Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[loumabel]

one of my ex batts Lily has been poorly since tuesday. She was doing the hunchy chicken and not eating, I couldnt get to the vets so gave her a dose of Baytrill and put the snugglesafe in her eglu to keep her warm overnight.

Wednesday still not too good and she had what I think is a lash hanging from her vent with green slime hanging off it I again couldnt get to the vets (long story) but removed the lash and gave her another dose of baytril in the morning and evening and fully expected to find a dead chicken this morning. Today she seems much perkier she is eating and drinking and had some dried meal worms, I have given her another dose of Baytril and will do the same tonight. she has laid an egg every day since we rescued her last August and I know ex batts are prone to these problems. Does anybody know if this means she wont lay anymore? and is it a sign that she is reaching the end of her life. One of my other exbatts laid a lash soon after we got her and i found her dead in the nest box a week later. She is such a sweet girl and i want to do my best for her so any tips would be great!!

Also is it just me that seems to have a poorly chicken all the time?? I am starting to get paranoid!!

Edited February 14, 2012 by Guest

[sandyhas3chucks]

that is the six million dollar question..

Unlike many on here my experience has been that every one that has started to lay meat (bar one) has continued to do so, until I have prevented any more bad eggs are laid.

My girls have the delvosterone injection every 6-8 weeks..

others have them implanted.

Often they can pass them on their own after some days of trying and being unwell.

However in my experience one eventually gets stuck, and starts decomposing in the oviduct, resulting in very ill chicken and death unless your vet can get into the oviduct to remove it and antibiotics are given.

I rather suspect that is what happened to your first loss.

There seems to be various thoughts of what or why these occur but there seems to be no official veterinary explanation.

However some of mine have or are being sent off for laboratory analysis.

To complicate things there do seem to be different types of meat lumps , some that look oval with flesh covering and what looks like mashed cooked liver inside then more commomly, I believe, the sort that there appears to be different layers, some of these have clearly defined soft shells that can be opened up.

My vet thinks they look like dissemminated chick growth not too dissimilar to cancerous growths he has removed from the reproductive tracts of other species.

I no longer take a chance and take action t prevent them laying at onset, rather than lose them as I have done when procrastinated, or delayed a 2nd injection too long.

I will reiterate this is sadly alot of personal experience since I started and there are others that appear to lay thse lumps without problems,but I suspect these are not exbats with worn out knackered little bodies and over worked systems.

[loumabel]

Thanks Sandy for replying , It is good to hear from someone with experience of ex batts, they are different from other normal chickens and have their own set of problems. Lily seems fine now, happily scratching around and doing chickeny things, I just don't know what I should do now. I think I will look into the injection you suggested and see what the vet says. Should I wait and see if she starts laying again or take action right now?

[sandyhas3chucks]

streuth I have enough trouble deciding with my girls, it's a gamble, as I said some carry on as normal afterwards, only the one went back to eggs for a while then after 2 weeks of visiting the nest daily and urgently .. I took her to the vet who said either meat or a cyst and we have injected her too now, and no more nest and smaller bum???

I was caught off guard with one and even the vet thought he had killed her trying to remove a lump (something he is pretty good at)...thought recovery unlikely, she did though and injected her PDQ she laid lumps of meat almost daily for 4 more weeks and happily is fine with ZERO now...

I personally have lost too many now, with these dreadful things and paranoia rules in my house.. (i do know I have lost them with them as the vet always does a pm on them.)

The last one smelt so bad you would not believe!!!!! poor love

mind I had one NOT an exbat but bred the same, that was at the vets weekly removing these things and she died with a tumour on her intestines, he reckoned we could have gone on removing them!

That was pre superlorin implants .. which seem to be favoured by most.

good luck

[loumabel]

Thanks again Sandy, I think I am going to go for the injection and see how she gets on

[sandyhas3chucks]

sometimes, not always it triggers a full moult. seems to be if they are due one anyway. got a non ex bat rescue not injected doing almost the same type of moult ..

[loumabel]

well I went to the vet with Lily today as she had been looking depressed again and had yellow gunge leaking out of her vent which I presume was yolk. He has prescribed a calcium supplement and the usual baytril. I asked him about the injection and he said he wouldnt do that, he said he would consider the superloin implants but he has never been asked to do it on a chicken before. He made me feel a bit silly and he also said he has never heard of the term lashes Is there another term for lashes. I know a lot of people on this forum have had the implants in their chickens so surely its not that unheard of?

[sandyhas3chucks]

there is no Veterinary term for a lash it seems, well I have never found one and 3 vets not known the term.

I had the same response from one vet, but have found others that will happily do both.

Personally I would ring around and ask others if they do it, have done, and costs as this does vary, some will want a GA others just pop it in.

I would def prefer a Vet that knew where they were going to put it too, There seem to be 2 preferred sites (superlorin)

At least if there is yolk coming out then she is creating real eggs not lumps of meat. HTH.

Happy to chat if you want my number pm me.