Poorly hen - advice please?

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Jomtie

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Poorly hen - advice please?
« on: November 28, 2014, 18:13 »
One of our hens, Hettie the 4 year old blacktail, hasn't been very well lately. We took her to the vet on 10th Nov because she was moping about with her tail down. Bright eyes and nice red comb and wattles, but white watery droppings and not herself at all. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her but given the loose droppings he gave us a treatment for coccidiosis to give her and the other 3 girls. We kept her in for four days on the medication and she'd perked up enough by the weekend to go back out in the run with the others (they still had the medication in their water too so she finished the course). She's seemed fine for the past 10 days, digging and scratching with the others, but this morning when my OH let them out into the run she was unsteady on her legs. We came home tonight to find that the others had gone to bed but she was still in the run, just lying on her side. We have brought her in and put her in our poorly coop but she doesn't look great. She has eaten some fruit, some little cubes of cheese (her favourite) and some layers pellets mixed with warm water, but she's very thin (even though she's been tucking into her food as normal). They were wormed in September so, although they will be due again in a couple of weeks, I wouldn't have thought that worms were the issue. Anyone have any advice or have had this happen to one of their girls? We're worried about her as she is a real character.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2014, 15:14 by Jomtie »
Hens - Clara (Bluebell) & little newbies Martha (Black Sussex) & Dora (Speckled Maran)
RIP Margot, Geraldine, Hettie,  Ruby & Tilly :(
Cats - Herbie (LH black moggy) Louie (Seal Point Ragdoll) Jazzi (Dilute Torbie) Peggy (g&w stray)
RIP Ollie (Seal Point Ragdoll) :(

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barley

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 18:41 »
so sorry to hear all this

strange if she's eating reasonable amounts but you say she's thin - it could be so many things  :(

you've done the right thing going to the vets for meds , best advice I can give is keep her warm dry and fed

, you sound like your trying your best for her , sorry I can't offer anything more positive  :unsure:

I've kept chooks for 12 years and some have gone at 2 years old  and others have lived till 8 - you say she's 4 - that's not a bad age for a chook

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ghost61

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2014, 10:42 »
How is she now?  You could try an Epsom salts bath, and even drip feed her a weak solution, that would clear any nasties!  A little wet cat food could be good for her, but avoid chicken flavour!  Live maggots are popular too. I did all of the above when one of my hens was similar to yours, and she is now back to rude health.  Good luck and keep us posted.

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Sassy

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2014, 11:08 »
Watery droppings can be a sign of worms so it may be worth doing again. If you wormed her at the start of September it would be three months! However be aware if she is weak being wormed can take a lot out of them :( I would definitely try a supplement such as Poultry Spice - it is natural and has a good reputation. Good luck :)
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted!!

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Jomtie

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2014, 12:50 »
We have been giving her layers mashed in warm water with poultry spice mixed in and she's been having some tuna cat food. She was eating yesterday, although not really enough for our liking. Still lying down in the poorly coop in the dining room but quite alert and responding to us well. Not interested in food at all this morning - not even tiny cubes of cheese or strawberries, even though her eyes were still bright and head up. We checked on her every 15 mins or so and then about 11am she hadn't got her head up and didn't really respond to us. Ten minutes later she was gone. :( :( :(  She was a real little character - very bouncy and would come to us and 'bump' us for a tickle!  :) She will be missed.
They are due for worming mid December Sassy, but I think we'll bring it forward for the others just to be on the safe side and keep a really close eye on them, although it can be so hard to tell what's wrong with chickens and during the winter we can only really check them over properly at the weekends, as by the time we get home from work it's dark and they're already roosting!! They can seem fine one day and then go down so quickly can't they? :(

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ghost61

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2014, 19:12 »
Sorry to hear your news, you do get so attached to them as their characters are so engaging.

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barley

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2014, 19:15 »
so sorry to hear this jomtie


you tried your best for her and  kept her comfortable and warm till the end xx

you sound very caring owners , there are plenty out there that aren't so she was a very luck hen to have been with you xx

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Sassy

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2014, 08:33 »
So sorry. Chooks hide any illness till it is often too late. You did your best for her and that's what counts :(

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Jomtie

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2014, 15:13 »
We do try to do our best for our animals but you always think you could have done more - if only we'd done this or noticed that.....
The big decision when we first decided to keep chickens was do we let them out to free range (when we're home) or do we keep them shut in a run 24/7. In a run you can better monitor what they eat, but they do so love to FR. We decided that letting them FR and dig, scratch and root about to their hearts content allowed them to fully indulge in normal chicken behaviour, even though there was always the chance that they may pick up something. They have a 10'x8' secure, covered run and a 22'x15' fenced enclosure, plus they get chance to stretch their legs in a 6000sqft garden at least 4 times a week in winter and every day in summer, so I suppose they have a pretty good life! We know someone with 3 hens that she keeps in a 2' high 3'x6' run. They never come out and, with just chipped bark on the base, have nowhere to dust bathe. They peck each others feathers because they're bored and always look really fed up. Our girls usually look happy and healthy so I think quality of life matters more.

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Maeve

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Re: Poorly hen - advice please?
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2014, 18:47 »
Very sorry to hear about Hettie.  She had a good life with caring chicken keepers.  I have some idea of how you feel as I lost my oldest hen (a Blackrock) who was heading for her 5th birthday, very recently.



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