If shes not eating or drinking, do I force her?

[naught]

My pullet, 8 weeks, has stopped walking,eating, drinking.....Ive been feeding her "save a chic" but I literally have to force feed her. Should I just let her be? am I prolonging the inevitable? or should i keep hydrating her?

 

[jak2002003]

Is she you only chicken? If not, how are the other ones acting.

Does she look really sick, or does she act normally?

If she is acting sick, you should put her in a cage on her own in a quiet place, with a heat lamp.

Force feeding is very stressful to a bird and can make them sicker.

Put a cup of water and feed in the cage with the heat lamp all day , they see if she has eaten anything in the evening.

Can you tell us more about her condition?

 

[fiddlebanshee]

You may want to soften the feed with electrolyte water to see if she will eat that. Sometimes when they get very weak they cannot break down the dry food. You could also try yogurt or mashed eggs.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC.

Do you know how to tube feed?

 

[casportpony]

This is copy and paste from a post I did:
When mine get sick, this is what I do:

• *Thorough* physical exam which includes inserting a gloved, lubed finger into the cloaca to check for an egg, check for cuts, bruising lumps, smells, etc.
• Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust even if I cannot see any. DE does not work.
• Weigh on digital kitchen scale (see avatar), record weight and weigh daily. any weight loss is bad.
• Place bird in a warm, quiet place on towel with food and water that it can't drown in.
• De-worm with Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste (fenbendazole 10%) 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in 10 days. Warning - Safeguard/Panacur should not be used during a molt.
• Once warm, if not drinking and crop is empty, hydrate with warmed Pedialyte or lactated ringers with a feeding tube - 30ml/kg every 6-8 hours.
• If not eating after 24 hours and crop is empty, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte
• Inspect poop.
• If I suspect a stuck egg, treat for egg binding.
• If I suspect a bacterial infection, treat with antibiotics.
• If I suspect a fungal infection, treat with Nystatin.
• If I suspect coccidiosis, treat with Corid (amprolium).
• If I suspect canker or histomoniaisis (blackhead), treat with Metronidazole.

From: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/07_emergency_and_critical_care.pdf
Supportive Care
SICK-BIRD ENCLOSURES
Sick birds are often hypothermic and should be placed
in heated (brooder-type) enclosures


b (Fig 7.7) in a quiet
environment (see Chapter 1, Clinical Practice). A temperature
of 85° F (29° C) with 70% humidity is desirable
for most sick birds. If brooders are not equipped with a
humidity source, placing a small dish of water in the
enclosure will often supply adequate humidity. A moist
towel that is heated and placed on the bottom of a cage
or incubator rapidly humidifies the environment, as indicated​

by the fogging of the acrylic cage front.

FLUID THERAPY
Oral Administration
Oral administration is the ideal method of giving fluids.
This method is more commonly used in mildly dehydrated
birds or in conjunction with subcutaneous (SC)
or intravenous (IV) therapy. Oral rehydration (30 ml/kg
PO q 6-8 h) also may be used in larger birds (eg, waterfowl)
that are difficult to restrain for parenteral fluid​

therapy.

ORAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
Below are listed some of the oral nutritional supplements
that can be gavage-fed to debilitated birds. Various
hand-feeding formulas are on the market and, as a
whole, are far superior to the homemade formulas used
decades ago that contained monkey biscuits, peanut butter
and ground seeds. Commercially available hand-feeding
formulas for baby birds are often utilized in the treatment
of sick and debilitated adult birds. The quantity
that can be fed at one time to a sick bird is greatly
reduced from that of baby birds. On the average, a baby
parrot can accommodate 10% of its body weight per
feeding due to the elasticity of the crop and its rapid
emptying. Adult birds have a greatly decreased crop
capacity, averaging 3% of their body weight. Additionally,
sick birds are less tolerant of food in the crop and care
must be taken to avoid regurgitation and/or aspiration.
A sick or debilitated bird should always have its
hydration corrected prior to attempting to initiate​

oral gavage-feeding.






Here is a list that I'm working on. Let me know what else I should have!

Medications - With the exception of Clavamox, all can be purchased without a prescription for tropical fish or pigeons. If you need help finding any of them, let me know.​

• Metronidazole 250mg, 100mg and 50mg/ml liquid (banned for use in food animals)
• Nystatin (antifungal)
• Amoxicillin 250mg
• Cephalexin 250mg
• Tylan (tylosin)
• Clavamox 250 mg
• Baytril 10% (banned for use in food animals)
• Corid (amprolium - coccistat)
• Sulmet
• Terramycin Antibiotic Ophthalmic Ointment
• Neosporin
• Safeguard wormer (fenbendazole 10%)
• Praziquantel
• Calcium
• Vitamin D

Supplies​

• Pedialyte for tubing
• Catheter for tube feeding
• Baby bird food for tubing
• Catheter tip syringe for tube feeding
• Lactated ringers for tubing or SC fluids
• Heat lamps
• Heating Pad
• Boxes and crates
• Poultry dust
• Digital kitchen scale
• Gram scale
• Needles and syringes of many sizes
• Mineral Oil
• Petroleum Jelly
• Vet Wrap
• Gauze Roll
• Gauze Pads
• Telfa Pads
• Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Latex Gloves
• Betadine
• Epsom Salts

Books

• Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook
• AAAP Avian Disease Manual
• Diseases of Poultry
• Clinical Avian Medicine
• Penn State Poultry Health Handbook

Online poultry books:

[URL]http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam.html[/URL]
Download the entire book (two volumes): Clinical Avian Medicine
(Large file - please allow several moments to download)

Another two book set:
[URL]http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/chapters.html[/URL]

Penn State Poultry Health Handbook
[URL]http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/agrs52.pdf[/URL]

 

[naught]

She just sits, two days ago I noticed she was super mellow then she just started sitting around. no other chicks are exhibiting any symptoms. The problem is she doesnt seem interested in food or water, thats why I was wondering if I should force feed her.......p.s. shes about 8-10 weeks old

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Short of force feeding what I have also tried is beating up a raw egg, and with a dropper put drops of that alongside her beak. They'll very often have a reflex to want to swallow that. You can beat the egg with a little water and save a chick or other electrolyte/vitamin solution.

 

[naught]

Has pooped, no blood, not super runny, a lot of white snotty stuff. Gross I know but wanted to give details

 

[casportpony]

Lot of white in poop can mean dehydration.

 

[naught]

Just injected her with 1cc of b12 and fed her some orally as well