[bexybeck]

Hi everybody, I hope you can help.
My hen, Dave, has pretty much gone off eating. She was standing around the pen not moving much so we brought her inside to keep an eye on her. We gave her a warm bath (twice), some asprin and calcium in case she was egg bound because she looked like she was straining but two days later she hasn't produced an egg (although I'm not convinced she was laying before). We've also added enroxil to her water just in case. We moved a box into the bathroom for her so she is warm but she just stands in it all day, looking at us over the side.

She is otherwise bright-eyed and alert, still inquisitive, with no discharge or lesions around her eyes, nose or mouth. Sometimes she sounds a little wheezy and I can hear a small pop when she breathes, but neither are constant. Her breathing is also a bit laboured and she is occasionally closing her eyes, as though straining.

She's an ex-batt isa brown, we've had for just over a year so is probably two years old and we've had similar symptoms in her before although she just perked up after a few days last time.

I'm now syringe feeding her with very wet food mixtures and enroxil water although we've been trying to tempt her to eat herself. Two days ago she wolfed down an egg yolk, but yesterday she wouldn't touch it. We've tried her on all her favourites and she usually eats a little bit and pokes it around with her beak but loses interest quickly.

Her poo is tinged a little green, but that could just be because she's not eating much.

I've ordered flubenvet - we've been using verm-x and a poke around the forums told me I might as well be not worming them at all as use that - so could it be worms? She loves eating earthworms if she finds them so I'm not counting it out.

Hang on a sec, I'm sat next to her and she just poo'd and I can see something small and whippy moving in it - did she just answer my question!    

verm-x = evil

Let me know what you think, I'll get them all on the flubenvet as soon as it arrives.

[joyfull]

yep she has a very bad case of worms, where abouts in the country are you? She needs worming immediatly. Panacur can also be given I think - so don't know if you have any of that.

[TeaPots]

If you are any where near me Bexy, I am quite happy to let you have some flubenvet, where are you?

[bexybeck]

Thanks folks!

I'm in York Teapots, don't know if that's anywhere near you but I've ordered flubenvet from petmeds so hopefully will arrive quickly - thankyou so much for the offer  

Wish I'd been quick enough to see fresh poo before this morning!

[Sassy]

One of the vets at the Minster practice in York is a poultry specialist if you need wormer more quickly.

[bexybeck]

Hi chaps,
I rang the vet the day after posting because her crop didn't empty overnight and I thought I would have difficulty getting flubenvet into her. He gave me drops to put on her neck (ivermectin), once a week for three weeks. She's due her second dose this week but apart from passing what seemed to me a lot of worms she doesn't seem much better.

She's still listless but now her crop is emptying intermittently - some mornings it is fully empty, other's it isn't. The vet suggested a syringe of oil and massaging the crop but I had already spent an hour doing that and it didn't seem to make a difference.  He suggested she may be 'clogged' with worms which was my worst fear (doesn't the interweb throw distressing images at you when you're searching?) but she's still pooing. We put her outside for half an hour yesterday on the off chance that would perk her up. She pecked around a bit but mostly just stood there looking at us. We're still syringe feeding but her comb and wattles have gone very pale (aenemia?) She's interested in food but doesn't eat it - in fact her head is quite perky she's just listless from the neck down, if you know what I mean.

Please help! We lost one to peritonitis and another to 'unexplained sudden death' last year - I don't want to lose another.

[TeaPots]

poor u, wot a nightmare
what are you trying t feed her? she might manage some boiled egg yolk, and chick crumb. I am surprised the vet chose ivermectin, as it is not very fast-acting. I use flubenvet quarterly, and ivermectin annually, (it controls a wider range of parasites).  Dont give up on her yet, she can fight this.

[bexybeck]

Thanks TeaPots! It really is a nightmare - I'm nursing a cat that was injured in a fight too. I'm thinking at this rate it might be cheaper (and easier) to change career and train as a vet myself!

I'm feeding anything that will go in a syringe! She's had egg yolks, pureed pellets, a bit of bread, cabbage, lettuce, spinach all with a bit of poultry spice mixed in. I'm trying to keep her diet varied but her comb has got worse. This morning I gave her a bit of fish cat food with an iron tablet mixed in - only an 8mg tablet so nothing hefty but I could only get a small amount into her.

I think the vet gave her ivermectin because it's all he had that could be taken externally. I've got the flubenvet, which I'm giving to all the other hens, but her crop is being so weird it might not have helped her quickly enough either  The vet also might have been trying to cover all the bases just in case! He confirmed that Verm-x is evil at any rate.

If her crop doesn't empty tomorrow I'll try more massage and then might have to empty it manually. There doesn't seem to be any smell, and it doesn't seem to be impacted (I've dealt with that one before...) but it could be a small impaction and she's had so much liquid food, her crop wouldn't feel familiarly hard, would it?

It's so hard deciding what's best to do 

[TeaPots]

oh poor you, poor her. I wish I was there to help. check she is warm enough too, and dont worry too much about comb colour. Will she eat meal worms? u could dip one in lime flour for calcium, but ONLY the one. mealworms should tempt the most poorly of girls. adn egg yolk and chick crumb are packed with nutrients needed, plus a tiny bit of fine grit as maybe all the soft stuff needs some grit? My thoughts are with you.

[bexybeck]

Thanks TeaPots,

I'm not too happy about giving her cat food but I was thinking protein. We've managed to get a little grit down her neck with some grain. I haven't got any lime flour so I'll get onto that, also some chick crumbs, we've only got layers pellets.

I'll keep you posted!

[themagicaltoad1]

I've not wormed my 3 girls before, they seem very healthy and I'm reluctant to fill them with chemicals if not really necessary, so what's the general opinion on this? I have looked in the places where I buy their feed and not seen flubenvet anywhere, so if you all agree I should be doing this can anyone recommend a web site to buy it from?

[Zak the Rabbit]

Hi bexybeck

Im in exactly the same position as you, one of my girls has exactly the same symptoms. A good check over of her showed no parasites or other problems, and i was watching her so got a chance to see her poo, no obvious worms but it did match one of auntsallys photos that indicate worms.

So, she is in isolation, and she and the others are all on the flubenvet. Ive also taken the opertunity to put them on coxoid at the same time. It is a worry when one goes like this, i just hope ive caught her early enough

anyway, i found a four-leaf clover this morning! lets hope the luck works

[bexybeck]

Hi Magictoad,
mine are all ex-batts so I was reluctant to fill them full of chemicals too, but alas the herbal route hasn't done me any favours.

I got mine from http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-7011-flubenvet-1-tub-60g.aspx £16.11, (it was £14 a week ago when I bought it!) but you can get it from other online pet places.

Zak the Rabbit - can I share your clover? Seriously though, I hope your hen gets better soon, I'm sure she'll be fine  I just wish I'd caught it earlier - it's misery waiting to see whether or not she'll pull through.

[Zak the Rabbit]

help yourself to a leaf!



shes a bit perkier, not happy being in the isolation ward! so long as she eats a good bit of the medicated feed over next couple days then i'll move her back into the run

[Zak the Rabbit]

ha! got it to do the photo this time!

feeling a bit sorry for the others now, cos there not getting special treatment, so just cooking them up some plain rice as a treat