Geez...I have two diff emergencies...two hens

[janine]

First Hen, barred rock, approx 7 mos old....noticed it was starting to isolate herself and would not roost. I have confined her, but she is very weak, and very very thin....I began tube feeding her three days ago, ground up layer and also some egg protein mix for cockatiels..... I'm also giving her an antibiotic (?mycin) over the counter, and vitamins and electralytes. She seemed to perk up intially, and even ate a little on her own, and drank too the next morning. I was concerned they all needed worming, since they recently stopped laying after having just started, so I also wormed her...hmmmm....bad idea, what little hydration I accomplished was gone over night. She could bearely stand the next day....I decided to up her feeding schedule...Now..I'm unsure what I'm doing here...other than I get the idea of how physically..but how much and how often is another thing? How much should I force feed her in a sitting? I have been feeding her three times a day, each feeding puffs her crop up just slightly but not alot. She seems stronger and I'm giving antibiotics with each feeding and also vitamins/electro. It does not appear to be anything involving resiration, that is why I thought worms...any suggestions???? I have not given her anymore wormer med.

Second hen, presented yesterday with a prolapse vent, I washed her and applied some ky to a gloved finger and attempted to replace...it had been out long enough to dry out a little. She was eating and acting normal, I left her in the coop. This morning she had layed an egg out in the pen, she is still oozing what looks like egg whitish looking stuff from her vent, but the vent looks tucked in but still bleeding a little...What do I do? I am assuming she was egg bound yesterday, but has passed it.....Should I start her on antibiotics too? This was her first egg in about 3 weeks, and she had only layed 3 before that...she is the same age 7 mos. and is a leghorn...

My two older sex links are finishing molting....and when they started molting, everyone stopped laying? Worms seemed like the most common reason for a whole flock to stop laying...plus the sick hen had me believeing this was the issue.....Should I continue to worm them as a precaution? I have 6 hens..... 1 other hen did lay today also (unsure which one) Some guidence would be appreciated.....

 

[SteveBaz]

Separate her from the others. They will be tempted to peck at the prolapse and kill her. Clean it as best you can with water and a clean paper towel. Then gently push back in anything that has come out and apply a bit of Preparation H to the inflamed area. It's kinda like a hemorrhoid. You might also give her soluble antibiotics in her drinking water for about 4-5 days to guard against infection. "Not all vent picking is due to prolapse, but instead may result from faulty management - feeders, waterers and roosts may be positioned low in such a way that other birds now can pick on the vents of the sick birds." Even though it is very uncommon it is still a concern.

As for bird #1 worming is a very bad choice and is not always the problem. To worm and even all directions recommend that if there is not any sign of worms in the stool or signs in any of the entire flock there usually is no reason to worm. Your bird will suffer dehydration and needs vitamin water like Vita Sol and Apple cider vinegar organic(health food store) which will help a lot.

Good luck all is not lost yet.

 

[BamaSilkies]

If you have experience with hand feeding birds like macaws same rule applys. Fill the crop til it is almost full and then refill as it empties. It might cut back on the amount of feedings per day to fill the crop. I would try maybe alternating with chicken baby food(high protein for strength), or maybe a little applesauce, mixed veggie babyfood, plain yogurt (probiotic) or you could just go with the macaw handfeeder formula. If you want to continue with what your using try adding just a little sugar to it( not for taste but sugar makes you thirsty and gives some energy) it might give her enough of a boost so that she can eat and drink on her own.

 

[janine]

Well my Barred Hen girl, this morning is on her side eyes closed, very near death.... I feel terrible having giving her the wormer.......To be honest, though this hen was the slowest growing and never started laying...and always thin though she was eating...I'm just not sure if maybe she just had an internal issue from the beginning.....She seemed to perk up again yesterday...so I just have no idea why she took a turn for the worse last night.....She had no outward symptoms of sickness...just shriveling up to bones and dying? I have treated birds before....and most bounced back rather quickly....This one breaks my heart...since she seemed to be hangin in there...I feel like I just prolonged the inevitable and should have let her go. Oh well......I'll get started on The longhorn.....The other hens do not seem to be picking at her at all.....but I'll isolate her, soak her bottom in warm water and get her on some antibiotics......I'll keep ya posted..and thanks for your suggestions......

 

[SteveBaz]

Quote:
X2 on the sugar water for sure I have no experience with the macaw feeding so this maybe a solution too.

The key is hydration and get a baby medicine dropper and not squirt but drip in her mouth and if you can get her standing she may survive.

 

[janine]

It was past the point of dripping...I had been syringing with a tube right into her crop...She passed shortly after my last post, this morning....After removing her from the hay and cleaning the hay out...The underneath was very wet...She must have been losing the fluid as quickly as I was putting it in...poor girl..
On a better note...removed The leghorn, and soaked her bum in some warm antibacterial sudsy water, rinsed her off and dried. The Vent is tucked in nicely still....and she is very active, though I still isolated her and gave her some antibiotics and vit/electrolytes in her water...She is hard to catch so I'll keep her isolated for a few days to make sure she will be ok.....Thanks for all the help...

 

[SteveBaz]

So sorry for your loss

Some you win and others times you feel like you failed but that is not true you did the best you knew how. If you knew a better way you would have done it. Be at peace with it. You have 1 that you did great with.