3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[Eggasperated]

One of my younger girls stopped laying about 12 days ago, I checked her over and found she had lice. I sprayed her with Johnsons anti-mite extra (not licensed for poultry) and this weekend checked her again and although I couldn't see any lice sprayed her again as a precaution.

For the last 5 days she has seemed quite sleepy, not eating very much, and her comb has been quite pale - I put this down to the lice and have been expecting her to perk up. Last night she went to bed early and when I felt her crop it didn't seem full - although she was well enough to give me a good pecking while I did this. Today she got up and ate from the feeders then disappeared under the hedge to doze; I decided to give her some nutri-drops to try and help her, and to catch her I gave her some dried mealworms which she had no trouble eating.

I have a couple of questions if anyone could help - is this normal behaviour after lice or is it likely something more sinister is going on? Although she perked up a bit after the nutri-drops she soon disappeared off for another doze, so was I expecting too much from them? Or will it take a couple more days of them before I see a good improvement?

Hope someone can give some advice, thank you.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Guest

[The Dogmother]

A large lice infestation will leave then anaemic so best does their water with some Life-Guard to sort that out. It could be that she was poorly anyway as lice will be attracted to an ailing hen. If you don't already, then it might be a good idea to get them all on a lice preventative routine.

 

It's unlikely that the Johnson's spray would cause any problems. My money is on her being poorly before the lice struck; I'd give her a good examination and see if you can find any clues as to her condition.

[Eggasperated]

Thanks DM, I appeared to catch the lice quite early as there was only minimal evidence of eggs, but I agree she has an underlying problem. They have lifeguard in their water at the moment but she prefers to drink out of the muddy puddles so I don't think she is getting an awful lot of that.

I have spent a lot of time over the last two days with her and cannot put my finger on what is wrong as there appears to be nothing really apparent, a lot of her behaviour is normal then there are some odd things that make me feel uneasy - so we are off to the farm vet this afternoon and hope that he can shed some light on it.

[The Dogmother]

Fingers crossed, let us know how you get on. They are very good at hiding problems, so it's not always apparent.

 

You can try giving a few drops of Life-Guard in some wet mash that's doctored with a few treats.

[Eggasperated]

Well, the vet is also puzzled - Blanche has no obvious signs of infection and no identifiable signs of any other problems, however the vet agrees with me that she just isn't 'right'.

The vet did note she had a lot of new feathers growing which looked as if she had had a moult, but, apart from being quite young for a substantial moult, I haven't seen any evidence of it. She also felt she was underweight but I have another of the same type, Pied Sussex, and she is quite slight too. One other thing was that the vet said she smelt of urine.

Blanche has had a shot of metacam and I have to see if that improves her, but for now she remains a puzzle.

[The Dogmother]

Hmmm, I'd just treat the symptoms, that's all you can do. A moult/growing new feathers takes a lot out of them, so give her extra protein with mealworms, scrambled egg is good too. I always add Biotin to their diet when they are moulting as it is a key ingredient in feather growth..... I have a mahoosive tub of it so PM me if you'd like me to send a bit across to you.

[Eggasperated]

Should also add that she gave vet a pecking and since being home has devoured part of a packet of cat food mixed with some garvo pellets.

Not heard of Biotin will PM you.

[Eggasperated]

Blanche is now on oral Metacam, as the Metacam injection seemed to stimulate her appetite, and Biotin, kindly supplied by The Dogmother, mixed into wet cat food and mealworms (to give her plenty of protein). She is also eating some of her layers pellets and seems to be drinking ok. I keep thinking she is looking brighter but then she goes off for a long doze, she is also going off to bed before the others.

Still can't put my finger on what's wrong so will continue with her treatment and hope to see a change for the better over the next few days.

 

These chickens are a real worry, I can feel myself getting obsessed with peering at them all to make sure there's no more problems, although now posted another thread about Alice and a crop problem.

[The Dogmother]

Sounds as if she's holding her own then as I said to you, it could well be some underlying issue which isn't apparent and you may not ever know what it is/was.

[Egghead68]

Has she been wormed recently?

[Eggasperated]

Worming, with Flubenvet, is up-to-date. I worm every 3 months as they are basically free-range within 75m of electric fence, I also move them onto a fresh bit of ground 3-4 times a year.

Although I must admit worms had crossed my mind and I could be seen earlier in the week peering at poos through a jewellers eyeglass , couldn't see any.

[The Dogmother]

It's always worth checking though as not everyone has a regular worming routine with a licensed product. I must admit that it's usually one of my first questions.

[Egghead68]

You could try sending off a dropping sample to Retfords to see if it shows anything.

[Eggasperated]

Had a long chat with the vet yesterday after Alice was PTS, she wasn't the one who treated Blanche but she has a particular interest in poultry and had obviously read through the notes of my visit with Blanche.

She felt it could be a neurological problem but wants me to finish the 10 day Metacam course before they take any further action unless Blanche deteriorates, she did explain a bit more but I was too upset about Alice to take it all in.

 

Unfortunately Blanche seems to be doing more of the stumbling / off-balance thing today, certainly compared to the weekend, but she is eating really well and spending a lot of her time scratching about with the others; it still seems to be a waiting game at the moment.

[Egghead68]

I'm sorry you and your chickens are having such a bad time. Fingers crossed for her.

[Eggasperated]

Back to the vets again with Blanche . She started to get worse yesterday afternoon, sleeping more, stumbling more, and eating less, she put herself to bed really early and was reluctant to get up. Then she just dropped off to sleep again in the run this morning.

So a phone call to the vets and I could see the poultry vet at 9.00am.

Once again Blanche was a puzzle, however this time she had a high temperature so the vet gave her a jab of Tylan and a stronger anti-inflammatory than Metacam, although she can't see anywhere obvious that is a source of infection.

She thinks the moulting is also a reaction to whatever is wrong rather than a normal moult.

Now we are waiting to see how she responds to the drugs and keeping fingers crossed.

[Monty14]

This sounds just like my Tilly (Araucana). She has moulted odd patches of feathers and has a pale comb and has never laid (now 18 months old). She had a bad infestation of lice which we have now eradicated and eats and drinks fine but is constantly preening and dropping/growing new feathers around her neck, vent and under her wings. She also seems a bit dazed sometimes. I took her to our avian vet who said she is physically fine, good weight, everything 'intact' as it were, but even he is puzzled by the ongoing moult. She has had extra protein and there is poultry tonic in the water, but she still appears anaemic. If you get any more info please post!

[Eggasperated]

The drugs knocked Blanche off her feet (literally) and she spent nearly 48 hours laying down dozing. Over the weekend she has been a bit better but seems to be eating very little, I was giving her cat food but stopped today in case it was encouraging her not to eat layers pellets but wait for the cat food to arrive.

 

Blanche is still stumbling and using her wings to balance but she was pecking about with the others this afternoon, she obviously isn't right but I shall try and wait a couple of days to see if she improves before I contact the vet. If she stays the same I don't know what the next step will be as my vet is also puzzled.

[The Dogmother]

I did my usual quarterly lice preventative and gave all the girls a good check-up while I was at it; two of them look to be heading into a heavy moult so I gave them some Nutri-drops and have started to add Biotin to their feed until the moult is over.

[Eggasperated]

Now a week since Blanche was last at the vets and although she is no longer sleeping most of the time she is still not right, stumbling about and disorientated to the point of not being able to put her head in the grub as she loses balance . After a long discussion with the vet she is now having a 5 day course of Baytril as she thinks it could be her liver unable to clear an infection therefore toxins are not getting cleansed from her body. I can see the sense in that although to me it looks like a brain problem.

So another week of waiting and watching; on the plus side the vet said she must be a fighter as lots of chickens would have given up by now.

[The Dogmother]

Sounds more neural to me

[HennyPenny59]

Hi Eggasperated

 

Did she start getting sleepy, not eating etc after spraying her with the Johnsons ... I know that some insecticides do contain a neurotoxin, so it might be worthwhile checking out the chemicals in the Johnsons ... There is a very slight possibility that Blanche could have been unlucky in being hypersensitive to the product, but obviously if she was sleepy and not eating before the product was applied, then it can be discounted.

 

Hope she recovers very soon.

[Eggasperated]

Sounds more neural to me

 

It seems to me there are a number of things it could be, OH thought she was going blind as she was having trouble with the grubs but the vet checked her eye response and said it is fine. I guess we just have to work with the vet to try and find the problem.

 

HennyPenny, thank you for your concern, we are now pretty certain she was unwell before the lice treatment and that she got lice because she was run down.

 

I am concerned about her quality of life but at least now she is managing to peck about with the other girls and at the moment I still feel there is a chance for her to recover.

[Monty14]

I hope she recovers soon. Hens are adept at hiding problems but some of them are little fighters too. My Milly has had Myco and an eye infection and has to have her beak trimmed regularly (some so and so debeaked her before we got her) and she just keeps bouncing back

[Eggasperated]

Blanche went to the vet again yesterday to have a long lasting anti-inflammatory injection as she seems to be making a recovery in herself, less sleeping and eating well, but unfortunately her balance seems to have gone completely and she is hardly moving about at all. The vet found that Blanche still has a high temperature so she also has another 5 days of Baytril.

She tested her legs and said all her reflexes are there so she still thinks it is toxins in her liver causing dizziness so Blanche has given up trying to walk.

 

Today Blanche wouldn't even get up so I put her in the covered run with food and water which she tucked into, she did manage to get herself to bed tonight but I am still concerned about her quality of life.