- Jun 20, 2025
- 16
- 52
- 54
Hi, everyone! Basically, the sad tale goes like this:
I had 3 chickens, ostrich, dodo and emu the rooster. Emu bit me and bit ostriches comb in half, so we gave him away. So life was good, i had two young hens who were laying daily. Till suddenly ostrich got sick, slowly by slowly, as in no appetite, not drinking much water, lethargy, runny green poo, and a bit of fever. Im a busy fellow, im still kicking myself for not having noticed her sooner in my flock of 2 birds, but i let it slide till the weekend. Then loading her into the car, she started panting and gasping, like really long doggy panting. I felt it was the heat, gave her water, but she was having a hard time breathing. The vet, curse her, barely looked up at poor ostrich, just mumbled some meds and waved us away. I got home, gave ostrich water, ate lunch and was just about putting together the antibiotics when.... she has a seizure and turns over and dies. Im really sad about all this, first year having chickens and ive got just 1 third of my flock left. I buried her deep, planted mint and coleus cuttings over her. Im already through dodo being quarentined, comforted, monitored etc, and the coop got dusted and sprayed with chlorine bleaching powder to disinfect from the coccidia, and that subsequently scared up all the worms in the area. Im still beat up from not realizing the coccidiosis symptoms, my birds have had similar as chicks (minus the wheezing and gasping) and a few meds fixed them up, so i thought it wasnt too big, till it was big enough to have her buried. But i thought wheezing wasn't a symptom of coccidiosis, no? Idk, i really not glad about that stuff.
So now i have dear old dodo, the ironical named little survivor, still laying eggs and no sign of illness. I felt she was having a bit of raspy noises lately, though, scared my pants off because i thought she'd start panting too, so i rung up a good home vet, and now poor gal is on meds again. These nepali vets, needless to say, vary wildly, the goverment ones are too busy to think straight generally, but ive found a good home vet and im glad. But woe, this happened right during our dashain festivities, and right before my travels! So now dodo and her meds are bring taken care of by neighbors and the home help, but dodos egg song has been getting longer and sadder daily, shes extra lonely. I need to get her an adult chicken friend, though i have zero experience with buying and introducing adult birds, and the winter is approaching fast, me with a crummy coop needing urgent renovations after its first monsoon.
So, in general, where should i get my chicken from? I got gifted some chicks or pullets in the spring, idk where from, obviously not the healthiest bunch, as ive spent more time in the vet hospital than folding my clothes this year. I want to get 2 new pullets in the spring, at the same age i got this bunch, around 4 weeks old. But for now, dodo needs a friend, and idk what to do. Ill need to quarantine, i have the facility for that, but what about introducing, what if they fight? How can i tell how old a bird is by looking at her? How do i train her to be used to me handling and coddling her, the pullets had all the time to experience and enjoy that, but a hen raised in rough poultry meat shops ( like most citychickens in nepal are) wont be used to it. Pls, somebody reply soon! Has anyone else had similar experiences, has know-how on sickness and chicken flock dynamics in general, do let me know!
I had 3 chickens, ostrich, dodo and emu the rooster. Emu bit me and bit ostriches comb in half, so we gave him away. So life was good, i had two young hens who were laying daily. Till suddenly ostrich got sick, slowly by slowly, as in no appetite, not drinking much water, lethargy, runny green poo, and a bit of fever. Im a busy fellow, im still kicking myself for not having noticed her sooner in my flock of 2 birds, but i let it slide till the weekend. Then loading her into the car, she started panting and gasping, like really long doggy panting. I felt it was the heat, gave her water, but she was having a hard time breathing. The vet, curse her, barely looked up at poor ostrich, just mumbled some meds and waved us away. I got home, gave ostrich water, ate lunch and was just about putting together the antibiotics when.... she has a seizure and turns over and dies. Im really sad about all this, first year having chickens and ive got just 1 third of my flock left. I buried her deep, planted mint and coleus cuttings over her. Im already through dodo being quarentined, comforted, monitored etc, and the coop got dusted and sprayed with chlorine bleaching powder to disinfect from the coccidia, and that subsequently scared up all the worms in the area. Im still beat up from not realizing the coccidiosis symptoms, my birds have had similar as chicks (minus the wheezing and gasping) and a few meds fixed them up, so i thought it wasnt too big, till it was big enough to have her buried. But i thought wheezing wasn't a symptom of coccidiosis, no? Idk, i really not glad about that stuff.
So now i have dear old dodo, the ironical named little survivor, still laying eggs and no sign of illness. I felt she was having a bit of raspy noises lately, though, scared my pants off because i thought she'd start panting too, so i rung up a good home vet, and now poor gal is on meds again. These nepali vets, needless to say, vary wildly, the goverment ones are too busy to think straight generally, but ive found a good home vet and im glad. But woe, this happened right during our dashain festivities, and right before my travels! So now dodo and her meds are bring taken care of by neighbors and the home help, but dodos egg song has been getting longer and sadder daily, shes extra lonely. I need to get her an adult chicken friend, though i have zero experience with buying and introducing adult birds, and the winter is approaching fast, me with a crummy coop needing urgent renovations after its first monsoon.
So, in general, where should i get my chicken from? I got gifted some chicks or pullets in the spring, idk where from, obviously not the healthiest bunch, as ive spent more time in the vet hospital than folding my clothes this year. I want to get 2 new pullets in the spring, at the same age i got this bunch, around 4 weeks old. But for now, dodo needs a friend, and idk what to do. Ill need to quarantine, i have the facility for that, but what about introducing, what if they fight? How can i tell how old a bird is by looking at her? How do i train her to be used to me handling and coddling her, the pullets had all the time to experience and enjoy that, but a hen raised in rough poultry meat shops ( like most citychickens in nepal are) wont be used to it. Pls, somebody reply soon! Has anyone else had similar experiences, has know-how on sickness and chicken flock dynamics in general, do let me know!
