- May 13, 2011
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Hi,
I'm new to the group, and grateful to have found it! I hope that I'm posting in the correct place.
I have four dogs and two chickens. They're all rescued animals. I didn't intend on keeping chickens, but they came to me a couple of years ago, and I fell in love! I have a small bantam white hen, and a large silly looking brown one. I am learning as I go, so please forgive me for not knowing what kind of hens they are.
The brown hen, whose name is Bossy, has always been extremely dominant, friendly, and silly. The white one, whose name is Saucy, has always been the more submissive and shy one.
We were living in an idyllic home in San Jose, CA. The chickens were healthy and thriving. The soil seemed to be perfect for dust baths, and the backyard was chicken & canine paradise. They roamed freely, and then went to sleep in their coop at night.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen events, I had to move to Morgan Hill, CA. in March. The chickens seemed to adjust fairly well in the beginning. After about a month, Bossy started acting sick. She has been having diarrhea, and she isn't herself at all. I've been cleaning her vent regularly. She is lethargic, depressed, and silent. I'm accustomed to her crowing loudly early in the morning, but all of that has completely stopped. She also hasn't laid a single egg since we moved (she was laying regularly prior to our move).
Her water is treated with vitamins and electrolytes. I've been giving her yogurt and feeding her laying crumbles with very little scratch. The soil at the Morgan Hill house isn't very good, so I created a dust bath using food grate diatomaceous earth, play sand, and potting soil. She doesn't seem to want to take dust baths anymore. She stands around looking unhappy, and then goes back into her coop.
She doesn't have worms. She doesn't have blood in her stool. Her comb is red and her eyes are bright. She doesn't seem to have any respiratory issues. Saucy looks as healthy and energetic as ever -- whatever this is seems to only be affecting Bossy.
One last detail: one of the times that I tried to clean Bossy's diarrhea-encrusted tail feathers, I was holding her with my left arm around her body. Her head was under my elbow, and her butt was accessible to my right hand. I was gently trying to loosen the crusted up diarrhea from her tail feathers using a warm wet cloth. She struggled, so I tightened my arm around her. She suddenly went completely limp so I panicked and set her down on the ground. Her comb turned a dark purplish color, she was hardly breathing, and she was lying on the ground. I was certain that she was dying! I was crying and panicking, and I picked her up and set her down on her feet in front of her food and water. She slowly opened her eyes, her comb turned red again, and she started eating right away.
I thought I'd mention this detail in case it means anything to the big picture of her illness.
I'm so worried. Any ideas about what this could be? Any ideas and help are greatly appreciated!!
Thank you so much!
Kavita
I'm new to the group, and grateful to have found it! I hope that I'm posting in the correct place.
I have four dogs and two chickens. They're all rescued animals. I didn't intend on keeping chickens, but they came to me a couple of years ago, and I fell in love! I have a small bantam white hen, and a large silly looking brown one. I am learning as I go, so please forgive me for not knowing what kind of hens they are.
The brown hen, whose name is Bossy, has always been extremely dominant, friendly, and silly. The white one, whose name is Saucy, has always been the more submissive and shy one.
We were living in an idyllic home in San Jose, CA. The chickens were healthy and thriving. The soil seemed to be perfect for dust baths, and the backyard was chicken & canine paradise. They roamed freely, and then went to sleep in their coop at night.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen events, I had to move to Morgan Hill, CA. in March. The chickens seemed to adjust fairly well in the beginning. After about a month, Bossy started acting sick. She has been having diarrhea, and she isn't herself at all. I've been cleaning her vent regularly. She is lethargic, depressed, and silent. I'm accustomed to her crowing loudly early in the morning, but all of that has completely stopped. She also hasn't laid a single egg since we moved (she was laying regularly prior to our move).
Her water is treated with vitamins and electrolytes. I've been giving her yogurt and feeding her laying crumbles with very little scratch. The soil at the Morgan Hill house isn't very good, so I created a dust bath using food grate diatomaceous earth, play sand, and potting soil. She doesn't seem to want to take dust baths anymore. She stands around looking unhappy, and then goes back into her coop.
She doesn't have worms. She doesn't have blood in her stool. Her comb is red and her eyes are bright. She doesn't seem to have any respiratory issues. Saucy looks as healthy and energetic as ever -- whatever this is seems to only be affecting Bossy.
One last detail: one of the times that I tried to clean Bossy's diarrhea-encrusted tail feathers, I was holding her with my left arm around her body. Her head was under my elbow, and her butt was accessible to my right hand. I was gently trying to loosen the crusted up diarrhea from her tail feathers using a warm wet cloth. She struggled, so I tightened my arm around her. She suddenly went completely limp so I panicked and set her down on the ground. Her comb turned a dark purplish color, she was hardly breathing, and she was lying on the ground. I was certain that she was dying! I was crying and panicking, and I picked her up and set her down on her feet in front of her food and water. She slowly opened her eyes, her comb turned red again, and she started eating right away.
I thought I'd mention this detail in case it means anything to the big picture of her illness.
I'm so worried. Any ideas about what this could be? Any ideas and help are greatly appreciated!!
Thank you so much!
Kavita
