Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[MedusA]

Scully, my eldest and original Omlet girl is really off colour at the moment. All the others seem fine. All my girls are due to be wormed later this month.

 

She seemed right as rain 2 days ago, but yesterday morning she was not her usual busy self. She was hunched and standing alone. Having regretted delays in taking a sick hen to the vet previously, we took her to the vet.

 

The vet said she hadn't got a temperature, wasn't sneezy, her crop was OK and she couldn't feel an egg anywhere in the system. Her weight was fine. She didn't think it was worms as her condition is really good other than being poorly right now. She gave her a shot of Metacam and said to bring her back in a few days if she doesn't improve. Her only real symptom is watery poo.

 

We've isolated her and brought her into the house to keep her warm and are giving her Avipro, Citricidal and a bit of TLC. Her appetite isn't great, but she is tempted by treats (spaghetti, rice, mealworms).

 

Any suggestions please? I want my bossy hen back.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Guest

[chelsea]

Sorry to hear she is under the weather.

 

Sounds like you've done everything right and everything you could do.

 

Maybe she's coming into a moult.... my girls are very quiet and inactive at the moment (combination of cold weather, moulting etc).

 

The avipro will certainly help perk her up, other than that I cant think what on earth it could be.

[Egluntyne]

I'd worm her anyway tbh.

[Pikey]

I agree with Egluntyne and worm her again...I've been doing mine monthly recently as seem to be really bad at the mo.

 

Also perhaps mix the rice etc with a bit of yougurt and bokashi bran to help her tummy.

 

Hope she gets better soon

[MedusA]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The Metacam perked her up and I thought she was improving, but today she's back to square one, so we're off to see Lesley the Chicken Vet this evening. If she perks up, I will worm her.

 

I've tried her on a "Chicken Pick-me-up" recipe which I found on another forum, but she doesn't seem to like yogurt so that's a no go, sadly.

 

Wish me luck tonight.

[chelsea]

How is Scully today?

[MedusA]

Thanks for asking after her. Sorry for the delay - manic few days!

 

Scully isn't back to herself, but seems brighter. She started on Baytril on Friday, so has had 5 doses now. Her main issue is her appetite, (which is reasonable but not her usual voracious self for treats), but she won't touch pellets, even in porridge form.

 

I took her back outside yesterday, as she'd been inside for 6 days and was getting very socially deprived. I was also anxious about the others possibly rejecting her, if she was out of the picture for too long. She free-ranged a bit on her own and then I let the others out. She immediately put Treacle (2nd in the pecking order) in her place with a peck to the back of the head. After that things were OK as the others left her alone. I was encouraged by that and decided to let her go back in the run and try to get back to her normal habits. I'm worming all seven of them as well, so it's a bit like being back in nursing!

 

She seems OK-ish this morning. I'm hoping she's slowly on the mend and it's just a matter of time before she gets back to her usual feisty self.

[Egluntyne]

Her main issue is her appetite

Baytril does supress the appetite in some hens, so maybe when she has finished the course it will improve.

[chelsea]

Thanks for the update, she must be feeling a tad better if she can boss someone else around!

[MedusA]

Quick update - Scully has now had a week of antibiotics and Flubenvet.

 

She seems to be well on the mend and is now fighting for treats etc. She's still not 100% back to normal, but I'm now feeling confident that whatever she had, she's over the worst. Thank you all for your advice and good wishes.

 

I'm making sure there is plenty of bokashi in the Grubs and Avipro is in the water to perk up her gut flora after the antibiotics.