Help me please??

[DarleneE]

hnichols,

No I put any treats separate. Since they were babies I have always given them a treat in the afternoon such as lettuce and some veggies like either canned corn, carrots, green beans etc etc and they have always been fine and have eaten their feed fine. I also give them things like grapes, melons and that kind of stuff. But not in huge amounts or anything.. just a "treat" basically.. NOT a meal!! It's worked for us for almost 2 years now. So I just honestly have no idea why they aren't eating now??

Also DUMB QUESTION HERE BUT.. why would having worms cause her to close her eyes?? Is it cause she's weak maybe?? But then she'll go and jump up on top of the coop which is quite a jump?? Seems like she'd be too weak to do that then?? I just don't get it?? But I will get a fecal sample in the morning.
Thanks so much!!

 

[hnichols]

Your hen closing her eyes is because she is lethargic and they only shown these symptomn (lethargicness, not eating ect) when they are really sick. Did you check to see anything stuck in her throat.

 

[hnichols]

nevermind bout the throat thing i read the posts from before

 

[animalgrl]

animalgrl,

Can you please tell me what that treatment is?? I've never had chickens until these and really don't know about these things??
Thank you so much!!

The treatment for Coccidiosis is Corid (amprolium) 9.6% oral solution (liquid). There is also a 20% powder form that can use that also. It is actually a cattle medication and you should be able to find it at Tractor Supply or most feed stores. You put it in their water. Make sure it is the only water available during the treatment period. The dosage for chickens for both the liquid and powder forms and more good info can be found here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/818879/updated-corid-and-amprol-amprolium-dosing

If it was mine girl, I would start her on it as soon as possible and I'd probably treat her at the severe outbreak dose or the moderate outbreak dose. It won't harm her her if it isn't coccidiosis, and you want to treat all of your hens at the same time.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[DarleneE]

animalgrl,

Everything being closed today can't get it till tomorrow morning now, however not sure that I'll need it now though?? She has been getting progressively better. Her strength is better.. she's walking all over now and she's definitely eating again.. however not much of their feed although they ARE also def starting to eat it again now.. just slowly, little bits at a time. Remember it was BOTH my hens that just stopped eating the feed, but only Livie who showed any signs of being ill. Just the strangest thing ever?? Daisy continued being active and everything but just not eating the feed??

So here's what I did. Contrary to people telling me to JUST leave them with their feed and stop all treats, I did the opposite after doing that for two entire days and seeing that they just WERE NOT going to eat that feed!! They went 2 days without eating a thing??!! Sooooooo yesterday I went and got them all kinds of HEALTHY treats!! I served them turnip greens, shredded carrots, chopped up cauliflower, red seedless grapes with a little yogurt and put everything in separate bowls all around their food area in the run and they went NUTS!! Even my Livie started slow.. you could see she was TRYING so hard to eat..she'd stand there and try to pick something up but at first just couldn't seem to eat anything.. but little by little she began taking tiny bits of this and that esp the grapes and some yogurt and soon she was going from bowl to bowl taking a little of everything I put out for them!! Daisy just INHALED some of EVERYTHING and she loved it.. you could clearly see how she was enjoying it all.. they BOTH did actually FINALLY!! THEN... i also would even see them taking a few pecks at their feed as well!!!! So I totally believe the BEST THING I did was to feed them "healthy treats"as I did to get them going first. If I hadn't done that.. they'd actually die because they just WERE NOT going to eat the feed!! I believe there are just times when we all must break the rules?? At least it seems to have helped my birds. I've not given them anything yet this morning... they do have constant access to their feed, oyster shell and fresh clean water at all times though. Later I'll go give them more of the same treats though and I'll continue to do this until I feel they're back to 100% again. I'll always give them their afternoon treats also as I've done since they were tiny babies!! This has always worked well for my birds. They produce big, pretty eggs and have always been very healthy and I totally believe it's due to all the healthy treats they get. However a big mistake I'd been making was to give them all that iceberg lettuce without knowing it had no nutritional value for them!! From now on it'll be turnip or collard greens for them instead for sure esp since I found out they LOVE those greens too!!!! And OMG i was sooooooo surprised to see just how much they love those cauliflower crumbles I bought for them...THEY TORE THEM UP!!!! There wasn't a crumble of them left!! And not too expensive either!!

Mine are not laying at the moment as they're still molting, but I bet their eggs will be even better once they start laying now that they will be getting a much more "nutritional" variety of "treats" than I'd been giving them!!

I'm praying my Olivia, Aka Livie, continues to improve day by day as she starts eating again and gets strong again. She's not closing her eyes nearly as much as she had been either.

In summary.. MY opinion of all this, and I could be wrong (??).. it is ONLY an opinion, is that I very possibly may have overdosed my girls with that supplement??!! Kickin Chicken is the name of it. Now I'm NOT knocking it at all btw!! It did ALOT of good when Daisy started laying soft shelled eggs. It corrected the problem in a very short time!! However, I believe I should just have stopped it then OR maybe have only given it once or twice a week?? You know you CAN overdo a good thing too!! It does have niacin, B12 and all the omega fatty acids in it and I'm sure that too much of those things is JUST as bad as too little!! So the MORAL of MY story is:
BE CAREFUL WHEN GIVING ANY SUPPLEMENTS AND USE THEM SPARINGLY ONLY!!!! AGAIN, I am NOT CERTAIN this is what even happened, but I'm honestly almost certain that it IS.

Thank you to all of you for helping me!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!!!!

 

[animalgrl]

Glad they are doing better. I agree, eating treats is better than not eating at all and I would have done the same thing if I thought it would start them eating. Keep an eye on their droppings. Just one other thought, how old is your food? Sometimes if it is too old it can get bad or lose flavor/nutritional value. I just changed brands of food and none of my girls would eat it. After three days I went back to my old brand and they went back to eating. So if they don't start eating their food, you might want to try a fresh bag of food or a new brand. Hope they are both back to normal soon! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[DarleneE]

animalgrl,

That's what I was also thinking. No it's a new bag of food cause we thought maybe something was wrong with the other bag which was also a new bag??!! We even tried a different feed from a different feed store!! I just don't understand....
BTW this morning her little feathers under each eye looks like it could have gotten wet?? It's not wet NOW, or at least I can't feel it wet?? But looks to me like if it's kinda ruffled like it had gotten wet?? Don't see any drainage either from mouth, beak or even her eyes now, but it just looks different if that makes sense!!?? Sooooooo that being said I'm going to break down and take her to an Avian Vet that's right there where my dog goes for his accupuncture!! I didn't even KNOW they had an avian vet there and they're sooooooo good too, I love them there and in fact am going to even transfer my dog there completely rather than just for accupuncture??!!! Regardless what my husband says or how much he bitches.. we're going to the vet!!!! God I'm just PRAYING they'll be there tomorrow??!! Though I actually doubt they will be and that upsets me cause I should have just have done this yesterday!!!! Now what if something should happen, it'll be MY fault for not taking her!!!! She's still walking around some and trying to eat, standing over the plate but mainly just pushes the food around with her beak?? She actually only EATS a tiny bit of it!!?? I have all those same veggies and grapes out there again today and they're eating.. or I should say DAISY is eating like CRAZY... my Livie is picking thru it and eating some but small amounts only.

So please pray I can get her seen tomorrow?? PLEASE?? THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH ALSO... you've been such a big help.. if even just for the moral support!! You're a very nice person.. thank you!!!! I enjoy chatting back and forth with you!!

I hope you're having A GREAT Thanksgiving!! Are you cooking at your home?? We're doing it here this year and have sooooooo much food going on!! Lol We smoked a turkey, we have two pork legs in the oven and a ham to still go in!! Then all the sides!!!! ALOT of work!! But WOW I don't personally really even like turkey, but THIS ONE is GREAT!!!! i injected it last night all over with this mixture I made with COKE!!!! OMG it's sooooooo good!!!! Extremely juicy.. not dry at all!! Yummy.. well gotta go make the sweet potatos and stuffing!! Bye for now.

 

[animalgrl]

Sometimes the bet is the best option even if it's just for piece of mind. I'd ask the vet to check a stool sample for coccidiosis and for parasite. Do you have Livie separated out where you can keep an eye on her? She could have gotten her feathers wet drinking, but you may want to keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't regurgitating. It's always frustrating that these things seem to happen around the holidays when it is hard to get the help you need. That seems to be what always happens to me, anyway. Don't lose hope. We had one earlier this year who was very sick (lost a ton of weight, lethargic, runny droppings) and we almost lost her. I think the vet wanted to euthanize her but we treated her with antibiotics because the vet thought she had an infection and then found out she had coccidiosis as well so we treated her with the antibiotic injections, Corid, and also with Reglan injections as she was having trouble moving food through her crop. It was a lot of work but we managed to save her and she is doing great now. So hang in there and try to enjoy your Thanksgiving!

 

[DarleneE]

animalgrl,

Thank you again for all your help and support just by being here.. it has helped me alot.
Well Livie is in the coup and run with Daisy where they have always lived. She is still acting OK really?? She IS eating though I wouldn't say EAGERLY eating.. it looks to me more like she's pushing herself to eat?? BUT nonetheless she IS getting some nutritional value in her. She's up and walking all over with Daisy like they always do. Her eyes or the area around them ARE NOT wet.. it's all dry. No cough, sneezing, NOTHING!! HONESTLY I'M STUMPED!!!! She is walking around but more often just stops and her eyes just close?? You know what it's like.. I swear it looks like someone who has narcolepsy and keeps falling asleep!! Honestly it does!!?? Oooooh my...
But YES I AM monitoring her closely and even have a baby monitor in the roost and nest to keep watch during the night.
God willing and given the chance, I will take her to the vet first thing Monday morning.
Thanks again!!!!