How much nutrition should be force fed?

[Right On Reds]

Let's assume you have a sick pullet, about 1.5 to 2 lbs. and you have to force feed it water/electrolytes/vitamins and cream of wheat/oats.

It's skinny and not only do you want to keep it alive, but you want it to get strong enough that it eats on its own.

How much is enough to shove down it's throat? How much is too much? Should you keep on shoving until the crop feels full?

 

[meriruka]

What illness does the chicken have?

I wouldn't fill up the crop, I'd probably feed small amounts but often instead.
Hope she recovers for you.

 

[Right On Reds]

What illness does she have? Hmmmm.... if only I knew.

Findings with vet were inconclusive. He decided to do a broad treatment.

I have one or two threads going with the history and symptoms. At times I thought maybe eggbound, but now that I've gone out and felt up my other chickens, that's not it. Or at least I don't think it was it.

I thought maybe worms, but a fecal done days after I wormed her showed nothing.

She is weak at times, but mentally alert, though she sleeps alot and actually goes to sleep while I'm trying to syringe feed her.

I dunno what to think. I'm just gonna keep syringe feeding her I guess and slowly increase the amount of syringes. That should be fun, as the better off she feels, the harder THAT gets.

At this point the only obvious thing is that she is thin thin thin. Her keel bone sticks waaaay out.

The three other hens still outside have all gained significant weight since they got here 5-6 weeks ago and are running around the yard devouring everything in sight. And the sick pullets pullet mate (got the two at the same time) lays a beautiful egg every day and has still gotten bigger.

 

[loralei]

Have you offered her scrambled or hard boiled egg? Great source of protein and my girls will eat them when they feel really icky and will eat nothing else. When Fancy, my favorite, had wet pox I hand fed her scrambled eggs until she ate on her own.

Laura

 

[Right On Reds]

She wouldn't eat scrambled eggs.

However.... and this is the latest update. After my force feeding last night and this morning, and after having bought parrot baby formula, my hen is enthusiastically eating!

I made up the mixture and went to syringe it in. Well, as it turns out, a drop plopped down onto my navy colored pj's. This seemed to really turn Stella on and she began to go at the drop. So I put another drop on my pj's and she gobbled that up too.

Well, we went through about ten syringe full of baby parrot formula that way!! I waited an hour and did four more. I am ecstatic to say that now we have NICE crop formation.

I also have wet pj bottoms LOL.

I'll go at her again with her antibiotics in two hours which will be 10 and then again at midnight. Then I'll start at six a.m. and get in another bunch before I leave for work at 8:30.

If I can get her strong and fed and hydrated, maybe just maybe she gain weight and return to zestful living.

I wonder though what caused this.

Maybe the transition from being a production, bare necked, snub beaked hen to free range pampered pet caused her stress and it just snowballed from there?