Eggasperated Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) One of the new girls I got on Monday seems to spend an awful lot of time asleep. She was asleep in the carrier when I got her home and over the past couple of days suddenly seems to settle herself down, put her head under her wing and drop off. This morning she came out of the house, pecked at the grass and then went to sleep,I checked on her a few times over the next couple of hours and she always seemed to be sleeping. I then had a panic and rang the vet, getting the only free appointment with the guy who knows about chickens, for 6.30 this evening. Then I went to look at her again and she was as right as rain pecking in the grass, eating out of the grub and drinking water (to which I have added Lifeguard already). I've been out shopping, come home and checked the girls again and she was still quite active, then while I was with them she settled herself down and went to sleep again. Now I don't know whether to take her to the vets, which may be another upset for her after the move here, or whether to carry on monitoring her. I did wonder if she was a bit younger than the 18 weeks she is supposed to be and if that would account for it? At the moment I can't decide what to do for the best . Edited April 6, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I would still take her to the vet for a check up, especially as it is a Bank Holiday coming up. If the vet finds nothing wrong, it will put your mind at rest, and if there is a problem it is better to get it sorted out before the long weekend. I hope it's nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Going to the vet was definitely the right thing to do, it became apparent while I was in the waiting room that Agnes was struggling to breathe; the vet diagnosed a respiratory infection along with an empty crop and possible obstruction. He recommended she was returned to the supplier and that I should keep a close eye on the other two girls. George Ogilvie was really good, he offered to replace her and to give the other two an antibiotic if I took them back, or to send me the money if I preferred not to drive all that way. I have opted to go back to him so will be making the 110 mile round trip tomorrow. I will be cleaning all the house with poultry shield tomorrow and also moving the run to clean grass, are there any other precautions I should take? Am I likely to have any problems introducing Agnes replacement? It's only been 4 days and she will be coming from the same place; I also need her to travel home in the same carrier as I will be using a separate one for Agnes that I will want to disinfect before its used again. Glad I always go down the quarantine route when introducing new girls, this was certainly a lesson in how important that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 After keeping Agnes indoors last night I opened the Eglu this morning to find another one of the new girls exhibiting the same symptoms. Off to George Ogilvie now to try and see what's wrong. Unfortunately also found one of my old girls dead in the Solway this morning, she had started to look really old in the last 48 hours and put herself to bed early last night so although it wasn't a huge shock it was still unpleasant..Hopefully Easter can only get better. RIP JO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 What a shame. Sounds as if you have been sold hens who were brewing an illness. At this stage I'd take them back to the breeder, especially as he offered to replace the first ill hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 All three girls have been returned and replaced. The breeder thinks that a recent fox attack triggered the illness in one which has spread to the other one. He also gave me a big bag of mixed corn as he felt quite bad about it. He is hoping that he will be able to treat them all so that they return to health. I have spent the last 2 hours cleaning the eglu and everything very thoroughly, I've moved it to fresh grass and hosed down the area it had been on. As its raining here i'm just waiting for everything to dry so I can put them in it - is there anything else I should be doing to make sure there is no spread of the previous illness? The new girls were checked thoroughly before they came home, so fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 It sounds as if you have done everything you can to minimise the possibility of the illness spreading. I would be tempted to add some LifeGuard to your new girls' water, just to give them a little boost. Good luck with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
