Hi all, could really use some advice.
So back during the pandemic I made a choice I might not have normally made: a farm I trust was clearing inventory and was selling Delaware pullets with crooked toes at a big discount. I got 4.
Honestly, they've done really well for the last two years. In the last day or two, I noticed that one of them seemed to be a bit off balance. Then when I came out early in the morning, she was sleeping on the ground and not on the roost.
She's always been at the bottom of the pecking order and is smaller than the other birds. At times I've worried about her getting enough food. (I put food out in multiple locations, but some of the birds will chase her away even if she's not near "their" food).
This morning I took her out and put her in my "quarantine coop" with some food and water. She is eating and drinking, and was very pleased with some grass tops that were protruding into the coop. When I brought the chickens some scraps for treats yesterday (yellow pepper tops and insides), she was very excited, darting over and eating some. Her energy level seems good. She seems "with it" and not lethargic or stressed. Over the last few years I've started to have a better eye for when a chicken who feels sick is "faking it" (ie pretending to eat, waiting until I'm not looking to go hide while the others free range, etc). She seems energetic, including on Monday when I gave them some free range time and she was out eating grass tips and doing her best (albeit unbalanced) moonwalk in the dirt to find bugs.
But her balance! She seems very wobbly and is obviously currently unable to balance on the roost. When I picked her up to move her, I noticed that she is a bit thinner than I'd like. I inspected her and she has some broken (pecked?) feathers on her lower back. It looks like she's in the late stages of a low-key molt (it's been molting madness with my flock). I did see some lice on her, but not a ton of them and none of those nit/egg clusters on the feather shafts. Is there a chance that when the rooster went to mount her that he injured her leg? I haven't seen any limping/hobbling, per se. She is walking a bit low, but that seems more balance related than a pain response (as far as I can tell).
I started researching lice treatments. I got a bit spooked by a note that some of the treatments can be super fatal to cats, as I have one barn cat who spends a lot of time around the chicken coop. I put some diatomaceous earth on her, as I happened to have some and it was recommended on one site. Maybe that was stupid, but with work I've had so little time to help her, and especially during daylight hours.
Realistically, I might be able to get her into the vet on Saturday. Any thoughts about how I can help/support her between now and then? I know that in the past I've given into the "kitchen sink" tendency to just throw a ton of stuff at a sick animal (apple cider vinegar! vitamins! treats!). But if there are one or two things I could do for her, I'd like to support her until I can see the vet. The "quarantine coop" is a raised coop with nesting boxes and a roosting bar. She is sleeping in one of the nesting boxes so she is sheltered (and the temperature here is nice). Supplies I have at home include a vitamin drench, some electrolytes and probiotics, a premium canned bird food a vet gave me a while back, and most first-aid basics. I have my usual layer feed, a whole grain feed (that I purchased to tide us over in the few days before the regular stuff came in the mail), and some scratch. Treat-wise I have apples, bananas, and of course eggs.
Any advice welcome, and thank you in advance!
So back during the pandemic I made a choice I might not have normally made: a farm I trust was clearing inventory and was selling Delaware pullets with crooked toes at a big discount. I got 4.
Honestly, they've done really well for the last two years. In the last day or two, I noticed that one of them seemed to be a bit off balance. Then when I came out early in the morning, she was sleeping on the ground and not on the roost.
She's always been at the bottom of the pecking order and is smaller than the other birds. At times I've worried about her getting enough food. (I put food out in multiple locations, but some of the birds will chase her away even if she's not near "their" food).
This morning I took her out and put her in my "quarantine coop" with some food and water. She is eating and drinking, and was very pleased with some grass tops that were protruding into the coop. When I brought the chickens some scraps for treats yesterday (yellow pepper tops and insides), she was very excited, darting over and eating some. Her energy level seems good. She seems "with it" and not lethargic or stressed. Over the last few years I've started to have a better eye for when a chicken who feels sick is "faking it" (ie pretending to eat, waiting until I'm not looking to go hide while the others free range, etc). She seems energetic, including on Monday when I gave them some free range time and she was out eating grass tips and doing her best (albeit unbalanced) moonwalk in the dirt to find bugs.
But her balance! She seems very wobbly and is obviously currently unable to balance on the roost. When I picked her up to move her, I noticed that she is a bit thinner than I'd like. I inspected her and she has some broken (pecked?) feathers on her lower back. It looks like she's in the late stages of a low-key molt (it's been molting madness with my flock). I did see some lice on her, but not a ton of them and none of those nit/egg clusters on the feather shafts. Is there a chance that when the rooster went to mount her that he injured her leg? I haven't seen any limping/hobbling, per se. She is walking a bit low, but that seems more balance related than a pain response (as far as I can tell).
I started researching lice treatments. I got a bit spooked by a note that some of the treatments can be super fatal to cats, as I have one barn cat who spends a lot of time around the chicken coop. I put some diatomaceous earth on her, as I happened to have some and it was recommended on one site. Maybe that was stupid, but with work I've had so little time to help her, and especially during daylight hours.
Realistically, I might be able to get her into the vet on Saturday. Any thoughts about how I can help/support her between now and then? I know that in the past I've given into the "kitchen sink" tendency to just throw a ton of stuff at a sick animal (apple cider vinegar! vitamins! treats!). But if there are one or two things I could do for her, I'd like to support her until I can see the vet. The "quarantine coop" is a raised coop with nesting boxes and a roosting bar. She is sleeping in one of the nesting boxes so she is sheltered (and the temperature here is nice). Supplies I have at home include a vitamin drench, some electrolytes and probiotics, a premium canned bird food a vet gave me a while back, and most first-aid basics. I have my usual layer feed, a whole grain feed (that I purchased to tide us over in the few days before the regular stuff came in the mail), and some scratch. Treat-wise I have apples, bananas, and of course eggs.
Any advice welcome, and thank you in advance!