Maine

[Cknldy]

X2 superchem. Can the "smell about her" be described so perhaps those that have dealt with crop issues can possibly help determine if their experiences could advise you just in case?

 

[CoopChick719]

I have one of those mouse sized traps.  I've set it with choc chip and PB.  The beauty of it is, once they're baited, the critter never lives long enough to eat the bait, so I'm still using the same chocolate chip I've been using since early fall.

I put my FF in a dog bowl.  They never spill a drop of it.  Are you fermenting layer pellets or grains??

Yes, I've only had to rebait one. I'm fermenting crumbles.

So funny- I read this thread then went out to feed only to find a frozen mouse in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket! Nothing but 1/4" of sawdust in the bottom from yesterday, don't even know why/how it got in there last night. 2nd mouse found in a 5 gallon bucket this winter without even trying

Oh sure cknlady rub it in

She had a GREAT time in the tub, splashing and diving for peas. She moves the leg, it seems to be the ankle/foot that she isn't moving. She is back in her (cleaned, tubby time gave me a chance to clean that up) box, preening away. She stood up in the box on her good foot, using the backside of the bum one to prop herself up. I sprinkled some peas and Brewers yeast in her food to try to get her to eat some food. Vitamin mix in her water.

Country chick how's your girl's leg? I'm so nervous leaving a large open dish of water out in cold weather.

It's pretty clear my sick hen is starving for some reason.  I've got her inside, feeding her eggs, yogurt, a bit of normal multiflock grain, and fresh water.  The poop is green and runny, and she's got a smell about her.  From everything I have read in and out of this site, it sounds like starvation.

She's certainly emaciated, I just don't quite know the cause. I've only lost one chicken to natural causes, but it wasn't a slow decline like this and it wasn't recent.  She has slowly over the past few days seemed sluggish and unable to roost, after the first night of this--I brought her inside so she could be in the warm environment and I could monitor her food and water intake.  It's slim, but existent.  So she is able to take in food and water, it just doesn't seem to help.  This makes me think she's either full of worms/parasite, or has some type of other avian sickness I am unfamiliar with.  She just seems incredibly lethargic, her breastbone is easily visible.  I need to do a more thorough inspecting of her crop, but it doesn't seem to be the issue.

So sorry about you girl Jazor I had 1 like that last year. I think she had egg yolk peritonitis. When I necropsied her she had a funky smell to her.

 

[buckabucka]

I'm not sure what to do about your hen, Jazor, but for what it's worth, here are my sick hen experiences:

I've had three different hens that were very sick and staying in the house at various times. One died very quickly and I had necropsied, -she had a reproductive infection. The other two recovered. The first one I had no idea what to do. I did find mites, and dusted her, but her decline continued. The day she stopped eating all together and wouldn't open her eyes, I went out and bought ivermectin. I really did not even expect her to live until I got home, but she very slowly made a full recovery after the Ivermectin treatment, which may or may not have had anything to do with her recovery. I did force feed her for at least a couple days with a syringe.

The third hen had sour crop, and also wouldn't eat. I was massaging her crop each day and trying to force-feed yogurt in small amounts. I finally bought Monistat suppositories, a third of a "tablet" given twice a day. You can stick it down their throat, but I minced mine, mixed it with kefir, and fed it with a syringe. A day later she was fine. If the crop is impacted, some people do home surgery.

Those are my totally non-medical lets-try-this experiences. Good luck with your hen!

 

[suzMEchicks]

Lazy Gardener: Sorry I gave the impression I was in the hospital as a patient. I'm a nurse and a lot of us stayed over night just in case the Blizzard was real and the roads were impassable. Thank God it wasn't as bad as expected/anticipated. Today not bad either. A fluffy 7 inches this morning.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ok, then, Suz! Hope you enjoyed your jammie party!

 

[country chick13]

She is so much better! I was getting worried about her not eating (wouldn't touch the mash even with squished up peas..picky little thing). Tuesday we brought her outside to see her flock and they were all so happy, made my day! She limped over to the food after greeting everyone, and chowed down. We ended up leaving her in there with her buds. Yesterday she was still limping but is walking on her foot normal ( on the bottom not the top of her foot). She wasn't ever one that would eat from my hands, but when I went out with peas, she came right over to me and ate them out of my hand (even pushed one of the drakes out of the way) I am so happy, and want to thank everyone who responded for their advice and concern! e

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Keep an eye on her but...

 

[Branch Chickens]

@Jazor I had a hen just like that earlier this winter. Same droppings. Same weird smell about her. I suspected egg yolk periontitis (spelling?) because I had recently had to remove a soft shelled egg from her vent.
I thought we would lose her for sure, but we kept her in where it was warm and fed her lots of yogurt and water with Duramycin for three days. There was marked improvement, and after a week I was able to put her back out with the girls.
She isn't exactly thriving now, and I'm pretty sure she hasn't laid an egg since, but she is alive.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sign of spring? I saw my first ever, alive oppossum today, about 1/4 mile from my house. So, how concerned should I be about seeing one out in the middle of the day? Aren't they nocturnal? How predatory are they regarding chickens? How aggressive are they regarding trying to chew into a building? If I start seeing tracks in my yard, what to bait a trap with? How difficult are they to catch?

 

[mlowen]

Sign of spring?  I saw my first ever, alive oppossum today, about 1/4 mile from my house.  So, how concerned should I be about seeing one out in the middle of the day?  Aren't they nocturnal?  How predatory are they regarding chickens?  How aggressive are they regarding trying to chew into a building?  If I start seeing tracks in my yard, what to bait a trap with?  How difficult are they to catch?

I think they'd rather have chicks or dead things than a live, feisty chicken, but hunger might boost courage. I've never known of one to chew into a place. I have seen them in daylight, but they are mostly nocturnal. They don't get rabies and they are great pest eaters--roaches, etc. they only live on average 2-4 years. Probably less way up here, they are not well adapted to the cold.