Doris our survivor of mareks last year is now very unwell. For 2 days she has been doing very runny green poo. Yesterday I was tempting her to eat treats like corn and banana but today all she wants to do is stay on the perch and sleep. Having done some research and because of the mareks we are thinking that it may be Lymphoid Leukosis simply because the vet did warn us that although survival of mareks was very unusual, if they do survive then it is possible they will get tumours.
So we gave Doris 6 extra months just for her to come down with this. I hope she is not in pain as we are not ready to give up on her yet. She put up a great fight with mareks and survived and so we are hoping she will again and that we have the diagnosis wrong.
Of course looking to the future if she does go we are again left with 2 chickens which is not ideal. I am not sure I am strong enough to keep adding to the flock only to lose them so I really don’t know what to do. If Doris dies then we will have lost 4 chickens since August and when we only keep 4 chickens that’s an awful lot.
Sorry – moping again – I only ever seem to bring bad news to the site.
Lo :cry: :cry:
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Doris - looks like we are going to lose her too
Thinking of you Lo, we also currently have a hen that we're willing to get through her illness at the mo. She's resting up in the bedroom and I'm trying not to burst into tears every 10 minutes.
Maybe Doris just needs some respite, if she just wants to sleep then you can let her do that. Maybe try getting some CCF or Avipro into her if she's not eating or drinking? She might just have a weaker immune system because of the Mareks and may have succumbed to something else like a tummy bug. Hens respond well to hospitalising and loads of TLC, and I'm sure that's what you're giving her in bucket loads. Come on Doris, perk up and back to your normal self soon...and that goes for my baby Cynthia too... smallestsmallholding.com
ruralmuse.co.uk You are having such rotten luck and everyone thinks the ex battery girls are the ones that will give them problems. I am so sorry.
You have done well having her for another 6 months when the vet had warned you of the possible outcome. I am sure you are down. But don't be disheartened. You will get through this and have wonderful healthy chickens. It was just your first girls had this before you got them. It is not your fault, you are a good hen Mummy. Wendy http://www.busheyk9.co.uk
If you can't be a good example........ you will just have to be a horrible warning What is CCF or Avipro and where can I get it from. Although I'm not sure this will now help Doris if she has tumours as I really think she has been on borrowed time. I am trying to help her drink and eat but she really really does not want it. She has nearly been a whole day now without eating or drinking and I know this is bad. She seems to be breathing very fast. She fell off her perch earlier and I now have her in the cat carrier where she is just sleeping. This may sound bad but I just hope that her heart gives out soon so that my poor oh doesn't have to help her. He will without a doubt but we love our Doris more than all of them and it will hurt him so much.
If she is still like it in the morning then he will help her and we are then down to 2. Lo If you think her time is nearing. Bring her in, in the quiet, with a straw bed and only give her little bits of water now and again. I sometimes think it is unfair to pull them around if there isn't anything you can do. You cannot cure terminal, no matter how much we all want to.
Somehow I knew both my Doris, Priscilla and Brenda were near their end. I did them the honour of a peaceful death. We had said the same. If she is still like this in the morning Spencer will help her out. But two of them died in the night and Priscilla died after about 3 hours. Life is hard sometimes. Wendy http://www.busheyk9.co.uk
If you can't be a good example........ you will just have to be a horrible warning but she is not taking any water at all. I have tried opening her beak or just dripping water over her beak to see if instinct takes over but she just turns her head away and goes back to sleep. Maybe she has given up now. bless her. Not a long life at all - not even a year.
Well I'm away to go and look at her and cry some more tears over something I cannot change. Lo Well best leave her in peace. Just be close that sometimes is the best we can do
Wendy http://www.busheyk9.co.uk
If you can't be a good example........ you will just have to be a horrible warning CCF is a powder you mix with water, and you give it poorly hens when they're dehydrated and not well at all. I think it has minerals and things in it. Cynthia was like your hen, she wouldn't drink or eat but tonight I managed to get her to drink a fair bit.
Give your hen some time maybe? She might just be really tired and needs to rest up. Hope you see some improvement x smallestsmallholding.com
ruralmuse.co.uk
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