would get her checked out at the vet if she is still unwell and take a poo with you especially as you say she has lost weight.

[Three Wise Hens]

One of my hens recently showed similar symptoms to yours: soft eggs, then no eggs, weight loss, moulting and watery poo with bright green bits in, and a bit hunched, sitting down with eyes closed. I too wormed her with Flubenvet and she did perk up a little bit and poo returned to a more usual form, but then she laid a weird "lash" eggy thing (see post further down in this section "Strange lays - pics of lash).

 

After laying that, she has been fine, but no eggs yet as she's still growing her new feathers. Could be that your hen is brewing up a strange egg...

 

I've given her fishy catfood and leftover fish, boiled eggs and crushed up baked eggshells, which she devours, to replace protein from feather-growing, and she seems to have regained a decent appetite.

 

Three Wise Hens

[rachel m]

have managed to get home a little earlier this afternoon and watched them in the garden for an hour or two. delia is running about as much as nigella, especially when i came out with the grapes with flubenvet on. have separated them when dishing out these to make sure delia gets her dose before greedy nigella devours everything in sight!

 

she seems to have eaten a little more this afternoon, and i have been holding back on the extras and treats in the hope that she will eat more of the pellets and get the nutrition she needs.

 

poos have been less watery overnight and this afternoon too very dark brown and slmost solid, rather than green

 

fingers and toes crossed that things will continue to look up, but if any deterioration then we will find a vet (does anyone know of a good chicken vet around the south coast hants/sussex border area?)

 

thanks for all your help so far, very much appreciated, will keep you posted

[Guest]

glad to hear she's improving. I've read that worms make them eat more (not less) as they need to compensate for the nutrition sapped by the parasites, but I'm not a vet. Hope she carries on improving.

 

Can't help with the vets but I used yell.com and a cple of phone calls to find a chicken vet near me.

[rachel m]

More good news for yesterday and today - Delia is continually improving and is now producing poos that are starting to resemble "normality" (still some occasional watery ones but most importantly NO green colouration)!!! She still feels lighter than Nigella (but Nigella is the most greedy chicken this world has seen)!!!

 

We gave Delia a a "bottom bath" yesterday with warm water (as all those white urates had stuck to her feathers from the past few days) and she seemed to really enjoy the attention! The best thing we have learned from all this is that if you catch her and put her up on the patio table to examine her she goe into a trace-like state, she becomes the most submissive chicken you have ever seen (like she knows that we are trying to help her)!!!

 

She is running around, stratching, digging and pecking away at the grass on the lawn just as usual now and most importantly holding her head up high and staying alert!

[clucky h]

That's great news - it sounds as if she's on the way to recovery. Well done you and Delia!

[Plum]

Yes sounds like she has turned the corner. Good news, well done.

[rachel m]

Hello again!

 

The past week we have seen Delia pretty much back to herself (although her poos are still quite watery but has "normal" contents). Last weekend she was a little under-weight (compared to Nigella) but all this week has eaten grass and vegetables when we have them running around in the garden BUT seems not to touch the layers pellets in the run?

 

I picked her up this evening and think she is actually lighter than last weekend (she had food in her crop but much less than Nigella's crop). A few feathers are coming out of Delia but her moult was several weeks ago - is this now due to her weight loss?

 

As Delia is not laying (and has not for several months, could the layers pellets do her harm in the long-term? It would be hard to give them each a different diet as they do everything together!

 

They have now both been wormed again with flubenvet.

[Plum]

She'll be fine on layers. Guess if it was worms she'll take a while to put weight back on. I would weigh her and then check in a week again.

[Egluntyne]

It might be worth confining her to the run with only pellets to eat for a day or two, to get her back into the habit of eating them.

[rachel m]

we bought a small bag of layers mash today and they have been enjoying that. perhaps they don't realise that it virtually the same food!

 

we had a chat with a chicken pro at the animal feed shop and she thought it could be coccidiosis, so we went to another animal feed place to buy the treatment that was suggested and they thought it sounded more like a kidney problem and suggested a vitamin treament! may take her back there for them to see her is she is not imprving with this in a few days.

 

fingers crossed