[grumpydad]

we bought all 6, rhode island red, 3 buff rock bantams and 2 blue laced red wyandottes, at the end of march this year, and were told that they were at point of lay, 16 weeks when we had them, lost two rock bantams, and the rhode island red, june, july, managed to get the last rock bantam better-ish, one of the wyandottes is still laying, has not moulted, and is much bigger than the one who is poorly.

have added coxoid to the water as well for all of them.

have managed to syringe some more mixture to her, and left her in the coop.

cleaned it out, and disinfected with stanoslan and vikron, again.

[chickenlady]

you are doing all you can Martyn  it is a miserable time of year too! even I am really fed up with all this mud 
thinking of you all at this stressful time,
Debbie xxx

[grumpydad]

well she is still going, still alert, but weak, had her syringe of food already, back into the coop, will cut the end off the end of another syringe and will try with some chick crumb for mid morning, a bit more solid than liquid layers pellets.

the bantam is scratching a bit, but still stands hunched up with the wyandotte for most of the day

[grumpydad]

think it is time to take the wyandotte to the vet for the last time, her comb is still pink, but she wont eat on her own, have tried all i can think of, unless someone can give me a clue what else to try ?

[grumpydad]

val said she has had enough, and it is time to pack in, will see how that goes, but i understand how she feels

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, ive used this with very good results, it keeps them going till they are strong enough to feed for themselves.
http://www.petzoo.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=366
of course it depends whats wrong with her, but ive recently had a very poorly girl, an ex-batt that was found crushed at the botton of the cage during rescue. She has had to be force fed for over a month, she couldnt stand, and swayed as she had no balance.....she now looks rather strange, but is feeding, and getting around by herself! Stupidly , she is much stronger, but her comb and face are really pale!...like i say , whgat was wrong with my girl is different to what is wrong with yours, so you have to make the best judgement you can for her. The critical care formular is good to have in your first aid kit anyway...just in case
good luck with her, you know her, shes your bird, and you are the one who will know if shes had enough. Fingers crossed for you x

[Foxy]

Oh dear, she sounds very poorly. I would take her to the vet.
One thing to look closely at is her crop, sometimes an impacted crop is very hard to spot, not necessarily very hard or swollen. They look healthy, but dont eat and can just fade away, worth checking at the vets. You have done everything you can and covered all bases from worming, excellent husbandry, antibiotics, supportive care.
She is very ill, not to be eating. She could just be a runt, it is very hard to spot them unless you  have hatched them yourself, unfortunately they do just fade away especially when under stress or having picked up an infection. I spot these and cull them early I'm afraid.

[grumpydad]

i have bought some keep well pelleted tonic, which i have ground up and added to the ground up layers that she has had.
she has been having live yogurt to counteract the anti biotics, finished one couse and have changed the antibiotic to tylan, in case she is resistant to the first.

have checked her crop, it is soft, but that it only from what i have been syringing into her, i have been checking to make sure it goes down, and it is not sour, no bad smells etc, her wattles are a nice red, but comb is pale.

[grumpydad]

well, doris, the blue laced red wyandotte has not made it.
vera the buff rock bantam is still poorly and mot eating much at all, trying to stay in the coop.
so far from 6 fully vaccinated birds, we have lost 4 with one ill, not a bad percentage really.

thanks to all for putting up with the moaning and support

[joyfull]

so sorry Martyn and Val, hugs xxx

[IMOmimey]

Don't give up Dad,  you have had 4 years worth of illness and bad luck all in one go, so the next 3 yrs should be full of happy, healthy girlies, and lots af eggs, and smiles all round. Just doesn't feel like that right now

Think of all the knowledge you've gained (albeit the hard way), you are an expert now!

[grumpydad]

thanks for the support.
vera has been out today, albeit not for long, she has spent lots of time in the coop, so i have left her food and water inside.

autopsy was believed to be mareks, feet bunched up, drooping wings, and water in her stomach, all apparently indicitive of mareks, especially with the past history of the others, at least i know i tried, and that there really was nothing i could have done to stop it, even with the anti biotics.

i hope that possibly, vera is missing her buddy, as they were always together, and that she is depressed and not too sick.
do chucks get depressed ?

[grumpydad]

well she has been scratching and eating like mad today, gave some cat food, as they have not had any in a while, and she was gobbling it down, so i opened another packet, at the moment i dont care what she eats, as long as she eats and has a full crop.
bought some alfalfa mix from garvo at the stafford show, with high energy grains, she seems to like the mix.

[chickenlady]

Have only just caught up with this thread!! so sorry for your dotty  sending big hugs your way. Will keep everything crossed for your poorly girl! but her eating is a good sign

Debbie xxx

[grumpydad]

well its Christmas. she has not made it.