picked on lady is now poorly.

[lou1978]

I brought picked on lady inside at night for the past two night because we've had very bad weather and she's missing a lot of feathers, this morning when i've got up her breathing seems to be very watery and she's a bit down, any ideas?

[KarenE]

Hi

When you say her breathing's a bit watery, what do you mean? Is she sniffling or rasping, like she's got a cold?

Any other symptoms? Is she eating and drinking? Is she active or not? What are her poos like? Is she laying and when did she last lay? (sorry for the barrage of questions!)

It's possible she was being picked on because she was coming down with something - chickens will want to drive the weak, ill bird away as it will be a threat to the whole flock. Plus as a weaker bird, she would naturally be pegged for bottom of the pecking order.

Keep her inside, keep her warm and make sure she's eating and drinking okay.

If she is displaying any symptoms like breathing difficulties, beak open and panting, rasping, crackling, runny nose or bubbling eyes then she may have a respiratory infection and will need antibiotics from the vets. It can be contagious, so keep her seperate (although I wouldn't normally advise this, as it will make re-introductions harder) and keep an eye on the rest of the flock as if they start to show symptoms they will also need antibiotics.

If it's a resp infection it's relatively easy to treat with tylan but if she's going downhill I would advise getting her to the vets asap as she'll need the antibiotics.

Of course, it may be something entirely different! If you could give as full a description as possible that might help to narrow it down a bit?

[lou1978]

she sounds raspy and has pecked at a bit of food today but not much, though last night she ate loads, she isn't very active but i have only had them a week yesterday and they'd been kept caged so she didn't really move around a lot anyway. she's drank plenty of water and isn't showing any signs of distress in fact she seems quite happy sat in her box in the warm. she hasn't layed any eggs since she's been with me but to be honest i think she's old and wasn't in the best of condition anyway.

[KarenE]

Poor little girl, thank goodness you found her and now she's got somewhere safe and warm to be. She may well be finding everything a bit stressful, given the conditions she has been kept in.

Try her on some mash (pellets mixed with water until they form a porridge) as she may prefer to eat that especially if she's feeling a bit under the weather. If she doesn't seem to be eating and the mash doesn't work, try scrambling an egg for her (no milk) as that may tempt her appetite. She will need her strength building up so do try to get her to eat.

If she has become a lot less active, that's a sign something isn't right so again keep an eye on her. Keep a very close eye on her breathing and if it's no better by tomorrow - and definitely if the symptoms get worse - then get her to the vets. If she's out of condition, a respiratory infection can be very serious.

How are the others? And you haven't said how their poos are. if they've been kept in bad conditions it's possible they may need worming. Have you also given them, a good check over for lice and mites?

[lou1978]

hi karen her poos a little soft but nothing to drastic i don't think, she's just eaten enough bread and water to keep me happy for tonight and has a little wonder round. she honestly seems a lot calmer just sat in her box in the house because she cowers away from the other four girl ( who are all coming along really well) i did offer her pellets today and she didn't seem keen but she does seems to like her bread more, maybe them who kept her fed them a lot more bread because for the first few days i had them they always ate all their bread and left the corn for afterwards. I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow if she seems worse but fingers crossed she'll pick up over night. thanks for your advice x

[KarenE]

Hi Lou

Yes, maybe she's just needing a bit of peace & quiet. I know it's tempting to keep her away from the others but unless you want a house chicken (!!) she'll need to get back out with them, assuming she isn't I'll of course, and re-introducing her may be horrible. Stand by with a water pistol and squirt the offenders when they get too horrible. Unfortunately it's a process they have to go through but t is horrible for us, and them too.

Many on here will advise keeping bread to a minimum if not avoid altogether. It isn't terribly good for them and has more salt than they can handle. Try the mash route, and don't give in to the demands for treats! (actually I'm a fine one to talk, my girls have me wrapped around their claws!) pellets contain the nutrients they need -bread doesn't and may further explain why they/she is in bad nick.

See if you can get her some poultry spice. That might help perk her up too. Rather than bread, try her/them with dried mealworms - full of protein and better for them. Diet should be mainly pellets/mash where possible. They will love some greens too (although you might get runny poos if they overdo it). Mine have just polished off half a bag of rocket.

[lou1978]

thanks karen, my other chickens in the past have always ate pellets and corn. but these five don't seem so keen so maybe its time to let them go humgry for a while then they will eat it. i'll go tomorrow and get annie some mealworms and hopefully she'll feel better after she's had them .

[perchy]

You could also try tempting her with some sardines, in oil rather than brine, mixed with her mash or pellets so it softens, mealworms too, they are a worry, if she gets very lethargic I would suggest the vet but also try some honey water

[lou1978]

thanks perchy, will try the honey water soon x

[silverback]

If these 5 are ex cage birds then they will probably have been fed mash and not pellets!, as has been suggested, soak some pellets in water to turn them into mash, then slowly reduce the water until they are used to the pellets!

[lou1978]

lol silverback, i did a bit of both. the four healthy girls did eat the pellet form but crapped on the mash. poorly girls is not for trying either. but whilst she's ill i'm going to give her whatever she will eat

[chicks&cats]

How is she doing today?

[lou1978]

She's not doing so bad today thanks for asking. making chickens noises again and eating ok just refuses point blank to go outside.

[perchy]

It is so cold so she has the right idea, hope she continues to improve

[lou1978]

She has lol. i saw a small dogs santa outfit in the pound shop and was tempted to buy her one.