dance in the dark Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I came home last night to find my 5 year old araucana in a bad way. She seemed a little droopy and uncoordinated. I separated her, gave her some nutridrops and tbh thought she may well be gone by morning. She wasn't so I took her to the vet, thinking it would be a "final trip" she was insanely light but I hadn't notice a particular drop in appetite. Anyway it turns out she has lice. I am so annoyed at myself, never had them before and So I guess I wasn't sure what I was looking for. The vet recommended baitril (sp.?) and an on skin lice treatment. She seems a bit Perkins but she is still uncoordinated, she tries to peck at food but kind of, misses, that's the only way to describe it. I have given her some water by syringe but wonder if there is any syringible solution I can give her to give her some strength? I am aware (though the vet wasn't convinced, thinking it was something stress or weakness based) that it could be something neurological,from which she may never recover, but I was thinking it could not hurt to try and see. Any other advice welcome, sorry for the ramble, I am just mad with myself as I have never had poorly hens before really, I have been lucky. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Have you got the spot on? When did you last worm her? I would try her with a pellet porridge, tuna or cat food. She may just be very poorly due to the live infestation and once that's resolved she will hopefully pick up. The lice spread from bird to bird by direct contact and clumps of eggs are usually found at the base of the feathers below the vent. I would treat all your girls with a spot on too and use it regularly as a preventive treatment. I use ivermectin,Ivermectin is by far the easiest way to remove lice on chickens, it also kills most common poultry worms and has a residual effect once applied, however it is unlicensed for use on poultry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 A heavy infestation will kill a bird eventually; Feed her up and keep giving the NutriDrops, not sure why the vet gave Baytril, but there you go. As recommended above, a poultry-savvy vet woudl probably have recommended a spot-on treatment, and 2 sparys a week apart with a spray containing permethrin.... neither of these products is licensed for use on poultry in the UK, but would be recommended by any vet worth their salt when presented with a bird with lice. May I suggest that you read through the subject on this forum, and set up a good preventative regime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Oh I stupidly forgot to say (was typing on the iPad, excuse typos) she did give her a spot on treatment, so hopefully that will have helped. The baytril I think is for the slightly congested nostril she has. The thing about food is she cannot seem to aim for it properly, I took her for a walk in the garden and she was moving as to peck at the ground but was about 2" above it, it was weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 That will be an eyesight problem Dance, the reason for which is unknown at the moment. We have an old pet cock who goes through bouts of being unable to peck in the right place at food, so it may not be a permanent problem but an issue resulting from her current rundown condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I would still worm her....if she is very thin it may be the lice but she may have a worm burden too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 not contradicting gavclojak; worming is necessary if you haven't done them recently, but I would leave a week between the eradication of the lice, and starting a worming session. Oh, and use Flubenvet pellets; I was asked to speak to a chap yesterday to find out why his birds were ailing and dying (he refused to pay for a vet ) he was treating them for worms with a herbal gut conditioner type product and couldn't understand why they were off-lay, out of condition and their poos were full of worms These products are not licensed wormers. Sorry to sound so forthright, but I see this too often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Yep good to know DM....you have forgotten more than I will ever know about keeping hens see I would have wormed straight away and maybe made things worse, I guess she needs to recover from one thing first? I attended a chook keeping course and they recommended the gut conditioner you mentioned but I have only ever and will only ever use flubenvet, even though the ivermectin is supposed to help I wouldn't trust it alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 While there's no actual reason for not using the two together, I personally would give even a healthy bird time to recover between dosing with any treatment. That this bird is in poor health makes it essential; I would avoid worming a very sick hen in any case. Ivermectin is a wormer (not licensed for use on poultry in the UK, of course) but is used (off-label) in poultry primarily for treating exo-parasites (external) and my poultry specialist vet recommends using Flubenvet as the main wormer. My apologies to the OP; I missed the reference to the disorientation; hard to tell without seeing the bird, but I would wait until it's in better condition before looking at this symptom/sign. It is entirely possible that it is caused by the current lack of condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Oh gosh...see what I mean!!! I always wormand spot on at the same time.....gee wiz.....Back to the drawing board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If the birds are healthy, then it shouldn't' be a problem, but I would (personally) avoid giving the too much/different meds at the same time. A week's gap between the two is what I do.... but that's just my personal opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Thanks DM...will do that in future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Thank you for all the advice. I have actually wormed all my birds only last month, but If she improves I will most likely worm her again. As at stands just getting food into her is a challenge. She cannot get her own food at all, I have mostly been feeding her cat food by essentially dropping it in her beak, I am also giving her water by syringe and keeping up the nutridrops. Been for a walk with her this afternoon, she has some energy which is good to see, but she is definitely not out of the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Sounds like you're doing a good job dance in the dark. Fingers crossed that you can keep getting nutrition into her and she'll get stronger and come back to health Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We found Nuitridrops upset their digestive system very badly, accepting that in an emergency they do appear to work. We only use half the recommended dosage for just one day. When we have to feed a sickie we make a wet mash of rearer pellets and roll into balls to pop down the throat, washing them down with a syringe of water alternately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Can't say that I've ever had that problem with NutriDrops, nor heard of it before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 By way of a general update. She is still going and seems better. No where near perfect, but still. I have been syringing water down her throat and have also been hand feeding her a little bit of cat food and also balls of paste made out of pellets which I have been kind of chucking in her mouth. I have also been giving her nutridrops though they are about to run out. Her food intake has increased and her poop today is still very small, but is still the most substantial she's done since confinement on Friday. She is getting a bit more co-ordinated, she is now hitting food, though she drops most of it, her wings are quite droopy though and she is a little hunched, but certainly somewhat perkier. Does anyone have any ideas what other things would be good to feed her (preferably things that can be handfed, just in case) Generally she is still deep in the woods, but there is certainly a stronger glimmer of white than there was at the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I'd try live maggots or mealworms - excellent source of nutrition, and they love them. Keep up the water intake; it could just be that part of her co-ordination problem is due to dehydration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Thanks DM, I have fed her some dried mealworms, (I have a huge tub which is a principal treat for the rest of the girls). I may buy some live worms and see how she goes with those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I haven't seen your hen, so I'm only able to guess, but don't forget that lice can sometimes be a symptom rather than a cause; they will infest a sick bird, making the situation worse. There could be something more seriously wrong with her. Personally, I'd set a time limit for treatment and improvement of (say) 36 hours, and re=assess with despatching as an option. I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but if a bird is very sick and not improving, then it's wrong to keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
