Poorly chicken

[Seagazer]

I have Butch in my kitchen at the moment. She's been moulting (great timing) for the last couple of weeks so has been a bit off colour anyway. She's got a sqwack (sp?) that sounds quite croupy if you know what I mean. She's gasping for air poor thing and has a runny nose.

 

I'm taking her to the vets at 11.20 so keep fingers crossed for me.

[beach chick]

everything crossed, lucky you could get her seen so quickly.

[Seagazer]

Thanks. She's had a jab of something and I've got some Baytril tablets to attempt to get down her throat. She's currently in a puppy crate in the dining room. She perked up a bit when we got home and started eating but she's still gasping for air.

 

The vet thinks at best its a chest infection but that it doesn't look good.

 

I find it really upsetting watching her trying to breathe.

[beach chick]

oh poor her, and poor you. maybe the tablets could be more easily administered if you crushed them up with a little water, and then you could syringe/dropper them in?

in the meantime, I guess all you can do is keep her warm, quiet and hydrated. fingers crossed.

[Plum]

Sorry to hear it Ann hope she picks up. I've had liquid before, don't know how you'd get a tablet down

[Egghead68]

You could try putting the tablet in a grape and a bit of olbas oil dotted around the room or some time in a steamy bathroom might help ease her breathing. It is really distressing, isn't it. I hope she picks up soon.

[Seagazer]

Thanks for the good suggestions. My vet said that he thought the tablets were better, they are quite small. They've not had chickens in before. Not quite sure what he thought.

 

It is very distressing but she seems a bit calmer tonight and is standing up where she'd been laying down the rest of the afternoon.

 

I hope she's better in the morning. She's currently in the utility room. I'm a bit unsure really how long to leave her inside. Because she'd been moulting the others had been picking on her a bit so I don't want them all to gang up on her when she goes back out. She's almost fully feathered up now.

[beach chick]

how's she doing this morning?

[Seagazer]

She seems a bit brighter but still doing the exaggerated breathing through her mouth. I've put her back outside this morning. Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not but was worried about keeping her separate for too long.

 

She took the tablet in a half of grape this morning.

 

I feel like she's lost so much weight in this last week that she must be really ill. She looks pathetic against the other girls now and she was alway the biggest (until I got the 2 new ones earlier this year - they are huge) and bolshiest hence the name. I don't know, I've had sick cats and dogs but she's really made me quite upset. I suppose because she lives outside and its cold and the other chickens always pick on the weakest.

 

Sorry moan over

 

(I had a close call with a huge lorry this morning so think its just made me a bit weepy)

[beach chick]

how's she doing with the others? Ditto picked right up when I put her back with my lot, it was like she remembered she was a chicken again.

if you are worried you could always bring her in again overnight, or make sure she goes to bed with the others to keep warm.

glad you survived the lorry - scary business.

[Seagazer]

Thanks Beach Chick she seems a lot brighter out there this afternoon. I've just been out to give her a tablet and her breathing seems to be more normal. Phew! This is the first time I've had a sick chicken, I need to firm up!!

 

I think my guardian angel was looking after me today re the lorry so perhaps they've helped Butch as well

[Reikiranf]

Glad to hear that Butch is improving & that your guardian angel is doing bogofs! We love a bogof don't we!

[Seagazer]

I do like a bargain

[Steve the Gas]

If you mix with the others, it will spread....

[beach chick]

if she was with the others before symptoms showed, either they will already be incubating, or she is not infectious...

hopefully the latter - my vet said Ditto wasnt infectious, hence she went back with the others.

[Seagazer]

The others are all fit and healthy so hopefully won't be coming down with it. I've nowhere else to keep her anyway apart from the run or indoors.

[chick wiggle]

How was she today? Is she with the others tonight? I hope she gets better soon, Baytrill is magical stuff so lets hope it works its magic on Butch

What happened with the lorry? sounds very scary

[Seagazer]

Butch appears to be much better today thank you. The exaggerated breathing is looking less extreme so hopefully she will carry on with the good recovery. She is back in with the others.

 

The lorry thing happened as I approached a roundabout just up the road from me. I was the only car at the roundabout and I was just about to go right round the roundabout (there is a blind corner between the road I was on and the road on the right of me - if that makes sense) for some reason I hesitated from going when all of a sudden a huge lorry went thundering across the roundabout from my right. It was one of those big lorries with the claw thing to lift stuff into the dumper part. He didn't stop at the roundabout at all but just literally thundered through. I was angry then, I swore and shouted (I was alone in the car) but later I felt really shocked as if I hadn't hesitated for that split second I would have been directly in his path and even though I have a volvo and its very safe, he would have driven straight into the side of me. It made me feel very weepy. I definitely feel as though I had a guardian angel sitting on my shoulder telling me not to move yet.

 

Anyway I've got over it and I'm going to email the council to see if there is anything they can do as we always see cars not stop at this junction, for some reason they think they can automatically drive through it even though its a roundabout.

 

Little rant over.

 

Edited to add: its a mini roundabout.

[chick wiggle]

Oh thats good news, im so glad Butch is feeling better

You'll have to give me the post code for the roundabout so i can see cos i dont get it Im a numpty

But im glad your safe anyway

[Seagazer]

Thank you Sandie.

[Seagazer]

Well poor Butch is still not well. She's finished the antibiotics this morning but is still doing the funny breathing and has a pale comb.

 

I've had her indoors since yesterday morning as we had really cold fog here yesterday. I just took her outside to see the others whilst I cleaned out the run and she just stood still, all puffed up. She didn't seem to want to interact with the other girls. I've brought her back indoors. She's drinking but not eating much.

 

I will see how she is tomorrow morning and if there is no improvement then I'll have to take her back to the vets.

[beach chick]

if you phone the vet they might prescribe another course of antibs without seeing her... hope she pulls through!

[Seagazer]

I took her up and they've given her another course of baytril. We'll see how she goes. I've had to put her outside again. OH getting humpy having a chicken in the dining room.

[Plum]

Probably good for her to have company may buck her up a bit, he'll soften if it gets cold.

[Seagazer]

YS said to me this morning that Butch looked awful and the others were picking on her. I saw that she was much worse than yesterday.

 

Picked her up to put her in the basket when she seemed to pass out. I laid her on the floor and she came too a bit. In the car on the way to the vets she had a massive fit of some kind and died. I don't know how I didn't crash the car. The vet confirmed that she had died. It was so traumatic, I never want to go through that again. I really wish that I'd had her put to sleep yesterday but you always think they will recover and keep going.