- Feb 9, 2012
- 2
- 0
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My daughters 2 month old Coocomoran (spelling, sorry!), started acting very strange 4-5 days ago.
Symptoms:
-appears to be nodding off, mouth falls open, eyes close and head starts to droop. She will then jump herself awake.
-appears to peck at food now and then but I haven't seen any swallowed
-shares a coop with 2 Rhode Island Reds who appear completely normal
-very weak and slow, losing weight
-does the yawning thing
-made 5 sounds yesterday that sounded like a peacock. Once today. Before this, she was not yet clucking-still peeping. Otherwise, she makes no noises since she fell ill.
Gapeworm or a respiratory infection seem to be the top guesses. I looked down her throat and did not see anything obvious. The local grange, and zillion websites offer conflicting treatments for both. We can purchase ivermectin today. I have also read a lot of conflicting opinions about ivermectin and it's toxicity.
I am new at caring for chickens and feel confused about how much to put in to this situation. Do I just accept that chickens die, or how much work do I put in to saving her and treating her? I realize today that I feel terrible not giving her a chance. But, is it too late?
Thanks for any help or feedback.
Symptoms:
-appears to be nodding off, mouth falls open, eyes close and head starts to droop. She will then jump herself awake.
-appears to peck at food now and then but I haven't seen any swallowed
-shares a coop with 2 Rhode Island Reds who appear completely normal
-very weak and slow, losing weight
-does the yawning thing
-made 5 sounds yesterday that sounded like a peacock. Once today. Before this, she was not yet clucking-still peeping. Otherwise, she makes no noises since she fell ill.
Gapeworm or a respiratory infection seem to be the top guesses. I looked down her throat and did not see anything obvious. The local grange, and zillion websites offer conflicting treatments for both. We can purchase ivermectin today. I have also read a lot of conflicting opinions about ivermectin and it's toxicity.
I am new at caring for chickens and feel confused about how much to put in to this situation. Do I just accept that chickens die, or how much work do I put in to saving her and treating her? I realize today that I feel terrible not giving her a chance. But, is it too late?
Thanks for any help or feedback.
