hen not eating

[cath]

This is just an update for those of you who are helping me, my hen is still going despite being very thin, and the last two days I have felt small amounts of seed in her crop. I am still giving her layers mash by hand and she will drink now if I dunk the end of her beak in a bowl of water. Yesterday I turned some soil over looking for worms for her, once she noticed what I was doing she came straight over and started scratching the ground, and when a worm appeared she did peck it but didn't actually pick it up and eat it. Her comb is still red and healthy looking, but as she has been starving herself she has become quite weak. Her poo is still watery and of white / yellow in colour sometimes with a bit of black in, but she is not "going" so frequently now, I suppose because there is nothing to digest and anything which is eaten the body must be trying to store? Shall I continue as I am? All your help is very much appreciated.

 

[cath]

Over the last couple of days my poor hen has started salivating and has got really bad breath, however, I have seen her drinking on her own, but still not eating. As I was looking for worms for her yesterday, she caught sight of one and she made a b-line for it and pecked it twice and then just left it. I feel all my efforts have been useless and I may have to have her put to sleep as I can't see anyway of her recovering and I don't like seeing her suffering. What does anyone think or if there are any last ideas to save my hen?

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry about your hen. Sounds like you are doing all you can. It's very well possible that she has started to develop internal problems that you can't do anything about. Something could have gotten stuck, she could have a tumor, I remember one member who autopsied her sick hen and turned out her intestinal wall lining had thickened and restricted flow of food so the hen basically starved because nothing could get though.

Do what you think is best for the hen.

 

[jjthink]

If she has become an internal layer it's possible that antibiotics and antiinflammatories could beat back the condition. This worked for my hen Betty for awhile, restoring her quality of life. A point eventually came where these meds no longer helped her (perhaps she wasn't on the best meds; the vet had limited chicken experience..). Her comb lost color, she lost her appetite (really a sad part, because she used to have such enthusiasm for food), she laid around all day with her best buddy BJ roo, who never left her side. I opted then for her to have a hysterectomy - the two were so bonded I didn't want one to lose the other - she survived surgery but the poor girl died two hours afterward. The vet said she was full of festering eggs. So sad. Perhaps you can arrest with proper treatment your hen's problem before it gets as far along as Betty's, I don't know.

If you can, bolster your hen's nutrition with Avia Charge 2000 in her water, if you aren't already doing that....

I'm very sorry she's sick...
JJ

 

[cath]

This is sadly my last update on my girl. I had to make the unfortunate decision yesterday to have her put to sleep.

When we went to let her out of the chickn coop yesterday morning she was standing up, but didn't come out at all and was looking absolutely lifeless. I went back to the house thinking she just might need a few minutes to "come to" and watched from the window whilst having breakfast, but she didn't come out at all. I telephoned the vet and arranged to take her up early afternoon. She had food and water in the coop if it took her fancy, but she made no attempt to come out at all, it was as if she knew she had come to the end. It is a heart wrenching decision which I didn't want to have to make, but now I know she is not suffering, and my husband and I had a buriel in the garden last night.

A big thank you to all who tried to help me, you are all very encouraging, and its great to know there are so many chicken fans out there.