5 year old hen, thin, eating active, but slowing down.. diarhrea with yellow white slime

She's been wormed, so there are no worms, but there could be damage from them. I suspect that she probably has some type of bacterial infection that will require antibiotics.

-Kathy
Do you think then the oral baytril will be enough? I am giving her 1/4th cc of it twice a day. Just started last night. I'll start giving her the tube fed baby bird food... but I'm worried her crop will not take much. Its just not emptying that quickly. I know she is dehydrated. Is there any way to get fluids into her?
 
No more whole grains... get the baby food, but give fluids first. Fluids at 15ml per pound then again in 60-90 minutes, maybe do that one more time after another 60 minutes, Then as soon as her crop clears, give Kaytee baby bird food at 15ml per pound, but only if her crop has cleared the fluid.

-Kathy
 
If she is dehydrated her crop may not be able to empty. I would not give her any more food until you get her hydrated again. Dehydration can cause organ failure........ I feel like hydration is VERY important in your hen's case.
X2! Hydration must *always* be corrected before force feeding or you can kill them.

-Kathy
 
Last edited:
Note that adding 6ml of 50% dextrose to 54ml of fluids might help the bird absorb the fluids better. You will find it in the cattle section of Tractor Supply. It looks like this:



-Kathy
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the heads up on the dehydration. I did not know that!

I might have dextrose as a cooking ingredient.. or am I thinking of something else? I'm going to go look.
 
I do want to note that she is drinking on her own, just that her comb looks rather dry, so I suspect she is dehydrated, also there is the fact that she has what looks like chronic diarrhea. Just tried to give her water via needle-less syringe and she was quite feisty in that she did not want that. I got 4 ccs down though. (just right now)
 
Thanks for the heads up on the dehydration. I did not know that!

I might have dextrose as a cooking ingredient.. or am I thinking of something else? I'm going to go look.
Ha ha... my mistake, no dextrose, but just glucose. Have I not seen dextrose as a listed ingredient in some foods before?
 
If she is dehydrated her crop may not be able to empty. I would not give her any more food until you get her hydrated again. Dehydration can cause organ failure........ I feel like hydration is VERY important in your hen's case.

How will I know she is properly hydrated?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom