Hello very new to this! first summer at having chickens just found your forum a month ago. So not knowing much, here i go: I have a 1 yr old Bantam she was fine all day when i let her out to free range. in the afternoon i heard her making noise like she was laying, but not in the nest box! i went to look and a couple of minutes later she came out from behind some wood, with her wings spread like she was balancing and staggering around? I looked and saw nothing wierd where she was at no egg, no injury. shortly after i got all the girls to go back into the yard/enclosure. she went very easily as i shooed along tho still acting injured. after dinner i went to check on her and she was lying next to the water dish on the ground breathing heavy with head up eyes closed. i decided to take her out of the enclosure to inspect her. i had no problem putting a towel over her to pick her up she still has not opened her eyes. upon inspection i see no injuries, no blood, she seems thin. i have no clue she looks dead except she is breathing. It is hot and humid here. what should i do? i am so concerned she will be dead in the morning i am thinking of just bring her in the house for the nite
how do i know? i did bring her in and she had raspy breathing i was just palpating her and i believe it is the crop area (that i read other posts on) seemed swollen. i rubbed it a little she stayed flopping around and now i think she is dead! What have i done? what should i have done?
Hi there eggluvr I've just joined the forum and am from Victoria Australia. Noticed your topic and wondered if you have looked into any of the past forums which have helped me immensely. In particular one that was posted on 2/15/09 re Mareks Disease.....could be a possibility or otherwise heat stress. If Mareks then i suggest going along with the recommendations for the natural remedy which has i believe, just saved one of my beautiful young chickens who came down with paralysis of the legs and failed to thrive. Now in theory she should have died 10 days ago, but after dosing her with colloidal silver twice a day and administering the natural remedy twice a day and hand feeding her, she now has regained all her strength, the paralysis has disappeared, and she now feeds herself and is looking like a normal healthy Australorp. Check out the forum and see what you think because i sure am grateful that i happened to come across it, as i was ready to go along with all the other blogs i had read that suggested that there is no remedy and to cull her. Do bring her inside to monitor her regardless of what you happen to go with remedy wise as chickens can go downhill health wise very quickly and also recover very quickly too!!!! I'm just new to this chicken keeping caper, but i have learned a lot in a very short space of time and am very grateful for forums like this. Hope this helps and all the best, trinnyishappy
She might be over heated OR she could have eaten something in the woods that made her sick. YES take her in the house, get her cooled of,f offer water then and maybe some protiens. Electrolytes would be great, even just some watered down gatoraide.
