[stephenandbeverley]

Good afternoon all and sorry to make my first post a question. I am in sudden need and was hoping to make a friendly introduction post before asking anything, but needs must.

We have 8 ex batt chickens, 7 are fine and brilliant. One has been very quiet and subdued, she doesn't go outside, has a mucky bum and whereever she has been is wet and smelly. Her coomb is pale compared to the others and she barely drinks or eats. she is very lathargic and docile.

I was concerned she maybe egg bound but had a feel and she is very soft round there, can't feel an egg at all. There are no mites or lice and she was wormed prior to delivery - 4 weeks ago.

We have put her in a seperate(spare) house so she is seperated from the other chickens and she has water, bedding, feed, grit/shell etc. but she looks on her way out.

Taking her to the vets is out of the question due to finances and one of the 3 looking after them is completely adament about them not being pets, a stance i want to take but am finding that quite diffiult.

If you have any ideas please let me know.

Stephen

[Foxy]

Firstly welcome to the forums

Now onto your problems, it could be a laying problem, possibly egg peritonitis, or an something like enteritis.

Either way, pet or livestock she needs a vet for either medication (antibiotics) or putting to sleep if she is that poorly.

[Roughlee Handled]

Ex batts are often spent when they are re homed.  I would suggest that if you will not take her to the vet that you put here out of her misery.  If you can not do it please, please ring the people that you got them off of. 
Do not forget that farm animals or livestock are entitled to live a pain free life.

[stephenandbeverley]

Hi RoughLee and Foxy,

Thank you both for your quick response and advice.

I completely agree about living a pain free life and if it was viable would take her to the vets.

I am very new to keeping chickens so am not confident enough to do it myself, however there are 3 people looking after these 8 and one of them is very experienced at this type of thing and will be able to do it quickly and as stress free as possible.

We have been so keen to ensure they have good housing, feed, greens, stimulation etc one of the most enojoyable aspects has been seeing these girls become proper chickens in a nice environment. It is going to be hard enough just being there as I have become very attached. 

thank you for your quick advice, it will be done asap. 

[DD.]

As people will know on these forums, I know nothing about chickens, other than the fact they are live creatures.

As with keeping any animal, whether it be cat, dog, rat, snake, comes responsibilty. That responsibility can cost hard cash.

I accept that with a chicken you can put them down quickly and cleanly, provided you know what you are doing, which you can't do with other animals.

What though if they have something wrong that's easily treatable. Are we saying that because it's a chicken and it's going to cost money, we're merely going to dispatch it?

[Aunt Sally]

We have been so keen to ensure they have good housing, feed, greens, stimulation etc

Good husbandry and care comes in here too.  No animal should be left to suffer and it is, in fact, illegal to allow them to.  This bird obviously has a nasty infection and is suffering badly.  If you will not consider a vet's treatment then it must be dispatched immediately !

[joyfull]

Unfortunatly with chickens they hide their illnesses quite well until it is often too late.

Vets needn't cost the earth, my visit to mine for suspected (no blood test done so cannot confirm for definate) mycoplasma - included consultation, injection, metacam and enough aureomyacin antibiotic powder to treat all the hens in Lincolnshire (plus it treats cattle, pigs sheep etc) cost me £30, which for my chickens welfare I thought was money well spent.

So far I have had to do 'the deed' to two of mine, not very nice but a job that had to be done  .

So I agree with the others for her sake do either a trip to the vets or the deed as soon as possible to stop any suffering or if it is contagous (sp?) prevent it from spreading.

[karlooben]

i to dont have any money { due to a dog having surgery this wek i have only £25 until the 17th of july so i know about being broke } but if mine need antiboitics then they will get them and they really do not cost the earth ethier . i made the mistake of not getting one of my ex batts to the vets in time and yes i got her the treatment she needed which cost me £20 but i was to late as she died the next day but keeping chickens is a risk we're willing to take when keeping them .

dont take a risk as all the girls mite become ill one day you may have to replace them all due to them dieing of something an that mite cost more to do then a few quid spent on anitboitics .

p.s  welcome to the forum people on here will give you nothing but the best advice you'll ever need .

[agapanthus]

If this other person that is also looking after them, had, say for instance, a few sheep or a few cows, ie not pets, would this person not seek help from the vet if one of the animals was unwell? It amazes me that a person would go to the trouble of saving chickens from being 'dogmeat', but won't give it the care that it deserves ....I also think that it is despicable behaviour Has this 'animal lover' been telling everyone what a great thing he/she has done by saving these poor hens??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dizzylizzie]

hi, we havent got our chickens yet, so you may think i have no right commenting on this matter, but i do have other animals in the house, and our responsibility as pet/livestock owners are the same, whether that animal is a goldfish, chicken, dog, horse etc. When you decide if you can look after  particular animal you need to do as much research as possible, you need to find out about the animal you are taking, how do you house it, what does it eat, how much..... can i afford it? these and more are questions that a RESPONSIBLE pet /livestock owner should be asking themselves. We are all looking for cheaper ways to live,we all have better thigs to spend our money on, but we choose to take these animals on, so it is our resonsibility to look after them properly, and that includes getting appropriate and prompt medical treatment. im sorry, but i do not think you can  conscientiously 'rescue' a chicken, and then say it is not viable to give it vetinary care. Ex bats have been through a lot, i would have thought you would expect to have problems with them , certainly in the first few month while they are recovering. you also say they are not pets?... are you allowed to rescue ex-bats then use them for the pot, i pressume if they are not pets then this is what is going to happen to them!

[agapanthus]

hi, we havent got our chickens yet, so you may think i have no right commenting on this matter, but i do have other animals in the house, and our responsibility as pet/livestock owners are the same, whether that animal is a goldfish, chicken, dog, horse etc. When you decide if you can look after  particular animal you need to do as much research as possible, you need to find out about the animal you are taking, how do you house it, what does it eat, how much..... can i afford it? these and more are questions that a RESPONSIBLE pet /livestock owner should be asking themselves. We are all looking for cheaper ways to live,we all have better thigs to spend our money on, but we choose to take these animals on, so it is our resonsibility to look after them properly, and that includes getting appropriate and prompt medical treatment. im sorry, but i do not think you can not conscientiously 'rescue' a chicken, and then say it is not viable to give it vetinary care. Ex bats have been through a lot, i would have thought you would expect to have problems with them , certainly in the first few month while they are recovering. you also say they are not pets?... are you allowed to rescue ex-bats then use them for the pot, i pressume if they are not pets then this is what is going to happen to them!

Well said Lizzie!!!!

[Flowerpower136]

Haven't got ours yet either, but cost of care, including health care, was a consideration before we made the decision.  Particularly with ex batts who are likely to need more care and attention than most.

Problem I've got, is that our usual vet (for the dogs) isn't that clued up on chickens.  Though she did assure me, she look things up if needed......... so might be looking for another vet.  Dog doesn't like her anyway

Perhaps you need to go back to the hen welfare trust, assuming that's who you got them from.  They do have a help line I think.

Or what about RSPCA, they do free clinics sometimes?