force feeding chicken

[Lucysmom002]

Well I've been giving her electrolytes and vitamins and trying to get some feed in her mouth the past couple days. She was so weak she wouldn't do anything, not eat or drink or anything.
Tonight, she went to the feeder and pigged out!! I'm so happy! She's not out of the woods yet but she's stronger and she's sitting on the roost!

I started her on antibiotics today too

 

[Lucysmom002]

Still dropping in the antibiotic water and the electrolytes today. Also a drop of poly vi sol. She is a TINY bit more alert than yesterday but not eating and weak.. ughgh

 

[Koodra]

I have 2 chickens that are not eating or eating very little.

One is a blue laced red wyandotte with a beak injury that I have fixed twice in the past 3 weeks but she keeps scraping off so now I am leaving well enough alone to see how she fares, cause I don't want her to scrub off more than the crazy glue/teabag piece covered with nail polish that the chicken chick showed how to do on her site. Fixing a beak is like doing silk nails on an unwilling participant + First aid.

She is starting to eat on her own, but not that much. She is due to start laying in a month or so, or maybe later lol...

The other chicken I have is either anorexic or her flockmate eats all her food. But, I observed them together and I don't think that that is the case, I think it is a case of picky-ness because when we switched off starter crumble she wasn't liking the scratch and peck grower organic too much. But like an idiot, she dropped to less than a pound when her flockmate is near 4 pounds and they are the same age. >.<

So this is what I do since they forage and have feed,

I got a Syringe (I use the ones for kids that come with their medicine at like CVS, Walmart or Walgreens)
they are free at drugstores or they have some at petfood stores that are under a buck, but sometimes need the tip bore snipped
to accommodate the thickness of this food.

I put whatever I have of the following in a food processor or blender:
plain yogurt, (Protein, fat and water) or cottage cheese 1/4 - 1/3 cup
brewer's years (B vitamins, protein and is a natural de-wormer, just in case), 2-3 tsp
peanut butter (Protein, fat) 1 Tbls or shelled sunflower seeds - if I have them, 1-2 Tbls (fat and protein)
fruit (apple, banana, melon, grape, plum, peach - whatever is past it's prime, but not moldy and no citrus) 1/4-1/3 cup keep peel (fiber)
ground flax seeds (protein, omegas, fat), 2-3 tsp
sesame seeds 1 T, if I have them
wet mash, pellets, feed soak 1/4-1/3 cup in just enough water so that it squishes easily between your fingers.
molasses (high in iron, plus its sweet) or agave 2-3 tsp
electrolyte powder (pinch or 1/8 tsp) or use gatorade or pedialyte instead of water
water to thin enough so the concoction smoothly goes through a syringe. about 1/3 - 3/4 depending on consistency.

I grind this all up in a blender/food processor until it is got a smoothie-like consistency, test it through the syringe.
And fill up the syringe and place it on the towel next to me or on a small dish to collect drips.

Now I feed the chickens by myself and this is how I do it.
I place the chicken on the counter on a towel (for droppings and splatter) and since I am right handed I put the chicken alongside me facing my right hand. I then gently have them sit down gently pushing them down so they are kneeling on their feet, if needed. I then use my left arm to "hug" the chicken from behind so they can't back out under my arm. Next I gently grab her head in my left hand and then her bottom beak with my right and gently but firmly twist and pry open the beak. Next I use my fingers on my left hand to keep her beak open, often putting my finger in between top and bottom beaks to keep open her mouth, kinda like a gag or a dog with a bone in it's mouth. Then I put the syringe in and pass the back of her throat and squeeze. (If I don't go past the back of the throat, she shakes her head like a wet dog and I am covered with the food, I put the syringe tip in about a 1/2" into the back of the throat and this works well) ) I have gotten quicker at this with practice. They like to shake their heads back and forth a lot and retract their heads a lot but once I have the beak open I usually just gently but firmly hold on until they stop squirming and then use the syringe. This way they know I am not giving up, this happening, like it or not.

I give 1-3 syringes (5ml or 1 tsp each) at a time, give the chicken 30 seconds to a couple minutes to relax and swallow in between syringes.
I usually do 3 sets of 3 all while carefully checking the crop for fullness. It inflates like a balloon, so don't over do it. Usually 1/2 to 3/4 full is what I do with my injured beak because she does manage to get a tsp into her crop by the end of the day. And for the Anorexic, I do full crop.
She actually leans to one side, the side away from her crop resting after I full her up. I do this 1-2 times a day breakfast/dinner.

The injured beak is improving and is starting to pick up seeds from the ground again after a lot of pretending and posturing for the last month an a half since she broke it.

The anorexic finally stopped peeping and now has her big girl clucking voice. She is almost 2 pounds (30 oz when full) up from 14 oz.
She does eat treats though. Loves junk food just like my kid. She is finally growing again and catching up to her flockmate.

I hated doing this at first, it seemed so brutal. But after a week of grinning and bearing it, they have much improved and after injured beak grows back her beak or eats enough on her own without loosing weight, then I'll stop with her and for Anorexic, I think I'm looking into getting her some mash. its just I can't find and organic mash. I guess eating is better than not. It takes me about 30-45 mins a day to do this including making the food and cleanup.

Anyway, this is what I do and it works, just a commitment until they heal or lol change their minds.

Best of luck with your Chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Why not just go back to the starter/grower crumble? It doesn't have to be medicated. Maybe the chickens like the taste of it and the higher protein. I frequently use Flock Raiser crumbles when I have multi-age chickens on the ground, and the older chickens love it. Flock Raiser is just a little large crumble, but is mostly identical to chick starter. Just put out some crushed oyster shell for extra calcium.

 

[Koodra]

That sounds like a good idea. I''ll look for flock raiser.
The wet food blend above has probably got about the same protein amount or more, but I can ensure that
it is organic and non-GMO. As I can with the Scratch & Peck.

Does flock raiser come in Non-GMO Organic? That is the only snafu here as I want my girls on Non-GMO organic as
we went to the trouble of having chickens, we want eggs without pesticide and genetically modified feed that irritates their digestive tracts.

I've got the oyster shell and actually offer some for them to eat out of my hands when the step up to their roosts before bed.

Thanks for the info.