Lethargic Hen

[atxnatheart]

It has been a rocky week and I felt for sure we were going to lose her Wednesday. We are pretty much working on process of elimination. I have PMd Kathy and even talked to her on the phone. She helped us get set up with what we need. We have learned how to tube feed and have treated her with corid and she lost a lot of ground on those 5 days. We checked for a broken egg in the vent. Now she is on duranycin and she has improved and is holding steady. We picked up a better scale today so we can more accurately monitor her weight. She is finally eating millet with a pinch of grit but also tube feeding and helping her by offering frequent treated water. Thank you for asking. This is our first ill hen. I know we aren't out of the woods. She weighs in at 2.3 pounds.

 

[RichnSteph]

I'm glad to hear that she's on the mend even if it is a slow process. When our RIR got lethargic like that we didn't figure out what it was until it was too late so now the rest of our flock is in the middle of a 20 day cycle of deworming just in case it wasn't an isolated incident.


RichnSteph

 

[atxnatheart]

I'm sorry about your loss. The rest of the flock seems fine, but I am thinking an ounce of prevention. This hen has been inside since November 2 and we aren't 100% sure it's worms, we are just trying to cover the bases.

 

[casportpony]

I'm sorry about your loss. The rest of the flock seems fine, but I am thinking an ounce of prevention. This hen has been inside since November 2 and we aren't 100% sure it's worms, we are just trying to cover the bases.

You've been doing a great job giving her supportive care. You've been tubing her for five days now, yes? If you think she's stable enough, it's probably a good time to worm her with Safeguard liquid for goats, Safeguard paste for horses or Valbazen. If she were mine I would worm for capillary worms with Safeguard (liquid or paste) at 0.23ml per pound orally for five days, which works out to 0.52 ml for her.

How much are you tubing now?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

If you decide to worm with Valbazen, the dose is 0.08 ml per pound orally once and repeat in ten days (actual dose for her would be 0.18 ml, but okay to round up to 0.2ml).

-Kathy

 

[atxnatheart]

We have been tube feeding since Monday night. We had been giving 45ml two times a day. Today she started eating millet pretty vigorously. Her crop hasn't been as empty so we have only given her 30ml 2x today. We will check her crop again in an hour or so. She attempts to stand and balance herself with her wings but she just isn't there yet. She is chattier today when I tend to her. We started the worming today. All of the help is greatly appreciate.

 

[atxnatheart]

We are using safeguard!!

 

[casportpony]

We are using safeguard!!

Perfect! Try feeding her lay mash or chick crumbles mixed with water, that'll be much easier to digest than seed. You could also try scrambled eggs, cooked rice or cooked pasta.

-Kathy

 

[atxnatheart]

We will try those additional foods tomorrow. We were thrilled she showed an interest in food again! We bought some live baby crickets today from the pet store but she wasn't up to catching them.

 

[casportpony]

We will try those additional foods tomorrow. We were thrilled she showed an interest in food again! We bought some live baby crickets today from the pet store but she wasn't up to catching them.

They also like live mealworms.

-Kathy