kubotalady
In the Brooder
- Jun 17, 2015
- 10
- 0
- 22
Hi all,
One of my boyfriend's hens has been struggling for almost a week, and I'm trying to figure out what might be going on.
On a very hot day last week (but they always have access to food, water, shade and their coop) I found her in the coop with poop on her back (suggesting that she had slept below, not on, her perch the night before). She was just looking at me and rapidly opening and closing her beak. From her back feathers it was also clear she had had loose stools. I thought perhaps she was "only" overheated, and I got her some watermelon, which she did eat, and then started grooming herself, so I felt hopeful. The next day, she was back to opening and closing her beak, but doing it more slowly, almost rhythmically, and opening and closing her eyes too. Her whole body moved while she did this, almost like a bellows would. No sneezing or other signs of respiratory distress. Anyway I was concerned she might be in some real pain, and called around to see if I could find a vet who would euthanize her. I found a vet who said she couldn't treat chickens, but she could euthanize, and I got ready to take the hen in, and when I went to take her out of the run, she was eating and grooming herself, looking decent for the first time that entire day. The other birds did not seem to be bothering her, and I thought it might actually cause her more distress to be separated from the flock, so I did not separate her.
We then were out of town for a few days, with the chickens being watched by a neighbor who has a great deal more chicken experience than I do. The neighbor had the contact info for the vet who could euthanize, in case chicken took a turn for the worse again.
We got back this afternoon, and she is in the coop, and doing the slowly opening and closing of the beak thing, and just looks sad and weak. Neighbor reports that she seemed better yesterday, but worse again today. I guess I thought she was turning a corner, but she appears to be getting weaker, and it feels cruel to let her go on.
Wondering if anyone has ever seen this sort of thing before, with weakness and the ongoing slow opening and closing of the beak, interspersed by periods where hen seems a little better?
For what it is worth- she and her coop mates had some bad scaly leg mite, which I tried to treat holistically (soaking, vaseline and Net-tex spray, disinfecting coop) for about a month, but a little over a week before she took ill, I had treated the flock with pour on Ivermectin (1/2 cc on back of neck). She had the mites the worst of the birds, and in the past month, she has looked less than 100%, which I had attributed to that.
I've been trying to do some reading on this site and elsewhere this afternoon, and noted under "internal egg laying" that chickens will have a sort of "penguin posture," and I would say that her posture has been more hunched, probably for over a month now. Today she is just laying down, which is what she has mostly been doing for this past week.
Sorry to write so much. I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.
One of my boyfriend's hens has been struggling for almost a week, and I'm trying to figure out what might be going on.
On a very hot day last week (but they always have access to food, water, shade and their coop) I found her in the coop with poop on her back (suggesting that she had slept below, not on, her perch the night before). She was just looking at me and rapidly opening and closing her beak. From her back feathers it was also clear she had had loose stools. I thought perhaps she was "only" overheated, and I got her some watermelon, which she did eat, and then started grooming herself, so I felt hopeful. The next day, she was back to opening and closing her beak, but doing it more slowly, almost rhythmically, and opening and closing her eyes too. Her whole body moved while she did this, almost like a bellows would. No sneezing or other signs of respiratory distress. Anyway I was concerned she might be in some real pain, and called around to see if I could find a vet who would euthanize her. I found a vet who said she couldn't treat chickens, but she could euthanize, and I got ready to take the hen in, and when I went to take her out of the run, she was eating and grooming herself, looking decent for the first time that entire day. The other birds did not seem to be bothering her, and I thought it might actually cause her more distress to be separated from the flock, so I did not separate her.
We then were out of town for a few days, with the chickens being watched by a neighbor who has a great deal more chicken experience than I do. The neighbor had the contact info for the vet who could euthanize, in case chicken took a turn for the worse again.
We got back this afternoon, and she is in the coop, and doing the slowly opening and closing of the beak thing, and just looks sad and weak. Neighbor reports that she seemed better yesterday, but worse again today. I guess I thought she was turning a corner, but she appears to be getting weaker, and it feels cruel to let her go on.
Wondering if anyone has ever seen this sort of thing before, with weakness and the ongoing slow opening and closing of the beak, interspersed by periods where hen seems a little better?
For what it is worth- she and her coop mates had some bad scaly leg mite, which I tried to treat holistically (soaking, vaseline and Net-tex spray, disinfecting coop) for about a month, but a little over a week before she took ill, I had treated the flock with pour on Ivermectin (1/2 cc on back of neck). She had the mites the worst of the birds, and in the past month, she has looked less than 100%, which I had attributed to that.
I've been trying to do some reading on this site and elsewhere this afternoon, and noted under "internal egg laying" that chickens will have a sort of "penguin posture," and I would say that her posture has been more hunched, probably for over a month now. Today she is just laying down, which is what she has mostly been doing for this past week.
Sorry to write so much. I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.
