Sick Chicken? Please Help!

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

For vitamins, I'd go to Walmart or CVS (or similar) and get a bottle of B-Complex. Give her 1/2 tablet daily. If she's not eating well, then give her some feed mixed with buttermilk.

I can't drive yet, and all of my family members are too busy. Are there any fruits that could prehaps replace vitamins? Like oranges and apples?

 

[azygous]

Citrus is not a good fruit for poultry. Apples have limited kinds of vitamins. The one food that's a good source of all the vitamins a chicken needs is her poultry feed.

One way to make it appealing to a sick chicken is to wet the feed with warm sugar water, by mixing one cup warm water with a teaspoon of brown sugar (or white) and pouring it over the dry feed. This way she gets the sugar and vitamins and also gets water, all mixed together. Feed her this wet mix for the next two days, and maybe she will be well enough to survive during your trip away.

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

Ok thank you!

 

[micstrachan]

I'll try to keep this thread updated. My family has already planned a five day trip for thanks giving before we realized that she has been sick. I took her in last night and she seemed to be a little better. I tried to feed her sugar water, but she just wouldn't drink it and we don't have any tubes. I'm not sure if she'll be able to heal before we leave for the trip.

I feel your pain. I can’t count the number of times I had to be out of town when I had a sick hen. Once I even had one on a regimen of antibiotics. I knew there was no way I could have my neighbor who is looking after the chickens try to force feed antibiotics to her, so, thankfully, I figured out the bread method. It all worked out and he handle it fine. Ahe was too hen, so it was easy to separate her and give her a bread treat, who is looking after them while you are gone?

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

I feel your pain. I can’t count the number of times I had to be out of town when I had a sick hen. Once I even had one on a regimen of antibiotics. I knew there was no way I could have my neighbor who is looking after the chickens try to force feed antibiotics to her, so, thankfully, I figured out the bread method. It all worked out and he handle it fine. Ahe was too hen, so it was easy to separate her and give her a bread treat, who is looking after them while you are gone?

My neighbor whose raised chickens for 25 years. Apparently none of her chickens have ever gotten sick, so I'll have to show her what she needs to do.

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

Jelly (the chicken's name) seems better today. I kept her in a large separate box from the rest of the flock inside the house. This morning when I was preparing her breakfast, I kept the card board box open and she tried to get out but I stopped her. Definitely more energized!

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

There's only one problem: Jelly happened to really like wild bird food (especially the sunflower seeds)so that's what I was feeding her for the last 3 days and we are running out. When I tried to feed her normal chicken grains/scratch, she don't want it! She just kept on pushing the grains away with her beak, trying to find bird food. I've already got 4 picky chickens, plus one more!

 

[micstrachan]

My neighbor whose raised chickens for 25 years. Apparently none of her chickens have ever gotten sick, so I'll have to show her what she needs to do.

Wow, never a sick chicken in 25 years? That is some good stock! Do they free range?

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

No, but I've seen her coop. It's pretty big!

 

[Lady Clucks-a-Lot]

If I was to leave Jelly with my neighbor, she'd have to stay in a card board box the whole time. I was thinking to make her a little coat so and let her join the rest of the flock. Do you think she'll be able to survive the temperture? It's around 33-36F at night, and 45-50F at day.