New to veterinarians, what to expect?

[IncognitoMode4723]

I also suspect she may be simply lonely and grieving. How old is Percy?

Percy is about 3 years old

 

[BDutch]

I also suspect she may be simply lonely and grieving. How old is Percy?

^^ and what breed is she or is she a laying hybrid?

I would buy her a girlfriend and see how she responses. Maybe this is a better cure than a vet. And much cheaper too.

If you visit a vet it often costs > 100 dollar/euro to get a good diagnosis and treatment, if you are lucky.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

I also suspect she may be simply lonely and grieving. How old is Percy?

It is possible, but I think she might be sick and trying to hide her symptoms. Bertha's death has definitely made her sad; but her behavior was changing before Bertha died. Part of the reason I think that Percy may be sick is because her behavior is similar to Mary's before her death. About a week to two weeks before Mary died, she had begun to sit down more often. We did notice this, but we were so worried about Bertha that we did not think about it enough. Now, about a week or so before Bertha died, Percy has started to sit down slightly more often than before, and also, she stopped laying eggs a few weeks ago.

 

[BDutch]

In that case I really don’t know. But adding a new chicken is probably not such a good idea as I thought it would.

What comes to my mind is some kind of infestation like red mites or another parasites. Did you check her skin, her poop and the roost area for mites (in the night)? But a virus is a possibility too. Sorry I cant help.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

In that case I really don’t know. But adding a new chicken is probably not such a good idea as I thought it would.

What comes to my mind is some kind of infestation like red mites or another parasites. Did you check her skin, her poop and the roost area for mites (in the night)? But a virus is a possibility too. Sorry I cant help.

I will take a look at her skin, poop and roost area and let you guys know what I find. Are mites something you can see with naked eye?

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

I was thinking about taking Percy to North Austin Animal Hospital to see Dr. Taryn Pena so they can run tests on her. Their website says she is an avian veterinarian and she keeps chickens herself so I thought she might be able to help.

I was wondering if you guys think this veterinarian is a good choice.

This is website for North Austin Animal Hospital - https://northaustinanimalhospital.com/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

would buy her a girlfriend and see how she responses. Maybe this is a better cure than a vet. And much cheaper too

If you do ddecide to get another chicken, two suggestions: first, don't just get one, get two. That way, if something happens to one of the three, you won't be stuck again with another "lonely only."
Second ... whenever you add new birds to the flock, you probably need to quarantine the newcomers for at least a month, to be sure the newbies are healthy and aren't introducing illness or parasites to your existing "flock." (Quotes bc your existing flock currently consists of one, lol). There's s good article on quarantining in case you want to check it out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...nderestimated-part-of-raising-chickens.67097/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I was thinking about taking Percy to North Austin Animal Hospital to see Dr. Taryn Pena so they can run tests on her. Their website says she is an avian veterinarian and she keeps chickens herself so I thought she might be able to help.

I was wondering if you guys think this veterinarian is a good choice.

This is website for North Austin Animal Hospital - https://northaustinanimalhospital.com/

An avian vet that has chickens?!? I don't see how you could possibly do better! I'm so jealous!

 

[AGeese]

You might check your state DNR laws about what can and can't be done in regards to the owner's consent because pretty sure they're different everywhere; and while the Vet may not be able to do anything without your consent they may have to report their findings depending on what is found.

But good luck! I'm lucky to have a good vet nearby that sees chickens.

 

[BDutch]

I will take a look at her skin, poop and roost area and let you guys know what I find. Are mites something you can see with naked eye?

This article might be helpful to detect external parasites https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-fleas-dealing-with-external-parasites.74599/

There is one for recognising worm infections in the article section too. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/internal-parasites-parasitic-worms-in-chickens.66969/
Keep in mind that chickens don’t need deworming with minor infestations.