Egg bound calcium dosage

speckledhen said:

@casportpony Yes, I know about the 5 day treatment, but this time, I did them once and just did it again in less than two weeks. I don't know that they have capillary worms or any worms, necessarily, though this group has been penned more than free ranging this spring and those need more worming than free rangers, generally. Serena's abdomen is completely pliable again. Her crop isn't working well, seems to me. It's slightly doughy. Again, molting exacerbates so many underlying issues and the crop is a barometer of whatever might be wrong in there. We did another dose of the calcium gluconate and massaged her crop to push things along. Could be this molt is taking a lot out of her for some reason. It's been a super wet winter and maybe they do have a higher worm load than usual this year. I have plans to buy Valbazen but I can't afford it this month, unfortunately. And getting DH to help with doing things like worming and toenail trims is not always simple. It's all on me. This is why I will not keep the numbers I used to keep anymore and am working on thinning the ranks through attrition (though I'd rather the old ones pass on, not my prime layers, sheesh). Here are the poop pics you asked about, Kathy. That white stuff underneath the shavings is DE I sprinkled to help dry up the floor of the cage. That wet on the left is her poop, not water. ETA: I am doing the rest of the 5 day worming with Safeguard, if I have enough left to do so. They've had 2 days of it in a row this go=round. Serena is not doing well. She stands with eyes closed, has lost more weight. I fear her issue may be liver failure or something like that which is invisible to me and completely beyond my control. If not, it's something reproductive that heavy calcium doses isn't fixing. I hate to lose another younger hen but that is the theme of the past year or so for us, all from different stuff.

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casportpony said:

Quote:
Kathy, Serena is still slow-moving, very very thin, is not laying, just not herself. I did all 5 days of the Safeguard, which followed the one day worming with it just two weeks prior. I'm not convinced that worms are her issue, of course, but with the super wet weather and that group being penned more than normal, it seemed prudent to worm them. All the other hens in there are laying, including her 5 yr old mother. There are numerous issues she could have and I guess I've done what I could to make sure worms aren't one of them, but other than that, I don't know what else there is to do. I give them extra food like scrambled eggs mixed with turmeric, garlic, olive oil, etc, just to try to boost their immune systems. Thankfully, warmer and drier weather is here so she isn't having to use all her energy to stay warm.

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casportpony said:

When I can't take one to a vet, which is usually the case with the chickens, the next thing I treat for is coccidiosis and bacterial infections. Not saying that's what you should do, just wanted to share what I do. Like you already know, laying hens with repo issues don't usually survive, but I treat mine just in case I'm wrong about what might be ailing them, and sometimes I get lucky.

-Kathy

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casportpony said:

Not sure how long it lasts at room temp, last one I did that with grew mold, so now I keep mine in the fridge and use it for months. When I have egg problems with mine, I give 0.2ml per pound orally once or twice a day for a few days.

-Kathy

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FenikT said:

For a subcutaneous injection, 0.5 to 0.75 CC once daily is sufficient. SC is preferable to oral, as use of a calcium & vit E supplement like Walmart Wellnesse formula can be given at a rate of 1 CC orally (use syringe minus the needle). A drench has vitamins but insufficient calcium for the desired purpose.

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