Hello...Newbie w/ a Question

[Fiddlecat]

Greetings,
I found your your forum trying to figure out what is wrong with my hen. Here's some info on her.
I think she's called a Red Star

I don't know her age. I adopted her approx 1 year ago. I'm thinking at least 3 yrs going by the preivous owner.

I know she has poltry lice. I've been treating her for approx 2 months with a poultry dust. I dust her about every 7 to 10 days. <<<< too much dust?

She eats and drinks normal. I feed layer pellets and she free ranges. Well stands there mostly now.

Weight loss, quite skinny.

Won't scratch around anymore, and wont dust bath.

Sleeps alot

Poor posture, tail down, neck tucked in, kinda hunched over.

Walks slowly, but not unstable.

Will not roost at night. I pick her up and place her in a nesting box so she wont catch a chill on the floor.

I've put electrolights and vitimans in her water and it perks her up some. (or mabey I just think it does?)

Stool like water but has firmed up a little in the the past few days.

Has not laided in over 5 months

No impacked crop.

She starting acting like this approx 4 months ago. Somtimes she seems to be geting better. Other times worse. This morning she was on the floor of the coop and laying in the pine shavings as if she was sun bathing outside. I stood her up (she cooed) and stood with her face to the wall, hunched as always. I'm at a loos on what to do. I've done all sorts of research on different diseases and the symptoms don't seem to coinside with anything but vitiman A deficenty. And her lice problem. I have other girls I'm treating them too with dust, but the lice seems to really like this sick hen and she has more then the others.

Sorry I don't have time to introduce myself. I have to go to work now. Mabey I'll get to talk to some of you later today.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[CUDA]

To be honest, you shouldn't have to treat as much as you have for lice. If she is infected that bad, that could be your problem, anemia. First, separate her, second, treat for lice with sevin dust, third, give her vitamin supplements, especially vitamin K . I would put some red cell in their water too. You can see more information on these things HERE . Good luck!

 

[newnanchic]

could she have worms??

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
I wonder about that too. When was she last wormed?

 

[Fiddlecat]

Hi,
Thanks for your information CUDA I will look into all that, and try those things too.

I have never wormed them. All the girls Ive had now for 9 months. I got them at 7 weeks old. Except for this sick hen and an Astralorp. I've had them approx 1 yr.

What do you use for worming them? I'm sure it can't hurt to do that also wether they have them or not. In the mean time I'm going to look into vitamin K and redcell.

I don't have the means to seperate tho I tried to figure out how. It's just not avaible. None of the other girls are having this problem except for the lice and they are no where near as bad. So whatever I use to treat the sick hen I will use on the others also.

 

[CUDA]

If you decide you need to worm, you can find that on my site too, and you will find that the Ivomec will help with your mite problem too. Good luck!

 

[spatcher]

Fiddlecat - I sell DE - diatomaceous earth that is used for lice and internal parasites (its mixed with their feed) if you get her back to health and need any DE just PM me. Has to be food grade though and you can check this site (Not Mine) www.shadowridgedonkeys.com/perma_food_grade.htm for all the info you need.

 

[Fiddlecat]

Thanks CUDA....I'm going to look in your site once I'm done here.

Spatcher...thanks for the DE information. I have used DE on a regular basis. In the food, in the coop and in their dusting areas. I still seem to have this problem tho. I will however be needing more DE. I'm down to my last few scoops. Yes I only use the food grade DE. I'm just not sure why it hasn't worked as a preventive. I actually clean their poop up every morning and if it rains I will clean it all up again late afternoon so they stay in a clean environment. The DE I sprinkle around about every 2 weeks once the shavings are lowerd to where I add new in. I sprinkle it around at that time and add approx 3 handfuls to a 50lb bag of their feed and keep the food in air tight plastic containers. I have used it directly on them too, but not on a regular basis, mabey once every other month. Anything else I'm missing that I could be doing with it? Mabey I'm not using enough.

Thanks for all your help. Today she seems a bit more perky compaired to normal. But still has the same bummy look about her. You can see she don't don't feel well and closes her eyes quite often as if to cat nap.