HELP! bantam hen lethargic, not eating nor drinking

[ChickenFeeds]

From a quick research I found that the d’Uccle breed is not that cold hardy.

 

[monkeybutter99]

From a quick research I found that the d’Uccle breed is not that cold hardy.

do you think thats why shes been acting sick? if so how should i get her feeling better?

 

[azygous]

It hurts nothing, risks nothing, and is simple and easy to give the sugar water. As simple as it is, it's saved lives.

 

[monkeybutter99]

It hurts nothing, risks nothing, and is simple and easy to give the sugar water. As simple as it is, it's saved lives.

thank you! i will try that!

 

[monkeybutter99]

It hurts nothing, risks nothing, and is simple and easy to give the sugar water. As simple as it is, it's saved lives.

she seems worse today. shes weak from not eating enough and still very lethargic. do you happen to have any other ideas?

 

[azygous]

Was she able to drink any of the sugar water? Have you warmed her up? Once a chicken is too weak to drink, tubing must be done in order to get fluids in.

Recently I had a hen suffering from heat sickness and she had collapsed. I had to wish her indoors and stick a tube down her throat to get the fluids in. It revived her. Had I not done that, she would have died.

Do you have an oral syringe? It will do if you have no tubing. It take longer to get fluids in this way, but it's better than nothing. This is how you do it so no fluids get into the airway.

Have you checked the crop in the morning to see if it's empty?

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Azygous, Thank you for all you do.

 

[monkeybutter99]

Was she able to drink any of the sugar water? Have you warmed her up? Once a chicken is too weak to drink, tubing must be done in order to get fluids in.

Recently I had a hen suffering from heat sickness and she had collapsed. I had to wish her indoors and stick a tube down her throat to get the fluids in. It revived her. Had I not done that, she would have died.

Do you have an oral syringe? It will do if you have no tubing. It take longer to get fluids in this way, but it's better than nothing. This is how you do it so no fluids get into the airway.

Have you checked the crop in the morning to see if it's empty?
View attachment 3733381

she has. ive warmed her up but it doesnt seem to do much. i dont have an oral syringe, ive been having to feed her with a dropper. her crop has been empty every morning shes been inside so far.

 

[monkeybutter99]

just checked on her and it seems that shes unable to stand, she just falls back onto her side if she tries.

 

[azygous]

She's very likely dehydrated by this point. Can she drink if you hold her upright and the bowl of water under her beak? If not, trying to get enough fluids into her with a dropper is like trying to drain a bathtub with a tea cup.

You need to tube the fluids into her. If you have a vet that sees other pets, you can buy a tube feeding kit for small animals from them for just a couple dollars. You insert the tube exactly as the photo I posted shows. Only a tube will be inserted into the esophagus instead of the syringe. Then the syringe is used to push fluids into the crop. You need to get at least a fourth of a cup of sugar water every few hours into this hen or she will die. The longer you wait, the less chance there will be to save her.