Re: Recent Post - Hope it Helps Someone

[ChickensLove]

Posted a number of days ago regarding a sweet hen that suddenly became sick. It wasn't clear what was wrong. She rests in the nesting box mostly, and came out once, but squawked like she was in pain. - I was able to find a chicken vet in Longmont, and they immediately placed my chicken on liquid calcium, and suggested that I place it in oatmeal that had soaked in water. She gobbled it up! Took some stool samples in, and they will be tested today. - Was also told that seeds, and various weeds/plants, and other food items are not healthy for chickens. Stated that organic chicken feed from the store is best. I do give them that. - I will get a better idea when the vet calls with the stool results. He did relay that the main reason chickens get backed up with eggs is due to Calcium deficiencies. - Love my sweet chicken, so please, everybody wish her well. - Will try to repost with the results of the stool test, and as my chicken gets well, what has helped her. So far, a quiet, darker restful area, oatmeal with the special calcium, has perked her up a bit. - Hope this helps someone... Please note: Medicated chicken starters are, "Toxic" to chicks and chickens. Any type of seeds cause oil to form around the liver. Corn and grains are not sufficient for a chickens diet.

 

[R2elk]

Posted a number of days ago regarding a sweet hen that suddenly became sick. It wasn't clear what was wrong. She rests in the nesting box mostly, and came out once, but squawked like she was in pain. - I was able to find a chicken vet in Longmont, and they immediately placed my chicken on liquid calcium, and suggested that I place it in oatmeal that had soaked in water. She gobbled it up! Took some stool samples in, and they will be tested today. - Was also told that seeds, and various weeds/plants, and other food items are not healthy for chickens. Stated that organic chicken feed from the store is best. I do give them that. - I will get a better idea when the vet calls with the stool results. He did relay that the main reason chickens get backed up with eggs is due to Calcium deficiencies. - Love my sweet chicken, so please, everybody wish her well. - Will try to repost with the results of the stool test, and as my chicken gets well, what has helped her. So far, a quiet, darker restful area, oatmeal with the special calcium, has perked her up a bit. - Hope this helps someone... Please note: Medicated chicken starters are, "Toxic" to chicks and chickens. Any type of seeds cause oil to form around the liver. Corn and grains are not sufficient for a chickens diet.

It would have been better to post this in the previous thread rather than start a new thread. You can easily find the threads that you have posted to by going to your member page and clicking on the postings tab.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...round-much-and-squawks-when-she-does.1312427/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did you ever get a video of her actions? If you did can we see it? (upload to youtube and provide a link)

So, did she she lay an egg? You mention that the vet said the reason chickens get eggs backed up in them is calcium deficiency. So is she now laying eggs? Where were the eggs backed up?
Medicated chick starters in the US contain a coccidiostat - which is usually Amprolium. It is not toxic to chickens. If chick(en)s become overloaded with Coccidia they can die or at the very least the Coccidia will do real damage to the intestines leading to attacks of Enteritis or gastrointestinal problems - if the medicated feed is toxic, what does your vet recommend as the alternative treatment for Coccidia overload?

Chickens have survived through the ages on bugs, seeds, weeds, worms and various vegetation and meat - while a nutritionally balanced poultry feed is necessary for those of us that don't range our flocks - chickens thrive when out in the yard and in pasture.

Was your vet an avian vet? How much poultry experience does he have?

 

[Eggcessive]

Feeding medicated chick starter is not toxic. It contains a very small amount of amprollium, which is the same drug that treats an outbreak of coccidiosis. It is not even an antibiotic.

I would switch the oatmeal to wet chicken feed. Oatmeal alone is not healthy to feed chickens. You may want to read this article by a poultry veterinarian from Purina:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-shocking-effect-of-oatmeal/

 

[Lizzy733]

Was she acting lethargic or walk-waddling when off the nest? Or was she tutting like a ticking time bomb constantly and acting very defensive around her flockmates?
Honestly, it sounds more like a broody hen than a disease or condition; they can go off the lay for a while, even after finishing their broody stent - which can last over 20 days if you don't try to break her.
As Wyorp Rock mentioned, I'd be a bit concerned about that vet's advice.
Pelleted feed is recommended over organic grain feeds as hens will pick and choose for taste and not nutrition.

 

[ellend]

Amprollium is not toxic to chicks. Some all-organic foods people use words like "toxic" rather indiscriminately. While amprollium is not toxic in proper amounts, coccidiosis IS fatal to many, many chicks, and treatment often happens with losses. Anyone who does not use medicated chick starter should have corid immediately available, at home.
Oatmeal has a compound in it that stops chickens from being able to absorb nutrients properly.
Absolutely scratch and grains are for treats only, and treats should comprise less than 10% of a chicken's diet of complete poultry feed.
I hope you figure out the cause(s) of your babies' illness, and they all recover quickly!