I was recently (about 2 1/2 weeks ago) given a hen who was found wandering in a parking lot around Galveston, TX. She was kept in a cage for about a week before coming to me. I hope to eventually integrate her into my existing flock of three young hens.
Sweet Petey seemed to be fine initially. She's quite friendly and easy to handle. I think she may be a Leghorn cross, just based on the floppy comb. She was molting, for whatever reason, and was not laying. The first thing she did here was take a dust bath. She appeared to be constantly at the food dish (organic layer crumble). She was unfamiliar with treats, but quickly learned to like grapes and pasta.
She started laying within a few days, and laid large brown eggs for four days, then started having some problems, i.e., seemed to be a little egg-bound, but managed to expel without much intervention. She was now foraging in the yard a lot, and not spending nearly as much time at the dish.
This past Sunday evening, I noticed she was not her perky self. She had not laid for several days by then. By this time she was no longer losing her feathers, and I don't know if it was just a partial molt, or what. Monday, she was still clearly under the weather. I didn't think she was egg-bound, but I'm new to this, and I found an avian vet who would take a look at her. He found mites, which I had somehow overlooked, but he could find nothing else in the way of parasites or infection. Definitely not egg-bound. She is very skinny, and in fact I am sure she has lost weight under my care.
I dusted Petey with Sevin 5%, and am keeping her inside, in dim lighting, to avert egg-laying. She is eating very little, but is drinking quite a bit of water. I've given her scrambled egg, but she loses interest quickly. The one thing that she will show any enthusiasm for is grape pieces. I'm not giving her much - just trying to stimulate her appetite a little. Her poop is not abundant, but is pretty well formed. It looks unusually deep green to me. No diarrhea. Her feet feel cool to me. She moves around in her 10'X10' area, but she's not her usual active, verbal self.
I'm going to let her outside for a while once the grass dries later this morning, but I don't expect to see any change. Does anyone have any ideas of what else I might do for this poor chicken? She's breaking my heart!
Loneone
p.s. She's been debeaked, so I assume she got the usual round of vaccinations early in life.
Sweet Petey seemed to be fine initially. She's quite friendly and easy to handle. I think she may be a Leghorn cross, just based on the floppy comb. She was molting, for whatever reason, and was not laying. The first thing she did here was take a dust bath. She appeared to be constantly at the food dish (organic layer crumble). She was unfamiliar with treats, but quickly learned to like grapes and pasta.
She started laying within a few days, and laid large brown eggs for four days, then started having some problems, i.e., seemed to be a little egg-bound, but managed to expel without much intervention. She was now foraging in the yard a lot, and not spending nearly as much time at the dish.
This past Sunday evening, I noticed she was not her perky self. She had not laid for several days by then. By this time she was no longer losing her feathers, and I don't know if it was just a partial molt, or what. Monday, she was still clearly under the weather. I didn't think she was egg-bound, but I'm new to this, and I found an avian vet who would take a look at her. He found mites, which I had somehow overlooked, but he could find nothing else in the way of parasites or infection. Definitely not egg-bound. She is very skinny, and in fact I am sure she has lost weight under my care.
I dusted Petey with Sevin 5%, and am keeping her inside, in dim lighting, to avert egg-laying. She is eating very little, but is drinking quite a bit of water. I've given her scrambled egg, but she loses interest quickly. The one thing that she will show any enthusiasm for is grape pieces. I'm not giving her much - just trying to stimulate her appetite a little. Her poop is not abundant, but is pretty well formed. It looks unusually deep green to me. No diarrhea. Her feet feel cool to me. She moves around in her 10'X10' area, but she's not her usual active, verbal self.
I'm going to let her outside for a while once the grass dries later this morning, but I don't expect to see any change. Does anyone have any ideas of what else I might do for this poor chicken? She's breaking my heart!
Loneone
p.s. She's been debeaked, so I assume she got the usual round of vaccinations early in life.
