springbok7
In the Brooder
Hi, I am looking for some advice on our wyningdotte hen. But first some history. We had 6 hens, 3 orpingtons and 3 wyningdotte, all 5 years old. We lost Pinky (orpington) in February to beak/throat cancer. We lost Blondie (orpington) early July to what we think was a heart attack and then her sister Baby-girl two weeks later. She was blind in one eye and was off her food, and we found her dead in the coop. The three wyningdottes seemed unsettled for most of August and I noticed one of the laces, Princess, had dun colouring on her feathers. We thought she was just overenthusiastic on the dustbaths but now I'm not so sure. I checked them on the 19th and the second lace, Lacy, appears to be fine, but Blackie is underweight and I can feel her breastbone. This came about because Princess appeared very weak on 18th and then I found her lying on the ground panting on the 19th, too weak to stand. I thought she was going to die right there but she didn't. I thought the others might be bullying her so I separated her and gave her food/water and she ate like crazy. She has no meat on her breast.
Did some research and thought that it might be worm infestation. Hubby used to worm yearly but ran out and with one thing or another (we care for his 94-year-old mother), we never got more and it's been over a year. The only thing they carry locally is wazine/piperazine so we grabbed some and gave it to the girls. I only made a quart's worth and divided it up since only three hens. Removed the water 24 hours later and replaced with clean water. I have kept Princess separated and she has her own food/water and she seemed to perk up a bit, but she is still spending the majority of her time sleeping and only once in the several days has she even stepped out of the dog crate I have her in. She is mostly sitting back on her "heels" with her head tucked under her wing. Her wattles etc seem a bit paler so more I thought it was worms. But her poop looks normal, no weird or stinky wet ones. I've ordered valbazen and fenbendazole and ivermectin but only one has arrived so far. Should I give her the wazine orally with a syringe? Or one of the others? Or wait until the 10 days is up and then treat with wazine again or something else? She was drinking the wazine-treated water though.
We live in Hawaii, and contrary to popular believe it ain't all sunshine and sandy beaches. We live in one of the wettest areas of the world (our storage room flooded, again, on Sunday) so based on what I was reading here we probably need to worm every 2-3 months, since it's so damp. The girls have a dirt run attached to a raised coop, but we let them out to free range around our yard during the day. However while deworming them they are kept locked up since our dog has a bad habit of "sampling" their poop. None of them have any sign of trauma or injury and the dog keeps out any cats or other chickens or other dogs from the property. She takes her chicken-herding/caring duties very seriously
Anyway, I just wanted to know if I could/should be more aggressive treating Princess for worms, or if it is something else. If it is, what could it be and what should I do? Or I can't do anything and I should make arrangements with the vet for a peaceful passing? It's been a very rough year for us so I'd like to minimize all our pain-and-suffering if possible.
If I've missed any of the things to include that are pertinent please let me know.
Did some research and thought that it might be worm infestation. Hubby used to worm yearly but ran out and with one thing or another (we care for his 94-year-old mother), we never got more and it's been over a year. The only thing they carry locally is wazine/piperazine so we grabbed some and gave it to the girls. I only made a quart's worth and divided it up since only three hens. Removed the water 24 hours later and replaced with clean water. I have kept Princess separated and she has her own food/water and she seemed to perk up a bit, but she is still spending the majority of her time sleeping and only once in the several days has she even stepped out of the dog crate I have her in. She is mostly sitting back on her "heels" with her head tucked under her wing. Her wattles etc seem a bit paler so more I thought it was worms. But her poop looks normal, no weird or stinky wet ones. I've ordered valbazen and fenbendazole and ivermectin but only one has arrived so far. Should I give her the wazine orally with a syringe? Or one of the others? Or wait until the 10 days is up and then treat with wazine again or something else? She was drinking the wazine-treated water though.
We live in Hawaii, and contrary to popular believe it ain't all sunshine and sandy beaches. We live in one of the wettest areas of the world (our storage room flooded, again, on Sunday) so based on what I was reading here we probably need to worm every 2-3 months, since it's so damp. The girls have a dirt run attached to a raised coop, but we let them out to free range around our yard during the day. However while deworming them they are kept locked up since our dog has a bad habit of "sampling" their poop. None of them have any sign of trauma or injury and the dog keeps out any cats or other chickens or other dogs from the property. She takes her chicken-herding/caring duties very seriously
Anyway, I just wanted to know if I could/should be more aggressive treating Princess for worms, or if it is something else. If it is, what could it be and what should I do? Or I can't do anything and I should make arrangements with the vet for a peaceful passing? It's been a very rough year for us so I'd like to minimize all our pain-and-suffering if possible.
If I've missed any of the things to include that are pertinent please let me know.
