- Aug 26, 2011
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I've had my chicken, Chookie, for a good 8 years. I know its a long time etc etc buuut she is, of course, very special to me and recently in the last 3 weeks her overall health (medicine, I suspect, has been a large factor in her survival) has plummeted. It became noticable after I got back from holidays.While she has always been very passive and tame in nature she now struggles to stay upright, let alone move, and her appetite over the last few weeks has dropped and comes in 'bursts'. We suspect she has had a staph infection due to her bumblefoot which I failed to recognize the beginnings of for what must have been years (until she became visibly unwell and i pushed 'pus kernals' out from her feet) plus maybe a case of scaley leg mites both of which we have been treating. For weeks we've been treating the staph infection systemically with cephlaxin 250mg twice a day (and more recently amoxacillin 250mg twice a day) and locally with antibiotic cream and betadine (of course there is a washing and bandaging procedure involved). We treat her legs with vaseline every 2 days for scaley leg mites. I don't know much about her crop - all I know is that her breastbone is prominent, I dont think there's much of a crop there and keeps making tummy gurgling noises (which she's never done since she's gotten sick). Sometimes her neck or something twitches left and right, almost swivels and she usually stops eating after that happens. In the last week we have seen some improvement. She can now hold one wing up, but her posture is very lopsided. On one leg her (I think) drumstick bone thingo is red raw, not normal, making it difficult for her to walk. On the other ( I think the better held side), just above her foot it seems like shes growing an extra toe. Its a really hard, solid, purplish black growth. Her other leg has a much smaller, more moveable growth. I kind of want to pull it out or do something about it. I guessing its not normal. What with bad posture, picky eating, unusual varying poos, pale comb, little moving, more stumbling and few happy chook noises I feel really bad for Chookie and want to make up for my initial ignorance. A For the last 3 weeks its been nursing home here for Chookie and we're running out of medicine to give her. If anyone knows anything about it all help is greatly appreciated.
P.S I'd add a picture of the 'growth' and a picture of her raw drumstick but I've only just joined and am uncertain how to
P.S I'd add a picture of the 'growth' and a picture of her raw drumstick but I've only just joined and am uncertain how to
