Day 9 of hen mystery illness

[ChickChickChicky]

What does her abdomen feel like? Checking that is very important.
Also....about worming. My chickens are almost 9 years old and I've never wormed them (although they are in a run, not free-range). What I do is collect a composite stool sample at least once a year and take it to my dog/cat vet and they do a stool check. Worming can be very hard on chickens, so I don't do it if the sample is clear.

I agree that regular stool testing, and then medicating ONLY for the specific problem found is the very best way to go. That said, I realize that some people don't live near a vet that can/will do chicken stool samples, so if a person CANNOT test, then it may be best to just go ahead and worm maybe once or twice a year with a BROAD-SPECTRUM wormer (NOT Wazine). I didn't notice that worming was hard on my girls at all. As soon as their feet hit the ground after getting dosed they were completely back to normal, no ill effects whatsoever. I keep rerading about how worming is terribly hard on chickens but I just didn't see that at all.

BTW, I wanted to correct myself from an earlier post. The withdrawal period after last worming is 14 days, not 10 days.

 

[Jessie66]

I am kind of new to chickens and thought I'd just deworm if they looked unthrifty or wormy...but with the sudden onset and severity of her symptoms I might deworm my flock once a year, as well as dust them for mites/lice. I only keep a few bantys for pets, so don't miss the eggs during the withdrawl period too much. I felt I had to try everything possible as she was truly very close to dying. She is still very lethargic, but not all puffed up. This morning she started drinking on her own. I think it will take another week or so to get back to normal. So grateful. Thanks ChickChick for correcting me on the dosage.