I have a hen that's not doing so good. I found her out in her coop, perched on their perch. Picked her up, put her outside on the ground. She just sat there. I gave her a little push to see if she would walk. She took a couple of steps and stopped again. It's been cold so I figured she was just cold. I put her back in the coop. I came back a couple hours later and she was exactly where I had left her. Not moving. I picked her up and got a better look. Every time I put her back down, looked like she couldn't keep her balance, let alone stand up straight...or walk! So I brought her in, put her by the fire place. She started looking better after she warmed up so I thought she just got really cold out there. Well, she's been in the house for about 5 days now. The second day I gave her a bath because she had so much poop stuck to her butt. I found a quarter sized bump by her vent. It had a scab in the middle of it. I'm wondering if she's got some sort of a infection going through her body and that's why she's not doing well..? She wouldn't even drink or eat by herself for days so I've been dipping her beak in a little cup or water, she's drinking that way. Yesterday, she actually started drinking on her own when I put the bowl infront of her face. I've also been making her eat by opening her beak and putting food in her mouth. Three days ago I started giving her doxycycline, 100mg pills, one a day. I don't have any other kind of an antibiotic. We always have doxy in the barn for the horses. Is it a bad idea to give a silkie hen these pills?? Now, the hen has started to look brighter. When I pick her up, she flaps her wings a little and obviously is not happy being picked up, which is more of her normal behavior. She also stands up on her own but doesn't really move. Just stands up instead of sitting down in her little box. Could these be signs of a disease? I'm still going with the bump on her butt for the reason of her condition. My next stupid question of the day is; What is this round cushy feeling thing on their chest? Right under the neck? Normally they feel pretty firm on a chicken that I've noticed. This lady's chest is very soft. I have no idea what that part of their body is called and what it does in the first place. lol Any advice on caring for my hen would be highly appreciated! Is there something I'm doing that might be bad for the hen? Like giving her the doxy? I think I will keep doing what I'm doing unless someone tells me otherwise. Hopefully I can help my little girl... If not, we'll just have to put her down so she won't have to suffer. She is my first chicken ever, one of the two sisters I got in the summer of 2010. She'll be 4 this summer. This is her in 2010 with my rooster Curly.
Well the squishy feeling on her chest sounds like the croup, this is where any food she has eaten goes for processing. It should feel firm, almost like one of those little balls you make as a k9id which are basically balloons filled with rice. Is this very squishy? Does it feel like a water balloon. Open her beak and have a little smell, if this is infected it will most likely smell foul. You need to restore the chicken's probiotic bacteria so that she starts eating and recovering. http://forums.countrysmallholding.com/cs/forums/1568698/ShowPost.aspx
Well, her croup is just plain soft. It's softer than a water balloon. But could this mean that it's just empty because she hasn't been eating? I can't smell anything when I open her beak but my nose is so stuffy that I probably just can't smell anything. lol I'll have my boyfriend take a whiff and see if he can smell anything. I'll try the yogurt also. Thanks!
