Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: themagicaltoad1 on January 24, 2013, 16:35
-
This afternoon when I went to collect eggs I found Sage, one of the hens we hatched, lying on her side in the coop with her eyes closed. She's just under 3 yrs old and has been a prolific layer of beautiful blue/ green eggs. Yesterday she seemed fine. I brought her in and was shocked at how thin she felt yet she's been eating as normal. Her poos have been very runny, but they all seem to be runny lately. I wormed them with flubenvet in November so I wouldn't have thought they had worms. Sage doesn't appear to have a temperature, her breathing is normal, she doesn't have a comb or wattles to check but she can't support her head. I tried to syringe some honey mixed with warm water into her but it just ran back out. She's still just about alive, but I think she's past the stage where taking her to a vet would help. It's very sad, she's the first one we've ever lost.
-
Oh dear, it's very upsetting to find your hen so ill. I once revived one of my flagging hens with a bit of brandy. It was a builder working here who suggested it. It worked and she lived another year after that :) I gave it to her from a little dropper. She may have had a heart attack, which hens are prone to. If she's 3 and laid lots of eggs maybe her time was up :( If she's still alive you could try the brandy and keep her warm in a box with a towel in the bottom and see how she goes. Keep her quiet
Good luck :)
-
In the time it took to type my post she's gone, poor little thing. It's almost as if she was hanging on for my daughter to get home from school.
-
Oh dear :( They are very good at hiding illness, so can just go very fast when they eventually own up :(
-
Sorry to hear about you hen, its desperately sad to see a hen go downhill like that. It could possibly be a tumour - I took a hen who was getting very weak & thin to the vets back in December. She also was eating well, had been wormed etc but the vet found a tumour which I had not felt or seen, & this surprised me. Unfortunately she had to be put to sleep.
I think just try & keep her comfortable & if she appears to perk up at all try & give her a little water & honey then.
Will be thinking of both you & Sage.
-
Really sorry to hear that - by the time I had typed & posted my message it was too late.
I know it doesn't help but at least you know she didn't suffer for long. RIP Sage :(
-
Thank you all for your kind words. I feel particularly guilty as it was only a couple of days ago that I was telling a colleague, who keeps hens, how healthy mine have all been and how we hadn't lost any in the 4 yrs we've had them. I feel as though I jinxed her.
-
If this is the first loss in 4 years, you obviously look after your birds very well and have nothing to feel guilty about :)
Sounds like there would have been nothing either you or a vet could have done for her, so remember she had 3 happy years with you and went quickly when it was her time :)
-
I know how you feel, I lost a couple of my chicks earlier on
Before that a fox got in and killed all my birds,
I had bought them up from eggs, the fox just took one, just killed and left the others
(I couldnt tell the grand kids, they helped hatch trhem)
Sorry to read about this
-
So sorry Sage didn't make it. :(
It might be worth checking the rest of your flock to see if you can find the reason for the runny poos. It wouldn't harm to worm them again with flubenvet as they advise to give a second dose after a few weeks if all worms haven't gone.
-
I've had a look at the poo pics and I think I will try worming them again. They spend most of the day loose in the garden and we have a lot of wood pigeons around so maybe they've picked up some worms. Oddly enough their night time poos seem to be normal its only the day time ones that are runny.:blink:
-
They do a cecal poo every few poos which are stickier and very smelly so that might be what you are seeing. If their night time poos are alright you could check them for worms. Add some water to dissolve the poo and check. They are not always present in the poo until they have a really bad infestation so you may not find any. Treating won't do any harm so best to start the year off early because of all the wet weather we have had.
Have you checked if any of the others are skinny?
-
I can only catch one or two that are particularly friendly, they feel fine. I might have to go on a night raid to have a feel of some of the others. They are certainly eating well, like ravenous vultures! Anybody remember that Hitchcock film "the birds"? it's a bit like that when I get mobbed every time I go into the garden. Maybe they just like saving all their runny poos for the garden because it makes such a mess. >:(
-
They are taking in more water during the day and it has to last them all night so that could be the cause. Try to just keep them on layers pellets until you are sure they are fine.
-
Sorry to hear about Sage it sounds like she had a wonderful and full life of free ranging and scratching for worms :)