- Apr 7, 2012
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I have a two year old production red hen named Clara who's sick. ): She lives in a free range backyard flock with five other hens of various breeds. We live in Phoenix and it is July so the weather is very hot and dry except for humidity and rain two days ago. I regularly change and put ice in their water and they have lots of shade, I also try to bring them inside for a few minutes each day when it is especially hot so they can cool down. Despite all this you can often see them panting. Anyways when I went out a little bit ago to put ice in the water my dog decided she wanted her friend Clara to come inside for a while and so herded her into the house. When I picked Clara up she wheezed loudly and then started clicking and gurgling with her beak open. I looked her over and her eyes looked fine and there was no snot or anything coming out of her. None of the other birds are showing any signs. I should also add that about a week or so ago I found a metal pot with standing water that they had been drinking out of (must have been from rain or something) when I dumped it out little red worms crawled out of the algae, I let the pot bake in the sun for several hours before I washed it out so those things would die, I thought it was just mosquito larvae but could it have been a parasite like gape worm?Please help! And keep in mind that money is tight right now for us. /: And do not bother suggesting I cull her, she is our pet not just livestock and my sister raised her by hand since she was 2 days old. I know culling is best in certain situations but it just isn't possible here unless there is literally no other option and she'll suffer slowly otherwise. My sister is already freaking out about having to start middle school in a month I don't want add killing her pet to the list of crappy things in her life right now. So please, PLEASE help me make Clara better!
