ironsightfarm
Songster
Hey all! I'm at a loss for what to do about my hen - hoping someone out there has had the same experience and can offer some advice on prognosis or helping her recover...
My 1.5 year old New Hampshire started with occasional loose stools for a few weeks, not of real concern. At the end of last week I noticed she had watery diarrhea and very dirty feathers, brought her inside to bathe her and check her out. Acting normal, and the rest of the flock was acting normal, so I chose to put her back out and monitor her. A few days later, she was a mess again. Watery diarrhea, dark green, dropped weight, and beginning to act like she just did not feel well. Brought her inside to the "infirmary" - bathed her, started electrolytes, eating and drinking normally, and loving scrambled eggs! Stools were still loose but were not longer watery. Lots of urates.
On Tuesday she was looked at by my vet. Exam was uneventful (nothing of concern physically). Stool sample sent out to be safe (in case of parasites - it has since come back negative) and started Sulfatrim 1.3ml 2x daily for 10 days (in case of infection). Wednesday she began to perk up (and has continued to do so), but stools have stayed the same. It's now been 4 days of antibiotics with no other improvement other than she appears to feel better. I am also giving her a drop of NutriDrench with each dose of antibiotics, and have continued electrolytes, alternating between that and plain water every 24 hours.
Yesterday (Friday) I let her out to free range with the flock with the hopes that being around the other girls would help to further improve her mood and give her a little boost. She loved it! But when I threw scratch down in the run to get everyone back in, she didn't eat any of it, which had me concerned as she was also not interested in eggs that morning either. She spent the day outside with the flock acting completely normal, doing her usual "chicken stuff"
Brought her in for the night to observe food and water intake, and she is in fact off of her food. She will, however, eat fruits and vegetables, so I have been giving her that. She is still acting normal, which is surprising to me.
The vet suggested at our visit (which I now agree with) that there may be something internal going on. We love our chickens, but xrays and bloodwork and all of the other available diagnostics are not going to be an option...so we're left wondering exactly what is happening inside her body.
Anyone out there have any insight as to what may be going on?
My 1.5 year old New Hampshire started with occasional loose stools for a few weeks, not of real concern. At the end of last week I noticed she had watery diarrhea and very dirty feathers, brought her inside to bathe her and check her out. Acting normal, and the rest of the flock was acting normal, so I chose to put her back out and monitor her. A few days later, she was a mess again. Watery diarrhea, dark green, dropped weight, and beginning to act like she just did not feel well. Brought her inside to the "infirmary" - bathed her, started electrolytes, eating and drinking normally, and loving scrambled eggs! Stools were still loose but were not longer watery. Lots of urates.
On Tuesday she was looked at by my vet. Exam was uneventful (nothing of concern physically). Stool sample sent out to be safe (in case of parasites - it has since come back negative) and started Sulfatrim 1.3ml 2x daily for 10 days (in case of infection). Wednesday she began to perk up (and has continued to do so), but stools have stayed the same. It's now been 4 days of antibiotics with no other improvement other than she appears to feel better. I am also giving her a drop of NutriDrench with each dose of antibiotics, and have continued electrolytes, alternating between that and plain water every 24 hours.
Yesterday (Friday) I let her out to free range with the flock with the hopes that being around the other girls would help to further improve her mood and give her a little boost. She loved it! But when I threw scratch down in the run to get everyone back in, she didn't eat any of it, which had me concerned as she was also not interested in eggs that morning either. She spent the day outside with the flock acting completely normal, doing her usual "chicken stuff"
Brought her in for the night to observe food and water intake, and she is in fact off of her food. She will, however, eat fruits and vegetables, so I have been giving her that. She is still acting normal, which is surprising to me.
The vet suggested at our visit (which I now agree with) that there may be something internal going on. We love our chickens, but xrays and bloodwork and all of the other available diagnostics are not going to be an option...so we're left wondering exactly what is happening inside her body.
Anyone out there have any insight as to what may be going on?
