[Spadefighter]

Hi,

I have a sickly looking ex-batt, I would think by the look of her she might not make the night. Seems to have gone down overnight.

She is withdrawn and sulky, has eaten very little but drunk a fair bit. For a while now she has laid shell-less eggs despite being given grit and shell. She also has ACV in the water and is fed on layer pellets (and whatever she finds). I have just bought some Flubenvet and added to her (mashed) food today which I was going to do anyway.

No wheezing, no mucus, not puckering her vent as far as I can see, crop feels ok and no smell, comb is bright red. She has a slightly dirty bum, but not hugely so. The others are fine.

Any ideas what is going on?

[nicchick]

Hi, could you get her to a good poultry vet in the morning? We've had one who has had laying problems and I think they are so rundown that they are more prone to infections.
If you can explain to the vet that she may have an infection, they should give her a baytrill injection and you can ask for injectible baytrill which if you are confident to give will be best.
The hen we have has had three or four episodes where she has demonstrated these symptoms and so far (touch wood) she seems to be doing ok.
It's only that I've spent so much time with this ex-bat that I can see when she is under the weather and we have decided that we will continue with the antibiotics. Of course it is up to you if you decide to go down this route, Nic

[Spadefighter]

Thanks for that, but even if she lasts the night I dont think I could do that in time for her. Part of the deal with the wife when I got ex batts was that I wouldnt spend a fortune at the vets. I am just praying that the others are ok.

[karlooben]

baytril isnt that expensive but u cant just give it to one bird , you'll have to do all your birds .

u can get baytril liquid that u just add to thier water and thats normally a 5 day course and as i have found out some vets dont bother charging a consulation fee as its just a chicken .

[nicchick]

That's so true Karlooben, vets can be reasonable about chickens. The trick is to know what you are asking for.
If your hen has what I think she has it wouldn't affect the others. These birds are just worn out and that takes a toll on their bodies. Like I said before a short course of antibiotics might save her, but often by the time symptoms show it's too late and it's kinder to have the hen put down.
Nic.

[azubah]

Hi,

I have a sickly looking ex-batt, I would think by the look of her she might not make the night. Seems to have gone down overnight.

She is withdrawn and sulky, has eaten very little but drunk a fair bit. For a while now she has laid shell-less eggs despite being given grit and shell. She also has ACV in the water and is fed on layer pellets (and whatever she finds). I have just bought some Flubenvet and added to her (mashed) food today which I was going to do anyway.

No wheezing, no mucus, not puckering her vent as far as I can see, crop feels ok and no smell, comb is bright red. She has a slightly dirty bum, but not hugely so. The others are fine.

Any ideas what is going on?

I have exactly the same situation.
I checked on the hens today and my 4 year old was lying on her side and I thought she was dying. Her wing was away from her body and her leg did not look right so I thought she had had a stroke. My DH pleaded with me not to put her out of her misery so I put her in the isolation ward. (greenhouse) Then she stood up and put her wing back into the right place and started to make the rosey they do when they want to be left alone to lay an egg. Then I tried to give her a calcium carbonate indigestion tablet but she spat it out. I had to fight her to get it in, which showed that she had some strength. I mixed some crushed tablet with her favourite food and to my surprise she gobbled it up hungrily. After 2 hours I put her back with the others and she seems back to normal. She has done a watery poop but no shell-less egg.

I hope this information may help and that your hen gets better soon.

[karlooben]

sounds like to me that your girl was simply sunbathing .

and the watery poos can be down to them drinking just that bit more water in this warm weather

[Spadefighter]

Hi all and thanks for the advice,

Poorly hen (Delia) has slowly improved daily of her own accord, but still fluffed up and not half as active as the others.

Gave her some cod liver oil and did another full MOT yesterday, still couldnt find any problems usually mentioned on here, but did realise that she had quite a few new feathers starting to come through. Spoken to several local chook owners and am told that it is not that uncommon for them to behave like they are about to keel over when they are moulting. Hoping that is at least a factor if not the whole story.

Seems a little better again today so fingers crossed.

Nicchick, what was your idea of what it might be? 

[azubah]

sounds like to me that your girl was simply sunbathing .

and the watery poos can be down to them drinking just that bit more water in this warm weather

I don't think that my girl was sunbathing as it was 7.45am, raining, and she was inside the hen house. I would not have any hens left if I confused sunbathing with illness! They love sunbathing and dust bathing.

They usually have a race to see who can get out of the house first every morning, but this time the poorly one did not even try to get up. She just lay there with her eyes closed looking very miserable. She is OK today but has her tail down and is not fully well.
She is just old, and I think that if I had left her she would have given up and died.

Glad yours is a little better Spadefighter. Hope it continues that way. They do feel poorly when moulting.

[karlooben]

i did not know it was that time in the morning sorry to mention the sunbathing  not of noticed that they aint doing that now the sun has gone on holiday .

hows she doing today ?

[too many girls]

i have confused sun bathing and dust bathing for dead hens before, they look to all the world like they've pegged it untill i rush over and then they simply get up and wander off.

[karlooben]

who hasnt done that before it seems even worse when its one of the babies 

[azubah]

i have confused sun bathing and dust bathing for dead hens before, they look to all the world like they've pegged it untill i rush over and then they simply get up and wander off.

Yes, the first time you see a hen having a dust bath it does send you into a panic! Then you see the utter joy on their faces and realise that they are just teasing.

Sorry if I came over a little sharp, karlooben. Comunication can be confusing when you can't see a person's face. I know that everyone here is just trying to help.

edited to add: She is still alive and almost well. For an old one she is doing fine. I am now thinking it may even just have been heat exhaustion due to the heat of the previous day.

[Spadefighter]

Glad to hear that. Mine still a bit down but definitely better than she was a few days ago. Got a bit of turf from someone's garden in the run for them to destroy, seems quite interested in that.

[nicchick]

Sorry Spadefighter, been a bit caught up with work. Our best guess with the ex-batt concerned is that she has problems making shells as her body is so depleted of nutrients. We have been dosing her up with extra calcium and protein and have been using codliver oil with limestone flour to help her. The danger is that an egg will burst inside her and cause an infection. The hen in question - called Valentine as she messed up our valentines day plans by nearly dying - will drop her wings and close her eyes and sit hunched up. At the first sign we do a 5 day course of injectible baytril and so far (touch wood) she seems to be building up and doing well. You have to weigh up the costs and time factor and all the reasons you took in some ex-batts. Hope she continues to do well, Nic.