One of our hens has suddenly fallen ill.
I went to put the hens away one night and there was one missing. I looked around the property a bit but couldn’t find her. There are snakes around so I just assumed she’d been attacked, or she somehow got lost (we live on an unfenced property). The next day she showed up again– but her crest had fallen over and she was extremely weak to the point she could barely walk in a straight line. We’ve speculated that something very traumatic happened to her that night, or she was actually sick the day before and went to her roost early, so that’s why we couldn’t find her. Either way, she is still, a week later, very sick. When she first became ill she wouldn’t eat any solid food, but I could get her to eat some lorikeet paste stuff we happened to have lying around. I slowly weened her back to grains, which she now eats fine (although the big pieces are still a bit tough for her). Her wellness has gone up and down throughout the week, as has her appetite. She is substantially lighter than the other chooks, and extremely fatigued. She has no poop hanging from her bum, and no longer lays because of old age. Now my question relates to how we manage her— we live in a very hot climate, so I thought it might be better for her to be a bit cooler, so she’s currently in the house (26°c as opposed to 40°c), but I’m now worried that it’s TOO cold for her, and that she won’t handle being put back into the heat later. She also seems to be having difficulty regulating her temperature— her body feels hot as anything, but her face and feet are freezing. I’ve now got a rag laying across her face, in an attempt to help.
I really don’t know if what I’m doing (keeping her inside, isolated, with a rag on her face) is going to help her or worsen her condition still. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
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March 22, 2013, 13:30