Hi all you chicken loving folks! I've been raising chickens since 1999! I've had all sorts of breeds and have gotten to know them personally! I mean REAL personally! LOL Our chickens live in the house with us! They have crates in their own bedroom! A very tiny Chinese Silkie Hen sleeps with my husband on her own pillow every night! We have a Moran hen that knocks on the door to be let back inside to get in her cage. So Yeah! We are very personal with our pets! Due to the companionship we have with our chickens? I've learned a lot about them and have learned many ways to help chickens with their physical issues!
The reason I joined BYC was to inform others in the chicken world of a problem I've been dealing with on our Rhode Island Red Hen - Dorothy! I wish I'd known this myself way before it got as bad as it did! So with this said I'll tell my story!
Months ago! I noticed Dorothy was starting to hold her head to the side. She's an outdoor hen with a large rooster. They roam freely over two acres and I know for a fact she's been attacked by a hawk or two. So I kept an eye on her to see if she would get better or if she would get worse. Well she got worse. And I mean real bad worse! She started laying down with her head curled up underneath herself. Refused to straighten her head up from that point on. I tried the Vitamin E suggestion and that didn't help. I didn't think it was a lack of Vit E and it was crook neck anyway, because my kids eat really well here!
Then I figured it was probably an ear infection. I started using my doctor prescribed ear drops in her ear. She seemed to rally with that, but then went back down again. I made her a VET appointment and took her in for X-Rays. My VET knows the problem is serious when I finally make it to her office. She knows how I am with our kids and knows I can usually solve the problem myself. But I can't see inside of them, so an X-Ray was due! There was nothing on the X-Ray to show the problem! ARGH! The VET looked in her ears and didn't see anything either!
Well she gave me some antibiotics to put her on and I continued with the ear drops. Two days after the VET visit it happened! A nasty drainage started from her ear. The VET told me to bring her back in. The VET put her to sleep and cleaned out the mess in her ear! Oh it was stinky! Once it was all cleaned out the evidence was there for her problem! She had a hole in her eardrum! Now you are asking! How did that happen?
A chickens ears and nostrils are open to the mouth way! She apparently ate something that ended up in her ear. After months of irritation it finally boiled up and burst thru her eardrum. That's where the stinky was coming from. It was an inner ear problem and that's why the VET didn't see it on her first examine.
I've now got her on two different ear drops and baby aspirin. I'm also giving her my prescribed meloxicam for an anti-flammatory due to her neck being so stiff from being in the crooked position for so long. She's doing better and able to hold her head up straighter now for small limited times. I'm feeding her bread sprayed with water and canned corn. Don't want to feed her grain with her head upside down.
The hole will close back up and she'll eventually get her bearings back again! I've got her in a large box with short sides in it. I rotate the clean towels for her lay on. It's been a long process to get to this point, but I love her and she's another kid in the bunch of six we have now!
I have to give thanks to a friend that talked me into posting this info for the BYC group!
I hope others will find this info helpful! I've dealt with the sour crop before as well as other issues chickens have. I've found solutions for the most of their problems! Just ask away if you have a problem?
TC
The reason I joined BYC was to inform others in the chicken world of a problem I've been dealing with on our Rhode Island Red Hen - Dorothy! I wish I'd known this myself way before it got as bad as it did! So with this said I'll tell my story!
Months ago! I noticed Dorothy was starting to hold her head to the side. She's an outdoor hen with a large rooster. They roam freely over two acres and I know for a fact she's been attacked by a hawk or two. So I kept an eye on her to see if she would get better or if she would get worse. Well she got worse. And I mean real bad worse! She started laying down with her head curled up underneath herself. Refused to straighten her head up from that point on. I tried the Vitamin E suggestion and that didn't help. I didn't think it was a lack of Vit E and it was crook neck anyway, because my kids eat really well here!
Then I figured it was probably an ear infection. I started using my doctor prescribed ear drops in her ear. She seemed to rally with that, but then went back down again. I made her a VET appointment and took her in for X-Rays. My VET knows the problem is serious when I finally make it to her office. She knows how I am with our kids and knows I can usually solve the problem myself. But I can't see inside of them, so an X-Ray was due! There was nothing on the X-Ray to show the problem! ARGH! The VET looked in her ears and didn't see anything either!
Well she gave me some antibiotics to put her on and I continued with the ear drops. Two days after the VET visit it happened! A nasty drainage started from her ear. The VET told me to bring her back in. The VET put her to sleep and cleaned out the mess in her ear! Oh it was stinky! Once it was all cleaned out the evidence was there for her problem! She had a hole in her eardrum! Now you are asking! How did that happen?
A chickens ears and nostrils are open to the mouth way! She apparently ate something that ended up in her ear. After months of irritation it finally boiled up and burst thru her eardrum. That's where the stinky was coming from. It was an inner ear problem and that's why the VET didn't see it on her first examine.
I've now got her on two different ear drops and baby aspirin. I'm also giving her my prescribed meloxicam for an anti-flammatory due to her neck being so stiff from being in the crooked position for so long. She's doing better and able to hold her head up straighter now for small limited times. I'm feeding her bread sprayed with water and canned corn. Don't want to feed her grain with her head upside down.
The hole will close back up and she'll eventually get her bearings back again! I've got her in a large box with short sides in it. I rotate the clean towels for her lay on. It's been a long process to get to this point, but I love her and she's another kid in the bunch of six we have now!
I have to give thanks to a friend that talked me into posting this info for the BYC group!
I hope others will find this info helpful! I've dealt with the sour crop before as well as other issues chickens have. I've found solutions for the most of their problems! Just ask away if you have a problem?TC
and Welcome To BYC! Sounds like you've had quite the experience with Dorothy! Glad she is on the mend and hope she recovers completely!
