Hello, our oldest hen, Bertha, has been sick for the past week and a half. Before I brought her inside to be monitored and taken care of, she was just sitting by the entrance to the run. She would sit there for most of the day scrunched up with her tail down. Her comb was also pale and drooping, her butt was covered with poop, but she was fairly alert.
At first I thought she was egg bound, so I brought her inside (she did not move when I picked her up, usually she’d scamper away when someone tried to pick her up). I gave her a warm bath with Epsom salts and cleaned off her vent area and massaged her stomach. Eventually we figured out she isn’t egg bound, but did have Bumblefoot, which I removed (it wasn’t too far along). She also has mites which I can see crawling on her face and belly. I’ve been adding diatomaceous earth to her bedding, which I change every other day, and adding diatomaceous earth to her food.
It’s been about 10 days since I brought her inside. I’m keeping her in a medium sized tub with pine shavings, and I have a little enclosure with a towel on the ground that I let her walk around in. I’ve been giving her plain Greek yogurt, chicken feed, assorted fruits, and plain scrambled eggs. Her comb is still very pale, and now it looks almost crusty. Today I started giving her water orally with a syringe (I just place a few drops on her tongue and let her swallow it). When I bathed her she felt thin, and she’s sometimes interested in food.
She’s still lethargic now and her comb doesn’t seem to be getting redder. Bertha is still alert and looks around, but is a bit quiet. She has not laid any eggs while inside. I’ll add some pictures of her and her poop. Thank you.
At first I thought she was egg bound, so I brought her inside (she did not move when I picked her up, usually she’d scamper away when someone tried to pick her up). I gave her a warm bath with Epsom salts and cleaned off her vent area and massaged her stomach. Eventually we figured out she isn’t egg bound, but did have Bumblefoot, which I removed (it wasn’t too far along). She also has mites which I can see crawling on her face and belly. I’ve been adding diatomaceous earth to her bedding, which I change every other day, and adding diatomaceous earth to her food.
It’s been about 10 days since I brought her inside. I’m keeping her in a medium sized tub with pine shavings, and I have a little enclosure with a towel on the ground that I let her walk around in. I’ve been giving her plain Greek yogurt, chicken feed, assorted fruits, and plain scrambled eggs. Her comb is still very pale, and now it looks almost crusty. Today I started giving her water orally with a syringe (I just place a few drops on her tongue and let her swallow it). When I bathed her she felt thin, and she’s sometimes interested in food.
She’s still lethargic now and her comb doesn’t seem to be getting redder. Bertha is still alert and looks around, but is a bit quiet. She has not laid any eggs while inside. I’ll add some pictures of her and her poop. Thank you.
