Experienced laners - really need your help, please

[Freeranger]

Hi,

We have a girl who's just fading. Not dramatically, but bit by bit. She's incredibly skinny and her comb and face are pale, with her comb sort of blueish-red and crisp-looking. She's not one of the oldest because her legs and beak aren't yellow as a couple of them are. She's eating fine, but seems slow and deliberate in her movement and to be puffing up her feathers even in the sun. She has good plumage but is missing a couple of wing feathers on either side. We haven't seen her being bullied at all, and she seems to be taking an interest in everything. There are no worms or eggs in the poo, though one of them is doing ones which are quite whitish which I think is a high concentration of urates. But if they're hers, what do I do about it? Could she be anaemic - and if so what can I do? We've de-loused the coop and put a couple of drops on her back. She's quite passive as she's being handled. She doesn't seem in pain and there's no sign of infection. She's an ex-batt that's been with us about two years. I really don't know what to do, so can anyone help please?

[manda]

Hi Freeranger....few questions...

Is she laying at the moment? The yellow of the legs is related to the length of being off the lay....not age related.

Have you felt her tummy...soft, squishy, fluidy, hard?

Has she moulted at all?

is she eating? How's her crop?


Of course the other thing is she may not be as old as the others but that doesn't mean the cages haven't taken their toll all the same and effected her more than the others.

[Freeranger]

Hi Manda - thanks for responding. They've all had partial moults, but not for a while - we were surprised because it was going into winter at the time (5 months or so ago). She is missing a couple of wing feathers. Her crop and tummy seem normal, and she is eating but slowly. We don't think she's laying. There's no sign of anything obvious. I wondered of she might have favus on her comb, but that wouldn't explain the skinniness - her keel bone is very obvious.

[Skeksis]

Replied to pm x

[Richard]

Hi Freeranger

I'm afraid I'm not much help on Chicken Ailments and I'm sorry to hear about your Hen.

I'm sure it would help others who have Hens with similar problems to let us know of any advice and treatment given.

Wishing you well.

Thanks, Richard

[Chicken drumstick]

I,m clueless .....sorry

But ex bats , 18 month old plus 2 years out , not to bad an innings .......?

I bought 4 originally, 2 are looking and doing well 8 month on but pretty sure no eggs .

The other 2 never did much in the way of a recovery and sadly died like old ladies before there time .

[manda]

If you think she has Favus (which is a fungal infection and looks like flour on the surface of the skin) then the treatment for that most commonly is Miconazole but do you have any other chickens with signs of it as it's contagious...and whilst it does spread slowly it does spread (and to humans too).
Personally I would think you would need a vet to confirm that it is.

That blueish tinge would suggest circulatory issues so cardiac or respiratory...but I also want to ask the obvious...has it been very cold because that can give them a temporary blue hue to their combs (circulation again).

Do you think she's lost a lot of weight? Ex-batty's are rarely heavy birds and certainly in the beginning most vets thought people who had then were starving them because they were used to your standard farm yard chook...I think they are more up on the batty's now and so aren't so surprised when they get one in....

A simple answer could be that she is coming back into lay as Spring is now upon you all in the UK and the adjustments could be in response to that.

2 years out of the cages is a good time....I know it doesn't seem it but for many of these little hens that is a heck of a time.

I think it's all very well us trying to guess what's going on with her but the only way for someone to do a thorough exam is go to a vet....they will be able to see what you see and have a good old feel all over her.

[ock]

Replied to pm x

Ooh, tell us, tell us too, or is it a secret

[Skeksis]

Nah, I'm just on a moby dev for a few days, no time to do a looooonnngg post lol

[Freeranger]

Thanks everyone for being so wonderful. Took her to the vet this morning and they said she had a rattly chest, which we had thought she didn't but she's been crackling away since I brought her home. She's gone downhill this afternoon, but its been quite chilly here, and she's very thin and had a stressful day for a poorly chicken.. The vets have given what I'm told is a whacking great dose of AB to try and knock any infection on the head, though they commented that she's quite bright-eyed without a temperature, so she may have a virus or tumour or.....
It's possible that she has more than one thing wrong so on Skeksis' advice I'm going to also try worming her and giving poultry spice. She's been sat in her cage with her beak a couple of inches from scrambled egg and tomatoto try to encourage her to eat, but only taken the tiniest amount. I've given her more Baytril - I thought she died while I was doing it because she went completely still with her eyes closed - and put her out in the coop to sleep with the others, upon which she got up and walked to the nesting box of her selection.
Really very unsure what I'm going to find tomorrow but the coop's quite cosy and for now this is all I can do.
Thanks to Manda and especially to Skeksis - looking forward to her book, she's like a walking encyclopaedia of chickens!

[Freeranger]

Is it significant that she's choosing to stand rather than lie down, do you think?

[Skeksis]

Is she out in the nesting box and still standing up now do you mean?

If so I would fetch her in, pop her in that cage somewhere darkish and quiet with a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel (that there is room to get off) because that is not good. Make sure she isnt disturbed by noise or other pets etc x

[perchy]

Is it significant that she's choosing to stand rather than lie down, do you think?

This is just my personal experience of a hen we sadly lost, she went very thin and had a rattly chest, she stood as when she did sit/lay fluid would build she was much more comfy standing, the vet did drain fluid and masses of antibiotics, but unfortunately she hid it until it was too late, I am keeping everything crossed for your little lady, and sending you a hug

[Freeranger]

When I left her last night she was standing in the nest box, but I didn't see the other posts til this morning so I left her. This morning she got up with the others but was very wobbly and collapsed into the food, where the others started pecking her. We brought her straight indoors and put her into a small cage where she has egg and tomato and some water, and have covered it so she's dark and warm. I wondered whether to bother with the AB this morning, or whether to accept what seemed to be the inevitable and just make everything as stress-free as possible for her to go in her own time. But when I checked on her later she seemed a little perkier and I have given her another dose. She fought me a bit, spat some out, and pecked the syringe in annoyance, so there's a little fight left in her. Yesterday afternoon she seemed to be plummeting downhill fast and was becoming very wheezy, but now she's indoors her breathing is much better.
I feel much more relaxed now. I think this may just be her time, but now I know she isn't in pain and with the advice I've had I'm doing everything proportional and practical that I can to help her, then what will be will be. What I was concerned about wasn't so much a deep love for a pet, though we're very fond of them all: more the thought that there was something everyone else would know and that I didn't - that there is something, but I wasn't doing it, and I feel that it's my duty to take care of them. I hope that makes sense as I suppose it's very subjective and not entirely logical. Everything's crossed, though.

[Skeksis]

Hi

She still has a chance but you need to make sure you give the ABs in the correct dosage at the correct time intervals and not here and there otherwise you will sabotage the chance of them working at all.

Hope she is OK