She won't gain or drop that fast anyways..every 5 days weigh her if you feel the need too?
Pekin Hen Not Acting Right
- Thread starter Vyctoria
- Start date
Stick her buddy in with her. If you're worried abouairhead buddy gaining too much weight, just weigh her now, then again a week. There is a method to my madness.I could put my Khaki hen in there. They're brooder mates and close buddies. I don't think she'd mow down the food like the others and she's too timid and small to get in the way. It's worth a try. Saddest part is, the other ducks are sticking right in the coop because they don't want to leave her behind, but she's terribly offended at the fact that there is a fence between them.
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No loss is good. Hopefully she will start gaining. If lack of feed is her only issue you should see daily gains. No gain or more loss means you should rethink your treatment.
From this day forward weigh everyday. Best to do it at the same time each day, but just be sure to do it daily.
Sick birds should be weighed at least once a day. This is a must!
Awesome, glad she has a buddy now. Monkey see, monkey do. lol
Wishing for the best for all of them!
You've gotten some really good advice. One other thing, have you wormed recently? I ask because severe weight loss can be an indicator for high worm load. I saw DE mentioned before, but unfortunately DE does not work as a wormer. It has to be dry to work, and even then it's only a preventative, it won't kill an active infestation of anything. For worms it is totally useless, because once eaten it is of course wet and has no chance of drying the worms out.
Some people thinks it works as a wormer by being swallowed and then cutting the worms up, because it's sharp, but if that were true it would also cut up the bird's intestines and throat as it passed through. That of course would be doing more harm than good.
Some people also use pumpkin, which does work on a limited basis. If enough is ingested, it can paralyze large roundworms, but then it also has to be followed by a molasses flush to get them to be expelled (which you really don't want to put a sick bird through), and it won't work on tapeworms or capillaria.
So even though it does sound like you like to go a more natural route, for worming you really do need to use a real wormer purchased at the store to make sure you get everything. I would suggest Safeguard.
It just won't do much good if you're feeding her and she's eating, but the worms are getting all the nutrients and she's not.
Some people thinks it works as a wormer by being swallowed and then cutting the worms up, because it's sharp, but if that were true it would also cut up the bird's intestines and throat as it passed through. That of course would be doing more harm than good.
Some people also use pumpkin, which does work on a limited basis. If enough is ingested, it can paralyze large roundworms, but then it also has to be followed by a molasses flush to get them to be expelled (which you really don't want to put a sick bird through), and it won't work on tapeworms or capillaria.
So even though it does sound like you like to go a more natural route, for worming you really do need to use a real wormer purchased at the store to make sure you get everything. I would suggest Safeguard.
It just won't do much good if you're feeding her and she's eating, but the worms are getting all the nutrients and she's not.
- Thread starter
- #77
I have never wormed them before, but I have definitely considered the possibility of it. I'm hoping to get her stool tested if/when I get her to a vet, depending on how she does through the week and if I see any marked improvement before then.
I've never considered DE for worming because it also dehydrates, but I do prefer natural, yes. I'm more than willing to use chemical wormers on most of my pets, but I'm very hesitant with my ducks because despite the fact that they're not currently laying, we do eat their eggs. I don't want to put anything in them that I don't want coming out.
If I got her stool tested and found that she did in fact have a high parasite load and needed conventional wormers, I wouldn't hesitate to use whatever it took to make her better though.
- Thread starter
- #78
I had to take her friend out this morning because even though they did terrific up until now, my Khaki decided she was frustrated at not being with the others during breakfast and took it out on my poor Pekin. She kept biting and ripping out chunks of feathers. I caught it after she did it about twice and had to remove her, but I might be able to put her back later today. I think it was just in the excitement of feeding time. They all get worked up over breakfast for some reason.
I had to take her friend out this morning because even though they did terrific up until now, my Khaki decided she was frustrated at not being with the others during breakfast and took it out on my poor Pekin. She kept biting and ripping out chunks of feathers. I caught it after she did it about twice and had to remove her, but I might be able to put her back later today. I think it was just in the excitement of feeding time. They all get worked up over breakfast for some reason.
oh wow! Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they calm down later.
CayugaJana
Free Ranging
- Sep 2, 2017
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Poor gal....... why is it that ducks are so fickle?!
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