Thank you. I wouldn't be confident to try draining it. I've been reading online, and I've seen a few sources recommending oregano oil. Would this be worth trying, and if so, how much and how should I administer it?
Her stomach is obviously swollen today and she's waddling. Still eating and drinking.
I'm in an urban area of the UK and most vets don't treat chickens. I buy their feed from a farm where the farmer is quite an expert in chickens and always happy to give advice, so I could try there, but not...
I haven't watched her pass anything, but haven't seen any unusual droppings in the coop or run. Her crop seems to be emptying fine and she's eating and drinking well. Not sure about weight as I hadn't been handling her much prior to this as she's usually very speedy and feisty! But it does look...
I've not seen the others picking on her at all. No sign of unusual droppings either. She is walking more slowly than normal and kinda awkwardly, like big deliberate steps. I caught her quite easily today (which is unusual - she's quite feisty normally) and inspected her vent, which looks normal...
Thank you all! We do have foxes around and they've been quite vocal recently (mating calls), so maybe this is stressing her? (Their run is fully enclosed with a small-grade stainless steel hardware cloth - I learnt my lesson the hard way!) Yes, both the leghorns moulted at the same time and both...
Hi, looking for some advice on one of my 3-year-old Leghorn girls. She's off lay and her comb and wattle have receded noticeably and are paler than usual. Other than that, she seems healthy - crop normal, feet normal, droppings normal, eating well and still bossing the others about (she's flock...
As per my previous thread, my hens were attacked by a fox and one of the survivors has a small wound on her comb. I noticed today she is also keeping one eye closed. (I didn't see this before as she was in shock and hiding at the back of the coop with both eyes closed.) She seems to be doing...
Thank you all for the advice and sympathy.
Update - I kept them shut in the coop overnight, let them out for an hour in the morning before work, then shut them in it again while I was at work and let them out for a couple of hours (supervised) when I came home. Heavy duty hardware cloth and...
I don't have a crate etc to keep them in inside the house, plus with three autistic/ADHD kids plus a cat in a small house it's never dark or quiet (school holidays here in the UK right now).
I do have a spare coop which is small and wooden with a small attached run made of wood-and-wire aviary...
They are pets. Rescued from the mass egg production industry. It was the least I could do. Gutted I couldn't save her.
Been spending the morning so far reinforcing the run and digging in wooden planks around the bottom to hopefully prevent digging. (Had our decking replaced recently so had a...
I found a small wound on her comb. I treated it with saline spray after researching online - is that right?
She is staying in the coop (a small plastic one) which is warm and dark. I have patched the run with cable ties (it's fully covered with chicken wire over the top and sides) but will also...
A fox got into my chicken run last night. Tore through the cable ties that attach the chicken wire to the frame. I woke with the racket and ran out, but one hen was already dead, one injured. Took the injured one to the vet and she had to be euthanised. The two remaining hens are in shock. They...
Thanks. I will see if I can source some.
Lily's egg today was fine - it seems to be every couple of days rather than every day. Don't know if that makes a difference to the diagnosis?
Hi, looking for some advice.
I currently have two hens - a 4-year-old Warren called Dot and a 1 1/2-year-old Light Sussex called Lily.
Dot lays 1-2 eggs per week and they have quite thin, brittle shells, which I'd just put down to age. But recently Lily, who lays almost daily, has produced a...
It's just the windward side. There's a six-foot fence a foot away from the other side, which helps shelter it. I was thinking of a tarp as a temporary measure. Or maybe if I just lean a big sheet of plywood against it at an angle, that might help?