dhylis_penny_dolly Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 hello, im not sure if im looking for advice or reassurance but my lovely amber 'dolly' is poorly, we got our girls 1 year ago today and this is the first time weve had a poorly one so im a bit unsure of what im doing. they have a walk in run and when i let the girls out earlier i noticed that dolly was just standing in one place, she perked up slightly when i got the sweetcorn out so i didnt worry too much but later on back in the wir dolly was just stood by the glug with her eyes closed, i let her out on her own so i could check her and noticed yolk all down her leg and on her bottom feathers ive given her a bath, and a whitish slightly rubbery thing started to hang out of her bottom, i managed to gently get it out and she did perk up a little and wandered around the garden for a bit. at bedtime when the others had gone in she just stood at the door not wanted to go in.. although she did eventually. when shes standing she all fluffed up. after drying her after bath she sat on my lap for a while while i stroked her and looked happy and i got a bit teary, as i am now poor dolly, i hope shes ok in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txswanie Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi, I am having exactly the same issues at the moment. Lucy has been laying softies for 2 weeks and the other day there was a pile of what looked like uncooked scrambled egg on the floor and a gloopy string of egg white hanging from her bottom. I have been in two minds as to what to do about this. Some sites say lubricate her vent and see if you can pull out anything and others say don't do this it will make things worse. I think the issue is sharp egg shell lacerating the vent and causing an infection. I think they need to be on antibiotics and calcium suppliment. I hope someone with more knowledge can help. It is a very worrying situation, they just look so fed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I think this is a tricky one as it depends to a degree on how confident you are having a gentle feel. You could use some KY Jelly as lubrication to have a gentle feel to establish whether there is residual shell but if you can you then need to gently lubricate it to see if you can clear it which may be beyond what you are comfortable doing safely. The best thing really is to get them checked by a vet if you are in anyway unsure. They can be supported by ensuring they are eating and drinking. Keeping them clean and 'fly free' is very important if you have the lovely warm weather that many of us have. Balanced calcium supplementation is OK but low calcium is not always the cause of softies and over doing the calcium is not a good thing. Excess calcium is not put to good use and can cause other issues. Zolcal D (recommended dose only - don't just give a dollop!) or crushed baked eggshells are both good. A general tonic such as Lifeguard is good and contains glucosamine which may be beneficial. Good luck with both of your girls. They do look so miserable when they have a softie brewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhylis_penny_dolly Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 thank you for your replies and advice, yesterday dolly had moments of looking better but then straightback to a corner. dolly had poo'd overnight so i took that as a good thing, and i noticed she was drinking water but not bothered with food. well our girls love baked beans so i took some in for them but dolly didnt want to get close to the otehrs so i tempted her with beans on a spoon and she ate some, she had some of her old sparkle back until after when she went back to her corner, a bit later she was scratching around though so i took some grapes and cabbage leaves out, no special treatment tho just threw them in the run... and she was jumping around with the others and even stealing bits off the others today dolly looks her old self again so happy really thought we were going to lose her txswanie i hope your girl recovers as quickly Sarah xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
