[wardy]

 I hope someone can help??? ive been battling with red mites and hopefully got on top of it now, the girls all seem well apart from one who has lost her appetite, she just stands on her own tail down and looking so sad,how can i get her eat,is there anything to give her a boost?i'd hate to lose her as I havn't had her long and she is so sweet,.......any advise please x

[ANHBUC]

Is she still laying or could she be eggbound?  Try bathing her in a sink bowl of warm water making sure her vent is covered.  The warm water should relax her and could aid her to lay.  Make sure she is dry before you return her to the coop.  Towel dry and cool setting on a hairdryer will work.

Welcome to the forum wardy, hope your hen recovers soon.  Other members will give you more advice if you need it.

[wardy]

 They all stopped laying for a while, while i was battling the mites,never thought she could be egg bound, I will give her a nice warm bath now and hopefully she will be ok, thank so much for replying so quickly, I will let you know how I get on.

[wardy]

Hi, ive given her a bath,she was very quiet witch is worrying,had a good feel couldn't feel anything, ive brought her in the house to keep warm and quiet in a cat box with some treats, she has a peck at them but doesn't eat them,she feels very thin, i'm really worried now, should I make a paste out of pellets and feed her with a syringe?

[bexybeck]

Hi Wardy,
try her with the food she really loves. Mine go nuts for corn, cooked pasta, sweetcorn, natural yoghurt/yakult, lettuce. Nothing particularly nutritious (!) but if she'll eat that you can try mixing it with mushed up pellets to con her into eating the good stuff. Some people don't recommend giving yoghurt to hens but if she won't eat anything she'll eventualy die of starvation (and mine really love yoghurt, they'd eat anything if I mashed it into yoghurt)

If she won't eat anything on her own then you might need to syringe feed her. Be really careful though because you don't want her to accidentally inhale any. If you can get food into her beak without a syringe she should swallow it on her own. If you do need to syringe then wrap her in an old towel and do it slowly. Drip water onto her beak and she'll swallow the drops if she won't drink on her own.

Try giving her another bath later and some calcium and aspirin can help if they're egg-bound - search the forums for the dosage, I don't have it to hand.

Has her comb gone pale? She could be anaemic from the mite attack. Try a tiny bit of  marmite spread on toast and add multi vitamins to her water to help her get back on track.

Bex

[wardy]

Thanks for the advise,I gave her some pellets mashed in water,I fed her by syringe and she seems to have perked up a bit,think i'll try the marmite on toast,Ive put poultry tonic in the water too and I know she loves tomatoes.
Thanks so much for replying x

[Anndee]

Hope she feels better soon 

[bexybeck]

Good luck, I hope she feels better soon - let us know how she gets on 

[wardy]

Hi everyone,
ive got great news my hen has recovered, i think she was anaemic from the mite attack as she wasn't egg bound, her comb is still a little pale but she is getting lots of nuticious food and poultry tonic in her water. I am so relieved as you can imagine. I just want to say a big "Thankyou" to all that replied and gave me advise,I know it sounds. sad but I didn't feel that I was trying to make her better on my own.
Thanks,
Julie (wardy)

[bexybeck]

Glad she's better Julie!

You're never alone when there is a forum like this - it doesn't sound sad, I feel the same. I've got a poorly chook at the moment and I've found lots of people here full of fantastic advice and support.

Keeping hens can make you feel a bit nuts at times, especially when people who don't keep hens say 'but it's just a chicken!' We know different 

[ANHBUC]

That's great news Julie.