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cavysqueak

Urgent help please, drinking too much & unwell

By cavysqueak, in Chicken Clinic

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cavysqueak Chicken Eggspert

cavysqueak

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At the start of October we rehomed three ex-battery hens to add to our flock. For a couple of days I've noticed that one of these ex-batts, Betsie seemed a bit quieter than normal and was stood quietly by herself at some times. So I've been keeping an eye, but she seemed to be eating & drinking.

 

Yesterday afternoon when I let the girls out to FR Betsie came out and then just sat in one place, tail down, looking 'down in the beak' as my family describe it. So I picked her up - she came with less fuss than normal - and sat her with a hot water bottle beside her for about 15 minutes. She didn't seem to perk up afterwards, but it was almost bedtime so I decided to let her sleep with the others rather than stress her out further.

 

This morning she took a couple of bits of sweetcorn and then went to the water glug, drank some water and then just stood there, even with mealworms around to eat. So I've brought her inside. She's sat on me & a hot water bottle and gone to sleep for over an hour - with a break for a couple of mealworms and a poo inside the box. When she went back into the box and she just drank and drank and drank, to the point where she was bringing up a mucus / water mix! When I picked her out she'd filled her crop with water. So I confiscated the water and she's had a few more mealworms and is now sat down in the box.

 

Can chickens have diabetes? She was frantically trying to drink more water even as I confiscated it, which is rather odd. Has anyone else had a chicken with any similar issues?

 

I think it may be a trip to the vets, but I thought I'd ask on here as well just in case. Thanks.

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Egghead68 All Knowing Superchicken

Egghead68

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One cause of drinking too much can be a fungal infection in the crop. If this is the case the vet can prescribe an antifungal such as nystatin. In the meantime you could try giving her some natural yoghurt and, if you have it, a blob of human anti oral thrush cream (daktarin - available over the counter but not licenced for poultry). I expect there are lots of other reasons for drinking excessively but this is the one I've come across the most.

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cavysqueak Chicken Eggspert

cavysqueak

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Unfortunately Betsie was failing from the inside out. I forgot to say on my original post that she had dark red tips to her comb and the comb had not shrunk in the time we had her. The vet thought that the dark red comb which didn't refill very quickly when pressure was applied was an indicator of circulation / heart problems and her excessive drinking was an indicator of renal / kidney failure. We knew what we needed to do and then the vet also pointed out that she wouldn't last the winter. So we had her PTS by the vet.

 

She had just over two months of freedom, talking to mealworms before she ate them and doing aeroplane impressions across the garden! Good luck to the last ex-battery hens being given their freedom soon.

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