Hi all
Our first post. We have been using the site for a while and keep saying we should register but failed to get around to it! We're here now.
One of our hens has been unwell for nearly 2 weeks.
Initial issue was a warm and sloppy crop. We did everything that was suggested: massage, olive oil, starved her for 24 hours with just water, put her on mash. We think she was sick overnight, and the crop went down but she was still unhappy. Laying has also stopped, but so has it for the others all about the same time, so we are guessing this is fairly normal as they've been laying solidly for about 10 months.
We took her to the vet last week. He is bird friendly but not a chicken specialist as far as we can tell. He prescribed antibiotic tablets. There's been little change since then: crop still small but hard (like a golf ball) and an apparent loss of appetite. She simply doesn't seem keen on food unless it is something fresh like fruit.
She is separated from the others and looks bored, isn't eating much at all.
One thing that really concerns us is her poo. Below is a photo of this morning's poo, which may be normal and just the stomach lining changing, however we thought it worth showing.
They bed in straw and tend to eat this too, so you may feel that could be an issue. She has had no access to long grass (due to the arrival of daytime foxes which snatched one of our original 3 at 11:30am in bright sunshine).
Looking forward to your responses.
Our first post. We have been using the site for a while and keep saying we should register but failed to get around to it! We're here now.
One of our hens has been unwell for nearly 2 weeks.
Initial issue was a warm and sloppy crop. We did everything that was suggested: massage, olive oil, starved her for 24 hours with just water, put her on mash. We think she was sick overnight, and the crop went down but she was still unhappy. Laying has also stopped, but so has it for the others all about the same time, so we are guessing this is fairly normal as they've been laying solidly for about 10 months.
We took her to the vet last week. He is bird friendly but not a chicken specialist as far as we can tell. He prescribed antibiotic tablets. There's been little change since then: crop still small but hard (like a golf ball) and an apparent loss of appetite. She simply doesn't seem keen on food unless it is something fresh like fruit.
She is separated from the others and looks bored, isn't eating much at all.
One thing that really concerns us is her poo. Below is a photo of this morning's poo, which may be normal and just the stomach lining changing, however we thought it worth showing.
They bed in straw and tend to eat this too, so you may feel that could be an issue. She has had no access to long grass (due to the arrival of daytime foxes which snatched one of our original 3 at 11:30am in bright sunshine).
Looking forward to your responses.