Well, I thought it was all over, and everything has been fine with her and she's had no more episodes. She has been laying as usual an egg almost every day. We have been leaving her in on the screened porch mostly, but do let her out to ramble around the yard on days that someone is out there with her to watch her so that she don't go into the woods and to keep the predator away. It's been so sad. We have lost 6 chickens so far because of this predator. We have baited 3 live traps and they have been out, and we've so far caught a Tom cat, and a baby skunk, which I do not believe either were the culprit in these murders. I'm thinking it is a owl. Every one except for the rooster "Fancy Pants", and the attacked hen I've been treating (his sister Little Pretty Girl), have all been gotten inside the pen, with the heads gone, and left at the steps of the chicken house. The chicken yard is fenced in, but the chicken house was not. (it is a playhouse, converted into a coop), and has plastic all around every open spot except for the door is open. I believe the thing is going inside the house while they are on roost and getting them. We have a light that stays on in the chicken house to deter predators, but hasn't worked apparently. It is not happening in the daytime, thinking in the wee hours of the morning while still dark. We now have wired up all the openings and made a door to close them in at night. Just wish we had been able to do that before all but the rooster "Harry" and the RRI "Red Riding Hood" were killed.
Anyway, back to the hen "Little Pretty Sister"...she had another episode just like the first one, she was laying on her side breathing hard with mouth open. I brought her in an held her a while. Tried to give her some Cephlexin in a dropper, but she only could take about 2 drops. She did at one point cackle, and a bit of brownish liquid ran out of her mouth 2 times, and about the same time, she passed an egg, that broke when it came out, and had appearance of some runny poop too. She was very hot on her back and legs. Her top knot is red, with a small gray spot on it. Her nose is not running and she is not sneezing, but have seen her sneeze once or twice at different periods far between, not usual, and not something she does regularly, just kind of like something made her sneeze. The weather has been cold at night, and she has been left alone on the roost, so I'm wondering if she may have caught a cold or something, but no runny nose or regular sneezing. After she passed the egg and threw up some, I waited a while and then sat her bottom in the sink of warm water, and washed off all the mess. Her breathing was less labored and she seemed that she felt better. I dried her off with a towel and sat her on a doggie pee pad and wrapped her in that and a towel good, and put a cool wet washrag on her skin on her back to cool down the fever some, and held her that way for a long time. She seemed to feel better and breathe better and was going to sleep. It was about till 3:00am. When she appeared to be calmer and feeling better, I left her wrapped up but took the rag off and put her in a clothes basket to sleep for the night in here by my bed. She slept okay, and this morning was alert and appeared to be breathing pretty normally, but still acting like she can't stand up, but her legs are not stiff like last night.
Note: The first night of her episode, that day, I had put her in a different pen where other chickens had been going in and out, but she was in there alone. Chickens do not stay in that pen, they just go through it every now and then. She is about a year old, so she's not a baby, so I would think that Cocsidiosis wouldn't be the problem, but don't know, but that was the first time she had anything wrong with her. After that first episode that night, that she got over all by herself, there has not been another until last night, and it was just like the first, except she didn't throw up or lay an egg during the first. I have no idea what the problem could be. Would Cocsidiosis happen that fast from that day in that pen to have that episode that night, and not have another episode until last night, which has been over a week? I do have some Corid, and also some Tylan 50 and some wormer, just don't know what it could be or what to do about it. Can you give any insight anyone? Thank y'all for your help. I know this is kind of long, but was trying to explain everything that has happened lately to the poor girl.
