Hen with tail down. Not right...

[kellysmall87]

Thank you both

She seems to be picking up although her tail is still pointing down. If she is still ill this time next week then ill take her to the vets and be prepared for the bill! Should be about £50, so not too harsh I guess.

Not heard from my "friend" since, but I am thinking of reporting them to the RSPCA / RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Animals/Birds) over here. If they really are keeping their animals in top condition (which they are not, obviously) then they'll have nothing to hide.

Thing is, if my friend had told me about their ill chicken, I am the kind of person to have had the chicken anyway and try to help her. But, to charge me £25 for the chicken and then to very nearly put it with my own flock, that is really bad.. Ah well, we live and learn. Fingers crossed she gets well again this week on the antibiotics/garlic/high protein and mite spray!!

 

[kellysmall87]

we took her to the vets.. she has
enteritidis

Thought id post the conclusion. Thanks all!

 

[casportpony]

we took her to the vets.. she has
enteritidis

Thought id post the conclusion. Thanks all!

Do you mean Salmonella Enteritidis?

 

[Suzie]

Kelly,

Thanks for the update... is she going to be OK? I sincerely hope so after all of your loving care...!

 

[kellysmall87]

Yes Salmonella enteritidis. Infecting her ovaries. Her abdomen is extremely sore and tender, so the vet said. He wanted to do an xray to check there's no egg stuck too, but i refused the xray - I just cant spend another £45 on this bird! So fingers crossed the treatment works or she will have to be put down. This hen has cost me £70 thus far... plus mite treatment! The vet thought initially it was parasites, but I worm them regularly and after not believing me, the vet took a sample of their poo which revealed no parasites at all. My hen is on Loxicom 0.4ml syringed daily and an antibiotic used for dogs, in tablet form which i break in half and force it into her mouth twice daily. All mites seem to be gone - apart from a couple of eggs hatching now and again so I keep dusting until they're all dead. To top it off, I had to take one of my new 8 week old chicks to the vets too yesterday, it had been took up by a hawk and dropped from a significant height and boy, you oughta see the bruising! I thought it had broken it's legs!! So that's on loxicom too and pain relief, poor thing cant stand up, but no broken bones, just torn muscle.

I'm thinking of taking pet insurance out for these birds!!

Also the vet suggested to vaccinate them ALL... Ugh... dont know if i can afford that! One things for sure, Im now not going to buy anymore chickens from others incase i introduce disease. If I want more, ill hatch from eggs.