my chicken is really sick!

[thompsonchooks]

Hi All,

I am hoping you can help me. I took Daisy one of my 4 backyard chickens to the vet on Wednesday as she had diarrhea and was lethargic. He gave her antibiotics for a gut infection and we are administering antibiotics once a day. She has lost lots of weight and the only thing I can get her to eat is cooked sweetcorn and I am syringe feeding her small amounts of porridge. Can anyone suggest anything I could try and feed her that will hopefully help her put on weight quickly? We are keeping her in the garage and she seems to perk up and then a couple of hours later looks much worse again. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Angela

 

[dawg53]

Hi All,
I am hoping you can help me. I took Daisy one of my 4 backyard chickens to the vet on Wednesday as she had diarrhea and was lethargic. He gave her antibiotics for a gut infection and we are administering antibiotics once a day. She has lost lots of weight and the only thing I can get her to eat is cooked sweetcorn and I am syringe feeding her small amounts of porridge. Can anyone suggest anything I could try and feed her that will hopefully help her put on weight quickly? We are keeping her in the garage and she seems to perk up and then a couple of hours later looks much worse again. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Angela

Sometimes antibiotics can kill the good bacteria as well as get rid of the bad bacteria. You really need to keep giving her probiotics to help build up her immune system and some extra protein to rebuild her strength. Buttermilk mixed with chopped or scrambled egg will help do this. You can add the porridge to the mixture as well. Dont expect her to put on weight overnight. This will be an ongoing routine until she feels better so that she can eat on her own.
I'm curious, did the vet take a fecal sample and look at it under a microscope? Also, did he mention why she had a gut infection?

 

[thompsonchooks]

Thank you for your reply, I will give the buttermilk a try. No vet didn't take a sample or anymore information about the infection. Vet's that cater for chickens are still few and far between here in London, maybe I need to find a more specialist one? Will keep you posted with Daisy's progress.
Thanks again

 

[dawg53]

Thank you for your reply, I will give the buttermilk a try. No vet didn't take a sample or anymore information about the infection. Vet's that cater for chickens are still few and far between here in London, maybe I need to find a more specialist one? Will keep you posted with Daisy's progress.
Thanks again

Lethargic and diarrhea are commonly consistant with worms, a cause of weight loss as well. This is why I asked if a fecal sample was looked at under a microscope. Flubenvet will eliminate worms. I dont know the dosages or mixtures in feed, it goes by the weight of the chicken to the amount of wormer used I believe. Also inspect her for lice/mites. Continue with the probiotics.

 

[thompsonchooks]

Daisy is not impressed by the buttermilk so I feeding her with a syringe, is this the right thing to do? I can get her to eat a small amount of sweetcorn but nothing else. We have put a heater in the garage today as I am worried that due to lack of movement and food she is cold? I worm the chickens regularly and have checked for mites. Should I take her back to the vet or just continue with antibiotics and trying to build her up? Any advice gratefully received, I hate to see one of my girls looking so sad