PLEASE watch video: Cull/Euthanize?

[chickbee]

Very sorry for your loss and your hard molting gal.

Please tell us what is you feed routine including treats and supplements on a regular basis?

On board nutrition values heavily impact molt and since switching to a higher nutrient feed than "layer" my birds no longer lose their personality, withdrawal, and decline.. like they did before.

The gal I saw in that video looked to be molting but full of life.. Unless I was misunderstanding which one I was looking at. But if it was that one.. NO I would NOT cull/euthanize.. but rather take a deeper look at my practice. Noting that feathers growing back in can take a long time and patience is key EVEN after changes have been made.

We feed typical organic layer feed from our local Feed Store. Which they have access to all the time. We also get scratch from the feed store that we give time to time (a few times a week or before their "bedtime.") I have three young children so we probably give them more scraps than most. We will toss them scraps of things the kids don't eat. Nothing like dessert or sweet type stuff. Mostly leftover fruit, bread things, pasta etc. I just go by the general rule of thumb that if I won't eat it, I don't give it to them. In the video, she was the one that was in the top right at the beginning. No feathers, moving in circles. She is doing better today!

 

[chickbee]

I should add..mine also was picked on more by the others, and even got bloody at one point, because the others were pecking at her. She eventually recovered and walloped the aggressors!

Thanks! She is doing much better today. It's reassuring to hear you've experienced the same and got similar advice! Thankfully, this hen was the top dog of the flock so no one has thought to pick on her yet. That's awesome to hear your chicken came back full force!

 

[chickbee]

I would give her a vitamin E 400 IU pearl orally or in a small amount of food daily. Also a source of vitamin B1 thiamine, which is found in B complex tablets or chick vitamins. The offer her a bits of scrambled egg, tuna, or sunflower seeds for the small amount of selenium to help the uptake of vitamin E .
I would agree that she is having a hard molt, and that can be common. Hopefully, she will come out of it soon.

Thank you! I doubled up the Nutri Drench as you suggested and she is like a different hen today! Still some issues but overall more stable, eating better, seems more normal. I appreciate it. Hopefully it stays this way but reassuring to see it's slightly better.

 

[chickbee]

THANKS guys. I doubled up on the Nutri Drench and she's been SO much better today. Less issues with balance, eating more, finally foraging again. Hopefully it stays this way. Going to just keep an eye on her. Appreciate the advice. I was ready to end her life the other day as it seemed uncomfortable to be like she was. Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad that she is doing better.

 

[coach723]

Very glad she's doing better.

 

[GhostG]

Please watch and let me know thoughts? Do I go ahead and just end this poor girls life? This has been going on for about a week.
https://youtu.be/upnqRAoKrZQ

This hen has changed quickly. Less than two weeks ago she was her usual full-feathered, sturdy self. Also the leader of the flock.
She had sudden extreme feather loss and her balance is now off. She is pulling to the side, walking in circles. She wants to eat but seems to have trouble focusing/stopping to do so. I had her isolated but seemed MISERABLE.

The Vet felt she is just going through a hard molt, otherwise clear of parasites and looked good to him a week ago. At the time he said she was not doing the "balance things" with him. I feel they've worsened slightly.

In December we had another hen that always seemed weak and failed to thrive overall. She had chronic unexplained feather loss for months, despite multiple trips to vet and ruling out things. She started to have these similar symptoms (head pulling to one side).
We euthanized her before Christmas as she eventually became so thin & weak.
(tried force feeding, antibiotics, vitamins, pain meds...)

I feared Mareks but the vet ruled it out. He said because she is older and the way she is presenting, it doesn't fit.
Any insight, anyone? Thank you!

Hope she comes out of it soon, poor lil girl. She does seem to be eating tho, so i would wait n see

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks for keeping us updated. Glad she is feeling better. Thank you for taking such good care of her too.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We feed typical organic layer feed from our local Feed Store. Which they have access to all the time. We also get scratch from the feed store that we give time to time (a few times a week or before their "bedtime.") I have three young children so we probably give them more scraps than most. We will toss them scraps of things the kids don't eat. Nothing like dessert or sweet type stuff. Mostly leftover fruit, bread things, pasta etc

Glad she is doing better!

Since their is improvement with the nutri drench that might indicate a nutrient deficit.. caused by too little protein/amino acids in layer feed to make up for the low nutrient treats.. during ones' time of EXTRA need. Consider switching to a higher protein feed.. like starter or flock raiser, even grower.. to make more room for the table scraps etc.. fruit, bread, and pasta.. are high carbohydrate low nutrient sources of energy.. and it's hard to keep a whole family in line when feeding treats is so much fun!

Hope she continues to be more comfortable and improve every day.

 

[chickbee]

Glad she is doing better!

Since their is improvement with the nutri drench that might indicate a nutrient deficit.. caused by too little protein/amino acids in layer feed to make up for the low nutrient treats.. during ones' time of EXTRA need. Consider switching to a higher protein feed.. like starter or flock raiser, even grower.. to make more room for the table scraps etc.. fruit, bread, and pasta.. are high carbohydrate low nutrient sources of energy.. and it's hard to keep a whole family in line when feeding treats is so much fun!

Hope she continues to be more comfortable and improve every day.

So switch to a grower feed for all 7 of my hens? To replace their every day feed? I have three girls that are over 6 years old and the rest are about between about 4-3yrs old. I wish I had known this for my hen that I just put down, maybe she would've thrived better these past couple years since we rescued her. They do free range from sun-up to evening all day every day, lots of bugs and foraging. Thanks for this input, I will definitely do some research and try this. I will say they do get a good amount of carbs from these crazy kids of mine.