Thanks everyone, but Faun has passed away.
Hey guys,
Yesterday I went out after school and let the big kids out to range. Everything seemed pretty normal. Faun (our amazing, beautiful F1 EE hen) was a tad bit "off". She followed me down to the house with Holly, as per usual, but she didn't talk very much - which was odd, seeing as how she is a big talker. She did, however, voraciously go after her treats of the day - raisins, corn thrown out in the yard, foraging for tomatoes in the garden. She drank, but I did not see her poop (or remember it) - but then again, it doesn't get any newer around here!
Today, however, is a different story. I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't go to school - and something didn't feel right. I went out to check on everybody, let the big kids out to range - the babies were fine, gave them some raisins. Went, let the big kids out, all was well - except faun was nowhere to be seen. And I panicked, god I panicked. Faun is almost always the first one out - I ran over, got in the run, and there she was - underneath the coop. She was stooped over, her wings droopy, her tail down, and her comb was dark, purple - blue even. It scared me senseless - Hollys comb got white when she was sick, the only time i'd ever seen a blue comb was in dead birds. She wasn't panting, just standing there. I ran back into the coop, got some corn, tried to get her to come out.... nothing. She barely even looked at me.
I got mom, and we got her out - We brought her in, and put her in a tub - but when I sat her down, she wouldn't even sit up. At first, I was sure she was eggbound - her rear is "firm", and when you massage it, she groans and tries to move away. It must hurt her, because she's never reacted like that. But now, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing either A) she has some sort of infection, B) there is something going on with her egg tract, or C) something got her through the fence, and this is a stress reaction. I'm not sure how chickens react to extreeme stress - but it's a theory, seeing as how there is all kinds of dirt caked on her face, and it looks like there is saliva or something dried on some of her head feathers. There is, however, no tears in the flesh or blood. Her pupils are dialated, her eyelids are dark around the edges. Her vent is normal. She is thin - and, to my amazement, does have some mites - considering the fact I dusted them not too long ago. They were wormed in May, before the chicks arrived. I haven't gotten any green/blue eggs in a while, but the girls have been laying EVERYWHERE and I figured they had layed outside and rolled away, or something of the like.
I didn't give her a warm bath, as I was afraid the stress would kill her. We called the vet, and he said to just keep her comfortable, that there was nothing we could do - that he tried surgery on a hen the other day, but she died not very long afterwards. I figured she was on the way out, so about 10:30 or so, I got a warm towl, and held her while watching a favorite childhood movie, figuring the least I could do was love her and comfort her.
A bit later, she was still reacting to sound, turning her head an opening her eyes. We gave her some yogurt, waited. She looked a bit better later. We gave her a small dosage of .1ml clindomyacin diluted with water to .4ml.
She pooped not long ago - very watery and smelly, but there was both distinct parts of the poo (the white and brown). She did stand up too, but laid back down and is resting.
Does anyone have any advice?
Yesterday I went out after school and let the big kids out to range. Everything seemed pretty normal. Faun (our amazing, beautiful F1 EE hen) was a tad bit "off". She followed me down to the house with Holly, as per usual, but she didn't talk very much - which was odd, seeing as how she is a big talker. She did, however, voraciously go after her treats of the day - raisins, corn thrown out in the yard, foraging for tomatoes in the garden. She drank, but I did not see her poop (or remember it) - but then again, it doesn't get any newer around here!
Today, however, is a different story. I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't go to school - and something didn't feel right. I went out to check on everybody, let the big kids out to range - the babies were fine, gave them some raisins. Went, let the big kids out, all was well - except faun was nowhere to be seen. And I panicked, god I panicked. Faun is almost always the first one out - I ran over, got in the run, and there she was - underneath the coop. She was stooped over, her wings droopy, her tail down, and her comb was dark, purple - blue even. It scared me senseless - Hollys comb got white when she was sick, the only time i'd ever seen a blue comb was in dead birds. She wasn't panting, just standing there. I ran back into the coop, got some corn, tried to get her to come out.... nothing. She barely even looked at me.
I got mom, and we got her out - We brought her in, and put her in a tub - but when I sat her down, she wouldn't even sit up. At first, I was sure she was eggbound - her rear is "firm", and when you massage it, she groans and tries to move away. It must hurt her, because she's never reacted like that. But now, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing either A) she has some sort of infection, B) there is something going on with her egg tract, or C) something got her through the fence, and this is a stress reaction. I'm not sure how chickens react to extreeme stress - but it's a theory, seeing as how there is all kinds of dirt caked on her face, and it looks like there is saliva or something dried on some of her head feathers. There is, however, no tears in the flesh or blood. Her pupils are dialated, her eyelids are dark around the edges. Her vent is normal. She is thin - and, to my amazement, does have some mites - considering the fact I dusted them not too long ago. They were wormed in May, before the chicks arrived. I haven't gotten any green/blue eggs in a while, but the girls have been laying EVERYWHERE and I figured they had layed outside and rolled away, or something of the like.
I didn't give her a warm bath, as I was afraid the stress would kill her. We called the vet, and he said to just keep her comfortable, that there was nothing we could do - that he tried surgery on a hen the other day, but she died not very long afterwards. I figured she was on the way out, so about 10:30 or so, I got a warm towl, and held her while watching a favorite childhood movie, figuring the least I could do was love her and comfort her.
A bit later, she was still reacting to sound, turning her head an opening her eyes. We gave her some yogurt, waited. She looked a bit better later. We gave her a small dosage of .1ml clindomyacin diluted with water to .4ml.
She pooped not long ago - very watery and smelly, but there was both distinct parts of the poo (the white and brown). She did stand up too, but laid back down and is resting.
Does anyone have any advice?
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