Lillith37
Specially interested in chickens
Constance is a hen of unknown age and breed… she’s a cross something and I’d guess maybe 2 years?
She sits fourth in the pecking order in a flock of eight — five other hens, a pullet and cockerel. They free range in my back yard which is about 100 square metres (conservative estimate). I would say the flock dynamic is generally calm and harmonious. They have grass, dust baths, multiple feeding/watering stations, perches and enrichment objects/activities.
Constance has been off the lay for at least a month, probably closer to two or even three months. Maybe she has laid one egg in this time. Sometimes she has gone into the nesting box for awhile but produced nothing. I had put this down to being the cold months and shorter daylight hours. I check my birds weekly and she has shown no sign of egg-binding, ascites or any other kind of abdominal abnormality. Two of the other hens have been off the lay too, although one is older (4+, who came off a contraceptive implant, laid a few eggs then stopped) and the other is a serial brooder (she weaned her chicks, laid a few eggs, stopped for winter and has only recently resumed).
They are usually fed an 18% grower pellet but the stockist was out last time so at the moment they are getting a mix of 22% chick crumble and 16% layer. They have oyster and eggshell on the side as well as grit. I give them vitamins in their water once a week.
Several months ago after a heavy rainfall period I was seeing some watery poops and excessive intestinal shedding so I wormed them in late June with flubenzadole and I also did a two week preventative course of amprolium in mid-July (no vitamins at this time). Poops have been normal since. The ground has also dried out a lot.
There is no sign of external parasites on Constance or anyone else in the flock. No bullying, feather picking or anything like that. I am lucky that we have had no issue with predators.
Last week Constance had sour crop which I successfully treated with a seven day course of twice daily 1% clotrimazole cream — during the course of which I discovered she had a piece of fibrous material wound around her tongue. I removed this and her tongue is fine. She also had the very beginnings of vent gleet/excess urates, but the fungal meds and external coconut oil has resolved that.
Since recovering from the sour crop, she has not regained her appetite. It’s been another week of her not eating. I have tried to offer her crumbles and bread soaked in raw egg, scrambled egg, mealworms, liver. I have tried bringing in another member of the flock to eat with her. She has a few bites and that’s it. I have resorted to tube feeding a mix of raw egg, kefir and liquid baby food several times a day. So far her crop has been emptying. Her droppings are small and watery (to be expected with the dairy/liquid food?) but otherwise seem fairly normal. See pictures attached.
She stays with the flock mostly and pecks at the grass but does not eat or drink. Sometimes she seems more active and sometimes she is fluffed up in a quiet spot. She takes herself to bed early each night. She is quiet and naps a lot but is still alert, no paralysis, comb/wattles/ eyes are normal and she is nimble enough to evade capture. She has finished her moult. Asides from the lack of appetite and quietness, she seems healthy, but she has lost weight and is down to 1.7kg (used to sit around 2.2kg).
My thoughts thus far are:
- reproductive disorder and/or internal infection
- eaten something toxic / hardware toxicity
- cancer, tumours etc
- worms again?
- depressed
We are going to the vet on Sunday. Ahead of that, I was wondering if anyone has any comments on what the issue could be? Or what I should raise with the vet? I’ve had very mixed experiences with vets and I want to be prepared.
Dragon Constance has been one of my most staunch and healthy hens so it’s been hard to see her unwell and I really appreciate thoughts and advice.
@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @dawg53 @Razzlefrazzle
She sits fourth in the pecking order in a flock of eight — five other hens, a pullet and cockerel. They free range in my back yard which is about 100 square metres (conservative estimate). I would say the flock dynamic is generally calm and harmonious. They have grass, dust baths, multiple feeding/watering stations, perches and enrichment objects/activities.
Constance has been off the lay for at least a month, probably closer to two or even three months. Maybe she has laid one egg in this time. Sometimes she has gone into the nesting box for awhile but produced nothing. I had put this down to being the cold months and shorter daylight hours. I check my birds weekly and she has shown no sign of egg-binding, ascites or any other kind of abdominal abnormality. Two of the other hens have been off the lay too, although one is older (4+, who came off a contraceptive implant, laid a few eggs then stopped) and the other is a serial brooder (she weaned her chicks, laid a few eggs, stopped for winter and has only recently resumed).
They are usually fed an 18% grower pellet but the stockist was out last time so at the moment they are getting a mix of 22% chick crumble and 16% layer. They have oyster and eggshell on the side as well as grit. I give them vitamins in their water once a week.
Several months ago after a heavy rainfall period I was seeing some watery poops and excessive intestinal shedding so I wormed them in late June with flubenzadole and I also did a two week preventative course of amprolium in mid-July (no vitamins at this time). Poops have been normal since. The ground has also dried out a lot.
There is no sign of external parasites on Constance or anyone else in the flock. No bullying, feather picking or anything like that. I am lucky that we have had no issue with predators.
Last week Constance had sour crop which I successfully treated with a seven day course of twice daily 1% clotrimazole cream — during the course of which I discovered she had a piece of fibrous material wound around her tongue. I removed this and her tongue is fine. She also had the very beginnings of vent gleet/excess urates, but the fungal meds and external coconut oil has resolved that.
Since recovering from the sour crop, she has not regained her appetite. It’s been another week of her not eating. I have tried to offer her crumbles and bread soaked in raw egg, scrambled egg, mealworms, liver. I have tried bringing in another member of the flock to eat with her. She has a few bites and that’s it. I have resorted to tube feeding a mix of raw egg, kefir and liquid baby food several times a day. So far her crop has been emptying. Her droppings are small and watery (to be expected with the dairy/liquid food?) but otherwise seem fairly normal. See pictures attached.
She stays with the flock mostly and pecks at the grass but does not eat or drink. Sometimes she seems more active and sometimes she is fluffed up in a quiet spot. She takes herself to bed early each night. She is quiet and naps a lot but is still alert, no paralysis, comb/wattles/ eyes are normal and she is nimble enough to evade capture. She has finished her moult. Asides from the lack of appetite and quietness, she seems healthy, but she has lost weight and is down to 1.7kg (used to sit around 2.2kg).
My thoughts thus far are:
- reproductive disorder and/or internal infection
- eaten something toxic / hardware toxicity
- cancer, tumours etc
- worms again?
- depressed
We are going to the vet on Sunday. Ahead of that, I was wondering if anyone has any comments on what the issue could be? Or what I should raise with the vet? I’ve had very mixed experiences with vets and I want to be prepared.
Dragon Constance has been one of my most staunch and healthy hens so it’s been hard to see her unwell and I really appreciate thoughts and advice.
@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @dawg53 @Razzlefrazzle
