I have been on a long, hard search for what seems like forever trying to find a hen for my Bantam Partridge Cochin roo. It would seem that hens are just really hard to come by for some reason. After a 2 mo search, I was finally able to secure one. I payed $20 for her, she is only 5 mo old, and I gladly agreed to take her sight unseen. I drove 125 mi and when I got there, and the guy handed her to me, I was shocked at how light and bony she felt. I hoped that it was just poor diet and she would begin putting on weight as soon as I got her home.
Long story short, she has had some trouble settling in, i.e., scared and nervous. I realize it is a little hard on a chicken being alone (quarantined) but I've had her a little over a week and all she has done since I got her is lay around unless I'm around her cage and then she frets, she drinks a lot of water, her feathers are dull and she looks ruffled up most of the time. She poops huge poops, my initial diagnosis was worms and I kind of expected to actually SEE worms the way she looks, but I haven't seen any. I didn't want to worm her right away until she had a few days to settle in. Finally today I wormed her with Wazine.
OK, now this is my question...Could she begin to feel better on the same day that she is wormed? I feel like I'm imagining things. She's been getting more friendly, so the fact that she is coming up to me isn't to surprising, but she is up on her feet, walking around and being much more curious about things. I haven't seen any worms in her poops yet. I'm just mystified at how big her poop is for such a little hen. Oh, and she started preening herself too.
If worms are the culprit and I'm on the right track, fine. I'll stay at it and in 2 wks I'll worm with ivermectin, but if there is something else going on here that I could be missing, I'd like to address it as soon as possible. If anyone has any feedback I'd really appreciate it. I've looked so long for this little girl and was so hoping to be able to have a companion for my roo for the winter. At this point, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep her on the back porch since she can't be put with the rest of the birds and I don't even know if she can handle the cold in her condition.
Thanks for any ideas you may have.
Long story short, she has had some trouble settling in, i.e., scared and nervous. I realize it is a little hard on a chicken being alone (quarantined) but I've had her a little over a week and all she has done since I got her is lay around unless I'm around her cage and then she frets, she drinks a lot of water, her feathers are dull and she looks ruffled up most of the time. She poops huge poops, my initial diagnosis was worms and I kind of expected to actually SEE worms the way she looks, but I haven't seen any. I didn't want to worm her right away until she had a few days to settle in. Finally today I wormed her with Wazine.
OK, now this is my question...Could she begin to feel better on the same day that she is wormed? I feel like I'm imagining things. She's been getting more friendly, so the fact that she is coming up to me isn't to surprising, but she is up on her feet, walking around and being much more curious about things. I haven't seen any worms in her poops yet. I'm just mystified at how big her poop is for such a little hen. Oh, and she started preening herself too.
If worms are the culprit and I'm on the right track, fine. I'll stay at it and in 2 wks I'll worm with ivermectin, but if there is something else going on here that I could be missing, I'd like to address it as soon as possible. If anyone has any feedback I'd really appreciate it. I've looked so long for this little girl and was so hoping to be able to have a companion for my roo for the winter. At this point, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep her on the back porch since she can't be put with the rest of the birds and I don't even know if she can handle the cold in her condition.
Thanks for any ideas you may have.
