Lauree
In the Brooder
- Apr 15, 2015
- 12
- 0
- 22
I have an 8 month old Light Sussex Hen. I raised her from a chick. She weighs 2.2kg.
She has been laying well, almost every day until last week.
For the last 5 days she has had a droopy tail and extremely watery poo, mostly water and hardly any solids (solids mostly brown and white, but a few small slightly yellowish/green bits), but otherwise she seemed okay until 2 days ago, when I noticed her sitting down. She has been sitting down outside a lot since then, sometimes eyes closed, but does perk up when I go near, comes over to look for treats, although doesn't seem to want to eat, just flicks the food off my hand with her beak as if looking for something better (I have been holding out to her the regular layer pellets to try and encourage her to eat). Because I was worried that she wasn't eating anything, I brought her some wheat which I only usually give as a treat, which she did gobble up happily. Although she also let out a bit of clear dribble from her beak while eating....
She stumbles sometimes when walking.
I thought it might just have been something she's eaten and was waiting for it to clear up. She lives with another hen who had diarrhoea about a week before, but that cleared up on its own within a few days, although it was worrying at the time (some redness in the stools, and mucous/slug-like).
I have been searching Dr Google and this site for answers but I can't seem to narrow down what the problem could be.
I checked for egg binding - I can't feel any eggs from the outside (although bought gloves today to physically check inside).
I thought it could be crop binding, but the contents of her crop isn't "doughy" or firm. I checked this morning whether the wheat from last night had moved, but it seemed to be still there in her crop. I feel bad for giving her wheat now, knowing that it's harder to digest. So because her crop hasn't cleared, could this still be crop binding, even though it's not really doughy or firm? How long would you normally expect wheat to move from the crop? I gently massaged the crop anyway, in case, and gave her a few drops of olive oil.
Sour crop - she doesn't seem to have a lot of liquid in her crop, and it's not really that big.
She has access to shellgrit.
She drinks a lot of water (it's not hot weather and I think she is drinking more than usual).
Her face is still red (not pale) although her comb has flopped a bit.
She doesn't have a pasty bum, but there are some dirty feathers from the diarrhoea.
I couldn't see any worms in the droppings but I bought worming tablets today and gave her them. How long would you expect the tablets to start working?
I also bought natural yoghurt and Apple Cider Vinegar to try.
Please help me work out what's wrong with her. I can't afford the vet bills, but she is a beloved pet and I want to do all I can for her.
She has been laying well, almost every day until last week.
For the last 5 days she has had a droopy tail and extremely watery poo, mostly water and hardly any solids (solids mostly brown and white, but a few small slightly yellowish/green bits), but otherwise she seemed okay until 2 days ago, when I noticed her sitting down. She has been sitting down outside a lot since then, sometimes eyes closed, but does perk up when I go near, comes over to look for treats, although doesn't seem to want to eat, just flicks the food off my hand with her beak as if looking for something better (I have been holding out to her the regular layer pellets to try and encourage her to eat). Because I was worried that she wasn't eating anything, I brought her some wheat which I only usually give as a treat, which she did gobble up happily. Although she also let out a bit of clear dribble from her beak while eating....
She stumbles sometimes when walking.
I thought it might just have been something she's eaten and was waiting for it to clear up. She lives with another hen who had diarrhoea about a week before, but that cleared up on its own within a few days, although it was worrying at the time (some redness in the stools, and mucous/slug-like).
I have been searching Dr Google and this site for answers but I can't seem to narrow down what the problem could be.
I checked for egg binding - I can't feel any eggs from the outside (although bought gloves today to physically check inside).
I thought it could be crop binding, but the contents of her crop isn't "doughy" or firm. I checked this morning whether the wheat from last night had moved, but it seemed to be still there in her crop. I feel bad for giving her wheat now, knowing that it's harder to digest. So because her crop hasn't cleared, could this still be crop binding, even though it's not really doughy or firm? How long would you normally expect wheat to move from the crop? I gently massaged the crop anyway, in case, and gave her a few drops of olive oil.
Sour crop - she doesn't seem to have a lot of liquid in her crop, and it's not really that big.
She has access to shellgrit.
She drinks a lot of water (it's not hot weather and I think she is drinking more than usual).
Her face is still red (not pale) although her comb has flopped a bit.
She doesn't have a pasty bum, but there are some dirty feathers from the diarrhoea.
I couldn't see any worms in the droppings but I bought worming tablets today and gave her them. How long would you expect the tablets to start working?
I also bought natural yoghurt and Apple Cider Vinegar to try.
Please help me work out what's wrong with her. I can't afford the vet bills, but she is a beloved pet and I want to do all I can for her.
