Poor old Ginger has been having a really tough time. Earlier this year she had an implant which worked wonders for a while but didn't even last six months before she needed a new one and more antibiotics.
This one just doesn't seem to have had the same miraculous effect and, while she seemed a bit better for a while, her droppings have not gone back to normal and she has had a constant mucky bum.
Then I noticed a couple of days ago that she seemed very weak, unable to jump up onto quite low surfaces, unable to perch. She has lost lots of weight - well pretty much all of it if I am honest: she is just skin and bone. She only seems to want to eat worms - she's quite voracious about those. Tonight I brought her indoors again and was cuddling her to warm her up when I felt something on my arm - turned out to be a straw coloured poultry louse. (Sorry everyone if I have started you itching - I know I am!)
Since I have checked her every time I have blow dried her - which has been extremely regularly recently - I wasn't expecting that.
I have checked her thoroughly this evening and, while I definitely saw another one running for cover, the base of her feathers are clean, without lice eggs. I googled and gather this means it must be early days for them.
My gut instinct is therefore that the darn things will certainly be making matters worse when she is so low, but are unlikely be the cause of her downturn.
I plan to go to the vet tomorrow. I am not feeling very hopeful for Ginger, she is so poorly.
And whatever else, it looks like I have my work cut out for me with a huge tub of DE tomorrow.