how to stop diarrhea in a hen !please!

[augiedranch]

i have a golden polish hen that has always had problems.. ( i got her from a bad situation about two yrs ago. )she stopped laying altogether about six months ago. shes at least four years old. anywase, shes a pet, i have 24 other chickens and so its no big deal to have a couple of pets.

this hen, about every two months comes down gravely ill. i have to put her in a cage and hand feed/water her. sugar water, probios, scrambled eggs, honey. deworm,,. the works. then she jumps out of it and is ok! for another two months.. well during this very sick part she has severe diarrhea.

its getting stressful having to do all of this so frequently.. so if someone can just let me know how to stop her from having diarrhea ill just do that.

i know when shs sickly becase she will stay in the dark by herself and not come out. she stays hidden for days away from the other chickens and roosters. nobody eles has diarrhea, worms, or is sick in any way...


what can i do?

 

[chickenlady]

The only thing i can think of is get her on probiotics and a good vitamin/mineral suppliment like avia charge2000. There is something that is not working right in her digestive track that the probiotics should hopefully straighten out. Keep her off all treats, only feed layer food (or whatever you are feeding), just keep the food consistant. Try to stay away from freeranging for a little bit as she may find something that will upset her digestive system.

I wish I had more help to offer, I know this has got to be frustrating. Good luck to you and her.

 

[McChix]

I have read that feeding them plain yogurt will help. I mix it with oats and sometimes a pinch of avia charge.

Good luck!

 

[Jenski]

I like the idea of the Avia Charge (I ordered mine from McMurray). I might also suggest rotating that with McMurray's Immuno Charge ~ that is a really jam-packed probiotic with some other good supplements.

Your hen sounds like she's "been around the Horn twice," and she just may be unthrifty. Those supplements will benefit everyone, though, so it's definitely worth a shot.

If you want to spend a little more $ you could also get a check up at an avian vet.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on how she does!

 

[Jenski]

augiedranch, upon more thought (oh no) . . .

The cyclic nature of your hen's problems also make me wonder if it isn't something in her environment that isn't contributing to her illness ~ maybe something that doesn't bother the healthier hens, but affects her.

What are you feeding?

Do you free range? If they range at all, have you tried pulling up a lawn chair and watching what that hen eats when she's free?

Do you use well water?

How many hens? How many roosters?

Have you seen signs of worms in any chickens?
Do you always give the same kind of wormer, or do you rotate?

When you think back, has the weather perhaps been wetter/colder/hotter/anything shortly before this hen starts up?



OK, no more thinking for me this afternoon.

 

[augiedranch]

Quote:
hey,
those are good questions.. well, i feed layinig mash crumbles by purina i think, chicken scratch by evergreen i think.. and an occasional leftovers and bread... my hens are COMPLETELY free range on 7 acres. they can get in the horse pasture, and share a pasture with four goats. when they free range they just mostly eat bugs and some of the bermuda/coastal grass and weeds. sometimes they get the bird feeder which is chicken scratch with sunflowerseeds in it., i do not use well water.. i have two roosters that are old enough to breed, and 12 hens that are old enough to breed. i have 8 two month old jersey giant hens and two 8 month old jersey giant roosters.. and two 4 month old roosters... but they arent breeding..
i only deworm when i see worms in their feces via microscope, except to this lil hen i just worm her every time she goes down.. in the fecal through the microscope i saw round looking worm eggs.. so i dont know if those are round worms in chickens... i use wazine, and then some expensive panacur stuff i got from the internet, that says it deworms everything except for tapes.

i havent seen coccidiosis in any of my hens feces. including the sick ones poop.

i live in texas.. so it is ALWAYS hot... usually over 100... its 94 today and its wonderful! lol! so im not sure if ive seen anything eles different with the weather associated with this hen. (cheetah). she s still sick.. has diarrhea.. but im not caging her up this time.. its too hot and frankly i have so many others to tend to.... well, shes walkin around and eatin here and there so im just going to give her time.. thanks everyone

 

[Jenski]

You could probably just keep on the supplements (Avia Charge, electrolytes). There are some foods that might slow down "the trots," like bread, squash, thick-made oatmeal. She might just be more affected by the heat ~ or she might not be consuming the right balance of water/greens, etc. Sounds like they have every opportunity to balance their own diets; maybe due to her past history she just isn't good at doing this.

Or she could also have a systemic problem (perhaps something that caused damage to her intestines), again from her past. Sorry I'm not more help. I would just try to keep the weight on her, and see how it goes. Perhaps someone with more expertise will have more suggestions.

Please keep us posted!

 

[augiedranch]

just an update. cheetah is seperated in a chicken tractor.. she started eating scratch. and scrambled eggs. well see how she does. thanks for all your help. shes still hangin on.... i bet ur right. she prob has some sort of internal problem. from her past. thanks.

(she was kept in a small dirt filled cage and fed only goat food. it was so sad... ) then i got her and shes soooo happy~