Poorly ex-battery hen...

Dem · Post by **Dem** » 07 Aug 2007, 19:30

Is there anybody who could offer me some advice?!
About 2 months ago I adopted some battery hens, this afternoon one of them became very lethargic and I found her sitting in the coop. She appeared to be straining at the back end and her tail was down.
I was thinking that she could be egg bound, we have had some eggs without shells in the past, they are free-range and I feed them a mixture of corn & layers pellets. About an hour ago she left the coop and was wandering around with the others, but after 20 minutes or so she returned to the coop again.
I have read about massaging around the vent with vegetable oil, but is this a good idea or should I take her to the vets???

PK · Post by PK » 07 Aug 2007, 20:53

Hello Dem - Welcome to the forum. Is your bird panting/short of breath when its sitting in the coop? This can sometimes be a symptom of egg-binding. If it is egg bound a visit to the vet is in order.

b_cos_1_can · Post by **b_cos_1_can** » 07 Aug 2007, 21:24

hey Dem

mine had something similar about 7 weeks after i got mine.

i panicked and posted everywhere for help, syringed sugary water down her and just watched her. she didnt get better for a few hours but she didnt get any worse either. kept her comfortable as she couldnt stand or get comfy. someone advised me to keep her warm, so u might want to bring her in tonight into a cardboard box or something similar!
anyway, i put her in with her buddies over night (after all day worrying), got up in the morning expecting the worse and she was the first to come running out for food!
all that worry and she was fine!
she had finally laid over night and all was well.

but its down to how you feel, see how she goes overnight and keep her comfy and if no better by morning take to vets!

good luck with it, most of us have had similar experiences so my fingers are crossed for you!

kat xx

melons · Post by **melons** » 07 Aug 2007, 21:28

I hope for her sake she isn't egg bound, people use it in the lightest of terms, but for the girls it's not so good.
There's a good link on how to deal with it on Wendy's page, that should help.
My best of luck to her

Post by **wendy** » 07 Aug 2007, 22:13

Hi Dem.
It is in the files on the left hand side. But you would have to join to read it.
I had a couple a little poorly the last few weeks. Falling asleep on their feet, laying down with their wings down and tail drooped all the time. I syringed natural yoghurt mixed with olive oil down their throats a couple of times a day for a couple of days. That seemed to do the trick.
Do keep us posted, poor little soul
Wendy

morph · Post by **morph** » 08 Aug 2007, 11:35

Looks like you've had lots of good advice.

I had one ex-batt like this. Lethargic, tail down, straining etc. I massaged her, put vaseline up her bum etc, but that didn't work. She hadn't layed for months, so knew she wasn't egg bound.

I eventually found out that she had fluid build up in her abdomen due to the lifestyle they endured. Antibiotics and dieuretics didn't really help. She enjoyed another month of pottering aobut, but I'm afraid had to be euthinased.

Obviously not trying to scare you, but keep an eye on certain signs -
Is her comb shrivelling or slightly blue?
Is her belly squashy?
Does she seem to be getting heavier, although she is losing weight around her breast bone?
Is she getting John Wayne legs and having more trouble moving around?

I hope it's not this, but I thought I'd let you know anyway - I'm told it's quite a common condition in ex-batts

Hope all goes well

b_cos_1_can · Post by **b_cos_1_can** » 08 Aug 2007, 18:11

how is she today Dem??

morph · Post by **morph** » 09 Aug 2007, 08:21

Any news Dem- we'd all really like to know how she is?