TheOtherOne
In the Brooder
- Dec 29, 2020
- 5
- 0
- 19
Short version: My barred rock hen, Snowdrop, is going on several weeks now of eating very little. She’s scary underweight now. Crop is slow draining, but seemingly not impacted (It will drain after massaging). Drinking normally – will drink lots if it’s garlic water. Week of vet-prescribed antibiotics have not helped. Won’t eat chicken feed (tried Harrison’s Recovery feed), scrambled or boiled egg. Will readily accept treats (which I’m really limiting). She was lethargic, but is now very perky, still not eating and severely underweight. Poops vary, but are mostly clear watery, with clumps of soft solids, often white. No normal looking poops.
Brief background: She’s been the best layer in our flock. She’s just under 2 years old and has been our most productive hen. She laid all of last winter, even when the other hens stopped laying. She laid through her moult early this winter, but now stopped. She’s the dominant hen, spunkiest, top of the pecking order, etc.
Any ideas? HELP!
Long version:
A few weeks ago, she suddenly stopped laying after a couple of asymmetric, paler, slightly ridged looking eggs. At first, we though she was just taking a winter break like the other hens. Then, one very cold morning I found her still on the roost looking miserable. She eventually came down, drank A LOT of water, then tried to hide in the nest box to sleep. I brought her inside to our isolation crate. She perked up, probably after warming up. She was there for a few days. I checked her crop in the AMs after withdrawing food and water. It would be lumpy in the morning, but it would drain after massaging it. She’d eat a little bit. Got plenty of coconut oil, crop would always drain after massaging. Since she seemed to be feeling better, I put her back with the flock in hopes she’d eat better out there. After several days, it was clear she’d eat only a little a bit of her am mash (moistened layer feed), but not much else. She was really struggling with the cold temps, increasingly lethargic, and generally not thriving. I brought her in 2 weeks ago before a recent cold spell (lows in -20s), thinking she couldn’t survive it. She’s been inside ever since.
I took her to the vet 1 week ago, was prescribed a week of antibiotics, thinking it might be an infection in her reproductive tract. We couldn’t get an x-ray to check for hardware disease, because machine was down. She was only 3.8 lbs (should be ~7-9 lb, per her breed) I haven’t noticed much of a difference after antibiotics. She’s perky, scratching around, but still eating very little. She’s scary skinny. I don’t think she’d survive our Vermont night temps, so she’s still inside. The vet gave us Harrison’s Recovery feed, which she hates, but I’ve force-fed her little balls of food to get her some extra calories. As a test, I offered her sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spinach, winter squash, chopped garlic, all of which she happily ate, but I’m hesitant to give her too much of those due to nutrient balance. But I cannot get her to eat much of any normal feeds (layer feed, starter feed, Recovery feed, mash, pelleted, etc). She also won’t eat scrambled or boiled egg.
Brief background: She’s been the best layer in our flock. She’s just under 2 years old and has been our most productive hen. She laid all of last winter, even when the other hens stopped laying. She laid through her moult early this winter, but now stopped. She’s the dominant hen, spunkiest, top of the pecking order, etc.
Any ideas? HELP!
Long version:
A few weeks ago, she suddenly stopped laying after a couple of asymmetric, paler, slightly ridged looking eggs. At first, we though she was just taking a winter break like the other hens. Then, one very cold morning I found her still on the roost looking miserable. She eventually came down, drank A LOT of water, then tried to hide in the nest box to sleep. I brought her inside to our isolation crate. She perked up, probably after warming up. She was there for a few days. I checked her crop in the AMs after withdrawing food and water. It would be lumpy in the morning, but it would drain after massaging it. She’d eat a little bit. Got plenty of coconut oil, crop would always drain after massaging. Since she seemed to be feeling better, I put her back with the flock in hopes she’d eat better out there. After several days, it was clear she’d eat only a little a bit of her am mash (moistened layer feed), but not much else. She was really struggling with the cold temps, increasingly lethargic, and generally not thriving. I brought her in 2 weeks ago before a recent cold spell (lows in -20s), thinking she couldn’t survive it. She’s been inside ever since.
I took her to the vet 1 week ago, was prescribed a week of antibiotics, thinking it might be an infection in her reproductive tract. We couldn’t get an x-ray to check for hardware disease, because machine was down. She was only 3.8 lbs (should be ~7-9 lb, per her breed) I haven’t noticed much of a difference after antibiotics. She’s perky, scratching around, but still eating very little. She’s scary skinny. I don’t think she’d survive our Vermont night temps, so she’s still inside. The vet gave us Harrison’s Recovery feed, which she hates, but I’ve force-fed her little balls of food to get her some extra calories. As a test, I offered her sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spinach, winter squash, chopped garlic, all of which she happily ate, but I’m hesitant to give her too much of those due to nutrient balance. But I cannot get her to eat much of any normal feeds (layer feed, starter feed, Recovery feed, mash, pelleted, etc). She also won’t eat scrambled or boiled egg.
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