What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[chickiepiggies]

i have treated Baby my ex-bat for lice cleaned there house etc but she is still quite and a bit slow, she wont eat her food but still enjoys treats, not seen her drink much water and poo's are a bit white-ish and watery,

 

her tail is up and her combe is red, she scratches around but not as interested as the others when they are scratching shes not normally like this she's usually interest like the others. shes 27 months old and has not laid for ages only softys.

 

Could this be from the affects of her having lice? should she become more perky over the next few days?

 

any advice would help thanks

Edited April 11, 2010 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

What did you use to treat the lice?

 

Has she been wormed lately?

[Chucky Mama]

Just be careful that the lice were not a red herring. They do tend to get parasites like this if they are low anyway. I would worm with flubenvet is you haven't within the last 3-4months, check that all of the lice have gone and give her a good general examination.

[chickiepiggies]

they are all being wormed at the moment, and used johnsons mite spray.

 

another thing i have noticed compared to her sister muggles is that her under belly feels larger and quite hard. where muggles feels quite soft and warm.

 

OH half said she ate this morning went straight to her food and she just had her piece of pasta with flubenvet on it. but he did notice her sitting down in the pen which is quite unusual for any of them in the morning. she's still a very heavy chicken and doesnt seem to be loosing weight.

 

at the moment she just stands around pecks a little but is not hunched, she has been off in the past and always shows thats she a little under the weather. could she be hiding a illness.

 

i'm at a bit of a loss.

 

just notice she's doing the thing where they open there beak like she got something stuck like gaging??

[Chucky Mama]

I think that the lice may well have been an opportunist parasite that took hold rather than the cause of her being off colour. I think that she needs to see the vet again to be honest chickenpiggies.

[Egluntyne]

I agree. I'm wondering if she might have peritonitis. Best take her back to the vet.

[chickiepiggies]

just been to vets been given some baytrill and syringe to do it orally will mixing with some yogurt be ok

[Chucky Mama]

Glad to hear there was nothing sinister found. I was wondering about peritonitis too. So lots of TLC over the weekend and crossed fingers that she turns a corner.

[chickiepiggies]

vet gave me 0.2ml to give her for 5-6 days but told me to return if no improvement after 3 days.

 

her underbelly is swollen and she is sitting a lot, slight waddle to her movement and breathing is slightly heavy.

i've been reading some posts on peritonitis if she has got this can it be treated with antibiotics?

 

is there any thing else i can do for her i don't want to cause her lots of stress by keep messing about with her.

 

at the moment she just sits in the garden in the sun she's still eating when i give her food.

 

problem i have with my vets is they arent experts with chickens theres only one vet really that will see them and i think he struggles a little.

[Egluntyne]

TBH I'm wondering why the vet didn't aspirate some of the fluid from her belly, as this is what is causing her the most trouble.

 

If she is still struggling tomorrow, I'd ring and ask about this.

[chelsea]

Did they say if it was sterile peritonitis?

 

If it is sterile, this is the worst time of the year for build up of fluid to be honest. Spring is here and egg laying in full swing so she will be more swollen as the fluid builds up. If she is really swollen and uncomfortable a capable vet could take off some fluid but it will come back and this is also not without risk as the draining of fluid could cause infection.

 

Our vet was against draining as he said Ella wasn't half as bad as some of the hens he had seen. She lived with sterile peritonitis for over 2 years. She had down days but on the whole led a normal chicken life.

 

Having a chat with the vet as Egluntyne suggests may be a good idea.

[Chucky Mama]

 

problem i have with my vets is they arent experts with chickens theres only one vet really that will see them and i think he struggles a little.

 

If there isn't another more knowledgeable vet available to you I would phone ahead and make sure that you either speak to the most knowledgeable vet or get a message to him prior to your consultation letting them know that you suspect she may have peritonitis. This way they can do their research before you arrive. Not ideal I know but this way they will have the time then to gather themselves, do some research and provide the best possible treatment for her.

[chickiepiggies]

Baby seems to be doing a lot better than she was she is still a little slow but i have change there food to mash and she started to eat mash and drinking as normal, she's still not as quick as the others but there is definitely some progress.

 

i gave the last dose of vitamins today but she struggled with me more than usually i hope i didn't hurt her or upset her much, they do struggle when you need to put something in there beak, when i went to give her a stroke she ran away from me

 

her underbelly still seems a little swollen but hasnt got bigger since the weekend.

 

best thing is she's more interested in the food she wasnt eating the pellets before. i'm checking her weight and giving her a once over everyday is there any more i can do?

[gt568]

I presume they no longer lay with this condition?