BuckarooBonzai
In the Brooder
- Feb 11, 2023
- 28
- 7
- 21
Hi all.
Bare w/ me in this mystery... My 3yr old, appx 6 lb, Barred Rock layer hen, Peep, is the lone survivor of an attack on the flock. Long story short, she fast became an indoor chicken & a very special animal companion to my household.
She free ranges daily w/ supervision, weather permitting, & goes to a covered/ enclosed pen daily for dust bathing. Saturday the 12th I put her in her pen & when I went to get her out appx an hr and a half later, I noticed she was acting funny, standing in an unusual part of the pen. She didn't want to walk out & I thought I had just woken her from a nap. I carried her inside where I noticed she was not just sleepy.
SYMPTOMS- Feathers super puffed out, eyes sleepy, & just looked miserable & uncomfortable. I keep a good eye on her so I have no idea what she could've gotten into. She's usually good about avoiding known toxins. As far as anything that could've caused an injury, again no idea what could've happened. There's no outward evidence of an injury. We have wild birds everywhere & live near water. I try to keep things hygienic for her but I sometimes worry about wild bird/ waterfowl diseases.
Yesterday Mon 8/14, 1 1/2 days after initial symptoms, her feathers went down & I realized her neck is protruding outward. It hurts her when I touch it. Her head is upright. She can walk on her own but keeps it to a minimum. Only lost balance briefly when trying to twist or move a certain way. She's been eating & drinking on her own, but I've been lifting things to her as it seems to help her eat/ drink faster, more comfortably. Still very lethargic. She has laid 2 eggs in the 3 dys which is normal. Her laying has always been an irregular schedule. Her appetite has been good until today Tues 8/15, she's eaten & drank but it's a lil reduced. Her poops have also been normal until today. Solid but more ropey. Excuse the description but more like a turd & the urates are still white but watery which I'm wondering if is from what she's been given & fed or not. Smaller today overall.
TREATMENTS SO FAR- Evening of (Sat)- At a loss, gave her activated charcoal in case she unknowingly ate something toxic.
Sunday- reading coccidiosis doesn't always present bloody stools or foamy diarrhea & about fast decline, I drenched her w/ Corid to see if she'd perk up.
Monday- when I realized her neck is protruding. New concern that it's wry neck possibly due to disease or injury or toxin. Stopped the Corid & instead gave 1.5cc of liquid Rooster Booster w/ iron.
ADDTNL NOTES- Normally she eats a mash of AgraMaster 21% egg layer plus feed with a sprinkle of oatmeal, sometimes a pinch of canned pumpkin, for breakfast. Free ranges for short periods. I'll give her small amts of in season veggies or mixed lettuce greens sometimes on days she can't go outside. Nothing crazy, she wears diapers inside & try to avoid upset stomachs. Dinner is more pellets, sprinkle of dried grub worms, pinch of oats before bed bc the other animals get nighttime treats (lol).
She was just dewormed w/ Valbazen end June/ beginning July. I had recently, a week or so ago given her 3, maybe 4 days of liquid Rooster Booster bc she had 1-2 days where she tried to lay but didn't. It seemed to help. Also in recent wks learned that the crushed eggshells were not enough so I added oyster shell to her diet.
I can't imagine a nutrient deficiency has led to wry neck but if something else caused it, will boosting her vitamins still help? Is Rooster Boost w/ iron bad to give long term? I also have Ropa Poultry which's full of vit A, E, B, plus immune boosting herbs but I haven't given that yet as the values listed aren't as clear as the Rooster Booster w/ Iron.
Should I give something anti-inflammatory for pain? I've been unclear on dosage & duration & I'm afraid to overdo it on her poor organs. I have Ibuprofen & meloxicam pills 7.5mg.
It kills me that she's going through this. She's been through a lot. I've checked her vent & face for mites & I haven't seen any. Her ears look normal. Her comb & face are bright red. I've been feeling her crop & it's been working fine so far. I'm worried about impaction since she's been eating so much ppl food & so tired, I haven't seen her in her grit. Since Sunday she's been eating super watery mash w/ oats. She's really been going for the oats which leads me to think there's something she really needs in it. An egg cooked in olive oil a day. & a black berry or two a day which she's also been extra into despite the lethargy. I've been cutting up everything super small for her crop but also bc she seems too tired to take big bites even though she eats a decent amt. I've been rotating seasonings like parsley, cayenne, ginger, garlic for immune boosting/ vit E.
Do I keep up w/ the vitamins for immune boosting or do the opposite & give Corid?
***Has anyone heard of cocci presenting w/ no real symptoms but leading to wry neck?***
I haven't found any vet yet who deals w/ chickens. Also, heart breaking.
Please help. This is lengthy but I'm really at a loss, this happened so quickly. She means a lot to me.
Bare w/ me in this mystery... My 3yr old, appx 6 lb, Barred Rock layer hen, Peep, is the lone survivor of an attack on the flock. Long story short, she fast became an indoor chicken & a very special animal companion to my household.
She free ranges daily w/ supervision, weather permitting, & goes to a covered/ enclosed pen daily for dust bathing. Saturday the 12th I put her in her pen & when I went to get her out appx an hr and a half later, I noticed she was acting funny, standing in an unusual part of the pen. She didn't want to walk out & I thought I had just woken her from a nap. I carried her inside where I noticed she was not just sleepy.
SYMPTOMS- Feathers super puffed out, eyes sleepy, & just looked miserable & uncomfortable. I keep a good eye on her so I have no idea what she could've gotten into. She's usually good about avoiding known toxins. As far as anything that could've caused an injury, again no idea what could've happened. There's no outward evidence of an injury. We have wild birds everywhere & live near water. I try to keep things hygienic for her but I sometimes worry about wild bird/ waterfowl diseases.
Yesterday Mon 8/14, 1 1/2 days after initial symptoms, her feathers went down & I realized her neck is protruding outward. It hurts her when I touch it. Her head is upright. She can walk on her own but keeps it to a minimum. Only lost balance briefly when trying to twist or move a certain way. She's been eating & drinking on her own, but I've been lifting things to her as it seems to help her eat/ drink faster, more comfortably. Still very lethargic. She has laid 2 eggs in the 3 dys which is normal. Her laying has always been an irregular schedule. Her appetite has been good until today Tues 8/15, she's eaten & drank but it's a lil reduced. Her poops have also been normal until today. Solid but more ropey. Excuse the description but more like a turd & the urates are still white but watery which I'm wondering if is from what she's been given & fed or not. Smaller today overall.
TREATMENTS SO FAR- Evening of (Sat)- At a loss, gave her activated charcoal in case she unknowingly ate something toxic.
Sunday- reading coccidiosis doesn't always present bloody stools or foamy diarrhea & about fast decline, I drenched her w/ Corid to see if she'd perk up.
Monday- when I realized her neck is protruding. New concern that it's wry neck possibly due to disease or injury or toxin. Stopped the Corid & instead gave 1.5cc of liquid Rooster Booster w/ iron.
ADDTNL NOTES- Normally she eats a mash of AgraMaster 21% egg layer plus feed with a sprinkle of oatmeal, sometimes a pinch of canned pumpkin, for breakfast. Free ranges for short periods. I'll give her small amts of in season veggies or mixed lettuce greens sometimes on days she can't go outside. Nothing crazy, she wears diapers inside & try to avoid upset stomachs. Dinner is more pellets, sprinkle of dried grub worms, pinch of oats before bed bc the other animals get nighttime treats (lol).
She was just dewormed w/ Valbazen end June/ beginning July. I had recently, a week or so ago given her 3, maybe 4 days of liquid Rooster Booster bc she had 1-2 days where she tried to lay but didn't. It seemed to help. Also in recent wks learned that the crushed eggshells were not enough so I added oyster shell to her diet.
I can't imagine a nutrient deficiency has led to wry neck but if something else caused it, will boosting her vitamins still help? Is Rooster Boost w/ iron bad to give long term? I also have Ropa Poultry which's full of vit A, E, B, plus immune boosting herbs but I haven't given that yet as the values listed aren't as clear as the Rooster Booster w/ Iron.
Should I give something anti-inflammatory for pain? I've been unclear on dosage & duration & I'm afraid to overdo it on her poor organs. I have Ibuprofen & meloxicam pills 7.5mg.
It kills me that she's going through this. She's been through a lot. I've checked her vent & face for mites & I haven't seen any. Her ears look normal. Her comb & face are bright red. I've been feeling her crop & it's been working fine so far. I'm worried about impaction since she's been eating so much ppl food & so tired, I haven't seen her in her grit. Since Sunday she's been eating super watery mash w/ oats. She's really been going for the oats which leads me to think there's something she really needs in it. An egg cooked in olive oil a day. & a black berry or two a day which she's also been extra into despite the lethargy. I've been cutting up everything super small for her crop but also bc she seems too tired to take big bites even though she eats a decent amt. I've been rotating seasonings like parsley, cayenne, ginger, garlic for immune boosting/ vit E.
Do I keep up w/ the vitamins for immune boosting or do the opposite & give Corid?
***Has anyone heard of cocci presenting w/ no real symptoms but leading to wry neck?***
I haven't found any vet yet who deals w/ chickens. Also, heart breaking.
Please help. This is lengthy but I'm really at a loss, this happened so quickly. She means a lot to me.
