dehydrated?

[akyramoto]

wasn't sure exactly where to post this. My NH red is dehyraded - or it least i think she is. i let the chickens out yesterday & she stayed in the run, her tail down, & obviously not her usual self. I scooped her up & took her in the house, stuck her in front of a fan & a frozen water bottle & dribbled water on her beak. she did drink.

she keeps closing her eyes & 'taking naps' then she'll wake up, look around for a bit, close her eyes again. she has walked around a bit.

boiled some eggs & got some gatorade & gave her those. She nibbled @ the egg quite a bit. finally started her to get some big gulps of gatorade. i think she ended up drinking about 4 tablespoon or so if it. ( hard to tell). She did try eating regular chicken food.

from the time i found her til lat evening she seemed to be doing better. put her in the smaller pen with my baby chickens so she's not far from food & water.

haven't gotten to spend much time with her today. she was out & about this morning but still looks 'exhausted'. laying down alot & 'napping'.

She pooped yesterday too, i generally take that as a good sign, was on the runny side tho.

what do you guys think? is there anything else i can give her to help her if she is dehydrated. right now she has g/p crumble, water, Gatorade, hard boiled eggs & some zuchinni thats chopped up. Lots of shade & the mister is on in the pen next to hers, the fan is also on full blast in her pen.

we're supposed to have a heat wave this week, today it's 96. I hope she makes it!

i dont really know what else to do.

Thanks.

 

[akyramoto]

anyone ???

 

[speckledhen]

She could be eggbound. Has she laid an egg in the last few days?

 

[akyramoto]

i'm not sure, i can't really tell who lays what, i guess i'll find out since she's seperated. What do I do if she is? Or is there another way to find out if she is eggbound?

 

[justusnak]

pick her up, and feel down her belly, between her legs. Should be soft and squishy. If you feel a lump, she is more than likely egg bound. Take her and put her in a warm bath, messageing her lower belly, where you feel the lump.....messageing from the front to the back. She might fuss for a little bit, but the warm water will be soothing to her. This should help her pass the egg. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[akyramoto]

thanks, just did a search on 'eggbound' looks like i should check her crop too, make sure thats out of the equation too.

it was so sad, in the kitchen she walked over to me & layed down right next to me. made me feel a bit better that she sought comfort next to me.

I just hope she makes it through whatever this is!

 

[akyramoto]

checked on my NH Red, 'Hammy', i could not feel anything around her bottom & belly - so i'm guessing she is now eggbound, but i did feel her crop & it seemed hard & full. What do i give her to get it to pass??

 

[dlhunicorn]

These are such vague symptoms... often birds will stop laying in times of stress (heat illness parasites) ... and did I understand you correctly that it is very hot where you are? Offer water with electrolytes/vit (feed store or petstore in bird section)... hydration is so important, is it possible to get a watermelon>if so scoop out a bit of the middle (thus in effect making a "bowl" and fill that with some chick starter (unmedicated ) and crumbles ... it will make it moist and easier for your bird to digest>I have found in times of great heat my birds will peck and eat/drink the watermelon when they wont touch the water...also offer yogurt (live culture not the desert/flavored kind) as this is fluid but with nutrients

(be careful it does not spoil in the heat)... Here in this thread (stickied at the EZ BYC locationboard) is all kinds of info and tips for dealing with heat and heatstress...
http://p072.ezboard.com/fbackyardchickensfrm1.showMessage?topicID=22798.topic