I posted info on this hen back on the 20th and I've copied it and I'm just going to paste it here for you to refer to:
"I have been on a long, hard search for what seems like forever trying to find a hen for my Bantam Partridge Cochin roo. It would seem that hens are just really hard to come by for some reason. After a 2 mo search, I was finally able to secure one. I payed $20 for her, she is only 5 mo old, and I gladly agreed to take her sight unseen. I drove 125 mi and when I got there, and the guy handed her to me, I was shocked at how light and bony she felt. I hoped that it was just poor diet and she would begin putting on weight as soon as I got her home.
Long story short, she has had some trouble settling in, i.e., scared and nervous. I realize it is a little hard on a chicken being alone (quarantined) but I've had her a little over a week and all she has done since I got her is lay around unless I'm around her cage and then she frets, she drinks a lot of water, her feathers are dull and she looks ruffled up most of the time. She poops huge poops, my initial diagnosis was worms and I kind of expected to actually SEE worms the way she looks, but I haven't seen any. I didn't want to worm her right away until she had a few days to settle in. Finally today I wormed her with Wazine.
OK, now this is my question...Could she begin to feel better on the same day that she is wormed? I feel like I'm imagining things. She's been getting more friendly, so the fact that she is coming up to me isn't to surprising, but she is up on her feet, walking around and being much more curious about things. I haven't seen any worms in her poops yet. I'm just mystified at how big her poop is for such a little hen. Oh, and she started preening herself too.
If worms are the culprit and I'm on the right track, fine. I'll stay at it and in 2 wks I'll worm with ivermectin, but if there is something else going on here that I could be missing, I'd like to address it as soon as possible. If anyone has any feedback I'd really appreciate it. I've looked so long for this little girl and was so hoping to be able to have a companion for my roo for the winter. At this point, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep her on the back porch since she can't be put with the rest of the birds and I don't even know if she can handle the cold in her condition.
Thanks for any ideas you may have."
This is regarding the current post: I will say that her rally was very short lived, or imagined as I stated previously. Today I have had her for 2 wks and she has become accustomed to me and will allow me to stroke her and touch her. I decide to abuse the privilege and push it further by feeling her to see how much progress she was making at putting on weight. I thought, after all she was looking a bit less ruffled and dusty. Well, that was a terrible disappointment and I'm certainly glad I did it. She hasn't put on any weight AT ALL! When I pulled my hand away from under her sternum, I saw a couple of tiny red specks on the tips of my fingers. That grossed me out and all I could think of was mites.
I went and got 7 Dust, caught her up which was disturbingly easy, and sat on the back steps with her on my lap (again disturbingly easy) and dusted her with 7. Now comes even more disturbing findings. As I worked the 7 down to her skin, I discovered that her feathers were not fully unwrapped. All of her feathers remained at least halfway encased in feather sheath. When I got to her legs and feet, all of the new feathers were totally encased and it appeared that she was not unwrapping them. When I began to rub the 7 into her legs and rolled some of the feathers between my fingers or scratched them with my finger nails that was the only time she put up any resistance when I worked with her. I don't know if it caused her pain or she was ticklish, plus the outside toenail on each feet is a poor excuse for a toenail. At first I thought it was a feather shaft that had broken of really short and splintered.
After I turned her back over on her stomach and started working 7 into her back, I began to see feathers falling out. Not a whole lot, but some of the small ones particularly from up around her neck.
I am feeding her medicated starter feed plus the same kind of "treats" or whatever you call it, mixed veggies, yogurt, chopped lettuce, rice worms, whole wheat bread, cheese, raw sweet corn, tomatoes, and so forth, that everyone else gets. She does not recognize any of those things as food. All she knows to eat is the crumble.
I have her in a cage, bedded with hay. She can choose a perch or a nest box and she sleeps on the perch and during the day she nestles in the hay. She doesn't move around much. I've never seen her scratch or arrange the hay. This morning it was a little chilly and after I fed and was getting ready to leave, I walked by her cage and saw her sitting there with her head under her wing.?????Not Good!!!! It wasn't THAT cold. I am increasingly worried about her and bothered because I can't put her with anybody. Would washing her feet and legs help at all? or maybe even washing all of her? I thought it might loosen up those feather shafts and that would help to keep her warmer.???????? I'm grasping at straws here.
"I have been on a long, hard search for what seems like forever trying to find a hen for my Bantam Partridge Cochin roo. It would seem that hens are just really hard to come by for some reason. After a 2 mo search, I was finally able to secure one. I payed $20 for her, she is only 5 mo old, and I gladly agreed to take her sight unseen. I drove 125 mi and when I got there, and the guy handed her to me, I was shocked at how light and bony she felt. I hoped that it was just poor diet and she would begin putting on weight as soon as I got her home.
Long story short, she has had some trouble settling in, i.e., scared and nervous. I realize it is a little hard on a chicken being alone (quarantined) but I've had her a little over a week and all she has done since I got her is lay around unless I'm around her cage and then she frets, she drinks a lot of water, her feathers are dull and she looks ruffled up most of the time. She poops huge poops, my initial diagnosis was worms and I kind of expected to actually SEE worms the way she looks, but I haven't seen any. I didn't want to worm her right away until she had a few days to settle in. Finally today I wormed her with Wazine.
OK, now this is my question...Could she begin to feel better on the same day that she is wormed? I feel like I'm imagining things. She's been getting more friendly, so the fact that she is coming up to me isn't to surprising, but she is up on her feet, walking around and being much more curious about things. I haven't seen any worms in her poops yet. I'm just mystified at how big her poop is for such a little hen. Oh, and she started preening herself too.
If worms are the culprit and I'm on the right track, fine. I'll stay at it and in 2 wks I'll worm with ivermectin, but if there is something else going on here that I could be missing, I'd like to address it as soon as possible. If anyone has any feedback I'd really appreciate it. I've looked so long for this little girl and was so hoping to be able to have a companion for my roo for the winter. At this point, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep her on the back porch since she can't be put with the rest of the birds and I don't even know if she can handle the cold in her condition.
Thanks for any ideas you may have."
This is regarding the current post: I will say that her rally was very short lived, or imagined as I stated previously. Today I have had her for 2 wks and she has become accustomed to me and will allow me to stroke her and touch her. I decide to abuse the privilege and push it further by feeling her to see how much progress she was making at putting on weight. I thought, after all she was looking a bit less ruffled and dusty. Well, that was a terrible disappointment and I'm certainly glad I did it. She hasn't put on any weight AT ALL! When I pulled my hand away from under her sternum, I saw a couple of tiny red specks on the tips of my fingers. That grossed me out and all I could think of was mites.
I am feeding her medicated starter feed plus the same kind of "treats" or whatever you call it, mixed veggies, yogurt, chopped lettuce, rice worms, whole wheat bread, cheese, raw sweet corn, tomatoes, and so forth, that everyone else gets. She does not recognize any of those things as food. All she knows to eat is the crumble.
I have her in a cage, bedded with hay. She can choose a perch or a nest box and she sleeps on the perch and during the day she nestles in the hay. She doesn't move around much. I've never seen her scratch or arrange the hay. This morning it was a little chilly and after I fed and was getting ready to leave, I walked by her cage and saw her sitting there with her head under her wing.?????Not Good!!!! It wasn't THAT cold. I am increasingly worried about her and bothered because I can't put her with anybody. Would washing her feet and legs help at all? or maybe even washing all of her? I thought it might loosen up those feather shafts and that would help to keep her warmer.???????? I'm grasping at straws here.
