[shetan]

hey all....

sorry in advance for the long post...after much to-ing and fro-ing of whether to put our boy out of his misery, we decided to give him more time and i brought him in to the house. he had taken to just sitting and struggling for air in the coop. his wattles and comb were dark purple and cold.

it occurred to me that he might be dehydrated because when i picked him up he was quite lean and if he hadn't been eating then he probably hadn't been drinking either.

so...i diluted a tiny amount of flub' into a syringe and gave him that and then followed it with a warm water/honey mixture to give him some energy. he started to pick up so i've given him a watery veggie soup mix to get some food in to him...but what now?

he hasn't eated any pellets (normal or mashed with water) and i think its because he is still gaping. what else can i give him in liquid format to get something substantial into him?

he has started pooing but it is a green liquid mess and doesn't seem to contain any worms.

any advice would be gratefully recieved.

[PaulineM]

Hi
If you make the mash very watery maybe you could syringe some into him.
Good luck

[bantam novice]

Good Luck Shetan and keep us posted 

[shetan]

well no luck with the watery pellets.

had to syringe feed him a whizzed up blend of mixed veggies, watered down for the syring to work with flubenvet mixed in.

he was really perky this morning, even ate a couple of tablespoons of corn but by late afternoon was gasping for air again as though he was choking. 

fingers still crossed....

[Helenaj]

How is he today?

[shetan]

sorry...was out with a migraine myself yesterday...

he's still much the same. still gasping for air every few breaths and every once in a while he stretches out his neck and takes a huge gasp of air. still syringe feeding him with souped up veggies and flubenvet.

he's easily stressed and turns purple very quickly. i put him back with his girls and he sees to have perked up but the symptoms are the same. 

i think his days might be numbered. i can't stand seeing hin suffer but on the other hand he's fighting so i don't want to give up on him.

[Helenaj]

Have you checked his throat to see if it's clear? There's a fungal infection called pigeon canker - I think it was mentioned on here a couple of weeks ago and it basically grows until it blocks the throat. It should be easily seen if you open the beak and is treatable with antibiotics. If you can see something yellow, that's probably it.
It's heartbreaking when they are ill, but as you say, he is putting up a fight, so don't give up.

[Casey76]

Have you had him on antibiotics for a respiratory infection?

Gape worm is actually quite rare.

You can make a gruel with very sloppy mash/pellet mix and use a large bore syringe or spoon feed

[shetan]

our boy died yesterday. he put up a long and hard fight and has left a huge brahma shaped hole. he was suffering, barely able to breathe and hubby took the decision to put him out of his misery.

he was my pride and joy.

we've now lost 3 boys in 2 months. the garden's a quieter place and not better for it 

[henamoured]

Aww, sorry to hear that. At least you did all you could for him and I'm sure that was the kindest decision in the end.

[jinty1911]

Sooo sorry to hear your bad news.  You did your best for him. 

[bantam novice]

So sorry, Shetan.  It is never an easy decision.