Hi!
I have an odd situation with a 5yr old hen.
She nolonger lays, but until now has been very healthy and is the flocks leader.
A few days ago i noticed she wasn’t as enthusiastic as normal about her mealy worm treat and when she tried to eat them they made her sneeze and drool. She started to drink water and carried on for a while, stretching her neck and gulping at the water. The next day i saw her do a similar thing.
She hasn’t lost weight, she wants to eat and drink, but can’t easily swallow anything. I have checked her throat, and used a Qtip to see if there is any sign of gapeworm, but nothing there. Her breathing is fine, her comb and wattle are bright red. She is very lively as normal, and i have been hand feeding her scrambled egg and cat food to keep her going.
Her voice is quite soft compared to normal, and her poop is greenish but firm, no liquid. Apart from the swallowing and drooling issue, she is pretty much her normal self.
I live in France and do not have access to an avian vet, so i self prescribe and medicate my flock. I don’t want to medicate without any idea what this issue is, so if anyone has any ideas, i would be really grateful for your input.
I have also checked her crop and it is emptying as normal. No smell of sour crop, and no weird smell from her poop or rear end either.
I had wondered about capillary worms in her crop/oesophagus, but not come across them before, so not sure. I do worm the flock regularly with Flubenvet every six months or so, and in between times a local herbal concoction to keep the worms under control. The flock was last wormed 8 weeks ago.
She is an older lady i know, and about 4 weeks ago i added 3 new bantams to my garden (6 months old, 1 cock and two girls) all vaccinated and still in quarantine, so it could be something to do with them, but i doubt it.
Any ideas anyone?
I have an odd situation with a 5yr old hen.
She nolonger lays, but until now has been very healthy and is the flocks leader.
A few days ago i noticed she wasn’t as enthusiastic as normal about her mealy worm treat and when she tried to eat them they made her sneeze and drool. She started to drink water and carried on for a while, stretching her neck and gulping at the water. The next day i saw her do a similar thing.
She hasn’t lost weight, she wants to eat and drink, but can’t easily swallow anything. I have checked her throat, and used a Qtip to see if there is any sign of gapeworm, but nothing there. Her breathing is fine, her comb and wattle are bright red. She is very lively as normal, and i have been hand feeding her scrambled egg and cat food to keep her going.
Her voice is quite soft compared to normal, and her poop is greenish but firm, no liquid. Apart from the swallowing and drooling issue, she is pretty much her normal self.
I live in France and do not have access to an avian vet, so i self prescribe and medicate my flock. I don’t want to medicate without any idea what this issue is, so if anyone has any ideas, i would be really grateful for your input.
I have also checked her crop and it is emptying as normal. No smell of sour crop, and no weird smell from her poop or rear end either.
I had wondered about capillary worms in her crop/oesophagus, but not come across them before, so not sure. I do worm the flock regularly with Flubenvet every six months or so, and in between times a local herbal concoction to keep the worms under control. The flock was last wormed 8 weeks ago.
She is an older lady i know, and about 4 weeks ago i added 3 new bantams to my garden (6 months old, 1 cock and two girls) all vaccinated and still in quarantine, so it could be something to do with them, but i doubt it.
Any ideas anyone?