oh no another sicky!

hermon · « **on:** November 17, 2007, 08:01 »

my Frank has been up and down for a few months now, she keeps getting better but it seems she is on the slippery slope to not recovering, she is as light as a feather no outward signs but when i massage her neck her eyes go big and she raises her head to stretch her neck and moves it from side to side as if she has a lump in her throat it does feel very bumpy maybe she has a tumour in there can they get them in the throat?
she runs out the run in the gardnen with the others but her neck is always tucked in then she just stands in the sunshine with her eyes closed she didn't even eat the warm bowl of porriage i give them before bedtime she just walked away to the other side of the run to be on her own oh dear i'm not "doing" her my OH can when we get the dispatcher it seems ex-batts aren't very healthy! any ideas anyone please? they are wormed and i believe gape worm she would open her beak a lot and she's not.

muntjac · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2007, 08:08 »

she may have sour crop .but porridge is not a healthy diet for them it glues things up ...... they need to have food they grind up .treats are fine as long as they are just treats .,bit like kids dont give them to many or they wil be sick .give her some of your seed chop it up in a blender to make a rough mash add a bit of water to bind it .make it dough thickness,feed the rest of the birds more normal feeds until this bird recovers and feed some greens etc ad lib cider vinegar in the water 1/2 cup per gallon ,if she improves thats ok if not take her to vet .... battery hens are extremly stressed during thier confinement and..... i think ...most fall poorly due to the fact they are not on the antibiotics that are pumped into them while they are in the farms

and i seriosly doubt its a tumour

its more likly her crop

hermon · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2007, 12:49 »

hubby checked her crop this morning and it was small and hard so i guess that is normal it may be just old age

she is roughly 3 years old and an ex-batt. i will cut down on the porriage! :oops:

muntjac · « **Reply #3 on:** November 17, 2007, 12:51 »

3 yrs for a battery is old ,,,,,,, try some dandelion leaves as a treat

GrannieAnnie · « **Reply #4 on:** November 17, 2007, 13:29 »

Yeah Hermon, Munty is right, 3 years old is old for an ex batt girl, although a couple of people have kept them for 4-5 years, but I think most just die in the first year of us having them. In 18 months of keeping them, I lost 25 out of a total of 75 hens.

I never thought about them dying because they weren't getting the antibiotics anymore that they had at the battery farms! Poor little things. Hope Frankie improves.

Aunt Sally · « **Reply #5 on:** November 17, 2007, 13:53 »

Quote from: "hermon"

hubby checked her crop this morning and it was small and hard so i guess that is normal

small and hard is not normal for first thing in the morning unless she has access to feed in the coop. If there is anything hard there before she has eaten it would suggest there is something lodged in her crop. It could be anything from a tumor (which Munty doubts) to stringy grass or hay (or string eh Grannie

) blocking the exit from the crop.

As Munty says 3 is old for an ex-batt, a blocked or impacted crop can be treated as I've outlined in the sticky :

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=4345

but given her age and passed life I don't think it would be kind to put her through treatment

hermon · « **Reply #6 on:** November 17, 2007, 14:00 »

he checked her about 3 hours after they got up so she may have eaten but it was definatley a change from what i felt yesturday late afternoon.
i will get up early and check her before i put thier feed down so i will know for sure then. by the way we have 3 4year olds that are still "spring chickens" all ex-batts! i have had 3 rescue lots so maybe different farms treat some hens better than others?

Aunt Sally · « **Reply #7 on:** November 17, 2007, 14:03 »

You're doing brilliantly for your ex-batts. What lucky chooks the are to be given a great end to an otherwise bad life :!:

hermon · « **Reply #8 on:** November 17, 2007, 14:07 »

thanks Aunt Sally

Selkie · « **Reply #9 on:** November 17, 2007, 14:38 »

Quote from: "Aunt Sally"

You're doing brilliantly for your ex-batts. What lucky chooks the are to be given a great end to an otherwise bad life :!:

totally agree - think people who take on ex-battery hens deserve a great big pat on the back

hermon · « **Reply #10 on:** November 19, 2007, 15:45 »

well she died last night , i brought her indoors sunday morning as she was very cold and hadn't come out the nest box, i left her in our spare room which was nice and warm where she had water and ground up pellets, she wasn't interested at all, she had a good kip then seemed to perk up but then when i checked her at 7.30am this morning she had wedged herself between the radiator pipes and our blow up bed! i hope she died naturally and not through being squashed! so i have lost 2 in 1 week. poor little Franky she was a character, i tried the humane dispatcher on her when she was dead to see how easy they are and my grip is too weak, hubby did it in one movement so he will be having that job in furure!

Selkie · « **Reply #11 on:** November 19, 2007, 15:56 »

i'm so sorry, hope your lot don't have any more sickness for a long time; you've been through so much in the last while. :cry:

Aunt Sally · « **Reply #12 on:** November 19, 2007, 17:25 »

Lucky chooks, better that the way batts usually go

oh no another sicky!

Selkie

Selkie