Ophelia is a 1-year-old Welsummer hen.
She is all of a sudden acting ill:
uncoordinated, moves like she's drunk
stance is that tail-down, wings dragging 'sick chicken' stance
just wants to sit down
not interested in food
drinking water
clicking her beak together
not eating
(edited to add: also seems excessively thirsty, see post below)
(edited to add: can feel a large foreign object in her crop, see post below)
We had thought, over the last week, she might be going broody. She began laying every single day, and I found one of the nest boxes lined with her breast feathers about 3 days ago.
Then last night my husband went to put them in and she was on the nest box. He moved her off but said she was acting strange (although not typical broody "strange"). This morning she is acting sick. Absolutely no interest in the morning treats. Can't hop up onto things, stumbling and just wants to sit down.
I have isolated her inside where it's warm, with food and water.
I have not observed any droppings at all.
Her crop seems OK.
I have felt for egg (thought maybe egg-bound?) but I don't feel anything unusual, however I don't normally feel their abdomens so its hard to say.
We feed organic layer pellets and table scraps. DH says she was loving the banana he gave them the other day. The other birds ate some, too, but apparently she ate more. Could this be a problem?
We keep them on pine shavings inside and hay outside. She is not one who seems to eat the litter. They have access to a lawn area as well. Coop was cleaned and shavings changed on Saturday.
Please help!! She is one of our most favorite special pets!!
(edit: I just made her some warm mash with yogurt, and offered her that and bread, which she normally LOVES... absolutely no interest. I tried wiping a little yogurt on her beak and she swallowed it but won't eat on her own. She actually got up and went and LOOKED at the bowl of pellets I put in the cage with her, but did not eat any. )
She is all of a sudden acting ill:
uncoordinated, moves like she's drunk
stance is that tail-down, wings dragging 'sick chicken' stance
just wants to sit down
not interested in food
drinking water
clicking her beak together
not eating
(edited to add: also seems excessively thirsty, see post below)
(edited to add: can feel a large foreign object in her crop, see post below)
We had thought, over the last week, she might be going broody. She began laying every single day, and I found one of the nest boxes lined with her breast feathers about 3 days ago.
Then last night my husband went to put them in and she was on the nest box. He moved her off but said she was acting strange (although not typical broody "strange"). This morning she is acting sick. Absolutely no interest in the morning treats. Can't hop up onto things, stumbling and just wants to sit down.
I have isolated her inside where it's warm, with food and water.
I have not observed any droppings at all.
Her crop seems OK.
I have felt for egg (thought maybe egg-bound?) but I don't feel anything unusual, however I don't normally feel their abdomens so its hard to say.
We feed organic layer pellets and table scraps. DH says she was loving the banana he gave them the other day. The other birds ate some, too, but apparently she ate more. Could this be a problem?
We keep them on pine shavings inside and hay outside. She is not one who seems to eat the litter. They have access to a lawn area as well. Coop was cleaned and shavings changed on Saturday.
Please help!! She is one of our most favorite special pets!!
(edit: I just made her some warm mash with yogurt, and offered her that and bread, which she normally LOVES... absolutely no interest. I tried wiping a little yogurt on her beak and she swallowed it but won't eat on her own. She actually got up and went and LOOKED at the bowl of pellets I put in the cage with her, but did not eat any. )
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