hen not eating/drinking chest bone protruding

[jjthinkagain]

Cindy, re: the clue you provided about stuff coming out of her mouth (poor dear must feel dreadful)- I wonder if she has an impacted crop? Do a search (see search tab above) here on BYC under that topic and see what you think.
JJ

 

[cindy99]

Bluebell is going to the vet today. I checked her over this morning and discovered that she has no tongue! I think that she swallowed it...

I did give her a drop of the baby vitamin and a couple of drops of tuna juice.

 

[jjthinkagain]

Yikes! I hope the vet is able to help. Thank you for your efforts on her behalf and we'll keep you company through this.

JJ

 

[cindy99]

Quote:
Thank you so much. I have been crying and that is not a normal thing for me! She is just so sweet. I can't believe that I didn't notice this yesterday or the day before!

* she just loves being in the house. If all goes well - I will be ordering chicken diapers...

 

[IroquoisEgg]

please let us know what the vet says...I have a hen that has the chest bone thing too!! She is also carrying her wing low to the ground and stepping through it like she can't move it.

 

[cindy99]

Quote:
I have a friend that knows about chickens. I sent her a picture of Bluebell and she says that it is her keel bone sticking out and that it is not so much sticking out as much as it that she has no meat around it. Has your hen been eating?

 

[cindy99]

We went to the vet. He thinks that Bluebell has a bacterial infection. Her tongue is there it is just swollen and covered in goop. He gave us Baytril and said to give her pedialyte. She seems better already!

He did say that there was a slight chance that it could be a fungal infection but that we should treat for bacterial first.

Vet bill: $97.56
Pedialyte: $3.99
watching my child play xbox with a chicken smiling in his lap: priceless

Thank you all for you help and advice.

 

[jjthinkagain]

Excellent! It's such a great feeling to see them come around and then eventually really enjoy life again. Hoping for this for your feather-girl. You done good

(pretty good vet price, compared to my avian vet visits, anyway. and my cat vets - yikes - never seem to get out the door for less than $600 and often $2,000 or more. daunting, and sad too, because I know many a kitty are not getting treatment because of the difficult prices these days...)

JJ

 

[cindy99]

Bluebell is eating better but she is not drinking anything. She seems listless. She has one more day of her medicine. I don't know what else to do for her! Any ideas?? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jjthinkagain]

I'm quite concerned that she isn't further along by now. The vet may suggest continuing with the antibiotic for some additional days. And/or he/she may wnat to add anti-fungal to the mix (how is the tongue now?).

Try getting some probiotics into her to restore the good bacteria killed off by the antibiotic (e.g. yogurt and/or the powder from probiotic capsules that you can sprinkle on anything). If it doesn't stress her immeasurably, give 3 drops liquid Polyvisol childrens vitamins (without added iron) daily - dribble gently along her beak line via dropper, so she swallows onher own and doesn't choke. Also try fruits because she'll get some moisture that way - watermelon, cut up berries and grapes, etc. Black oil sunflower seeds, if you aren't already doing that - they tend to love them, they are good and can help build strength.

JJ