HI all,
Two days ago I noticed one of my (10) chickens off by herself behaving a little strangely. I picked her up and sat her on my lap. Something was wrong. I tried to hand feed her some food which she went after eagerly, but could not swallow it. A friend who is also a chicken owner thought it might be impacted or sour crop. I couldn't feel anything going on in the area. I noticed a mucous (?) discharge coming from her beak?nose? I isolated her from the flock and set her up with water, but no food.
The next morning she eagerly went after water. I tried to give her a little food which, again, she wanted, but couldn't seem to swallow. Same mucous discharge. I called the only bird vet in the area and got an appointment for the afternoon. She also laid an egg yesterday.
The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her. The crop was fine. She was chatty as can be (charmed the whole office) and didn't appear to be in distress. I asked if he tried giving her any food or water and he did not. He said I could either leave her for observation (costs start adding up) or he could prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic. I took the antibiotic.
When we got her home she seemed more energetic and, after making her feed a bit mushy, was quite ravenous. She was then able to eat the dry food and also drank quite a bit. I decided to hold off on the antibiotic and see how she would be this morning. Well, today is kind of the same. At first, not really able to eat. She drank a bit. It looks like she pooped a little during the night. I made her a scrambled egg and she enthusiastically ate that, though it seemed like it was a little hard to swallow. I'm leaning towards giving her the antibiotic, but that would mean none of her eggs could be eaten until 2 weeks after she's done and, once she's with the flock, there's no real way (that I know of) to separate out her eggs.
Meanwhile, she is quite distraught missing her sisters. I've tried getting her outside a little, but she just wants to run over to them. I have an enclosed pool patio so I tried letting her wander there - there's even a small garden for her to explore, but she just wants to be back with the flock.
What have you all done when one of your birds is sick? How long do you isolate her? I am thinking I'd be willing to forego all the eggs if I can be sure she's not contagious. (The vet didn't seem to think she was, but to me it looks like a cold or...do chickens get sore/strep throats?) Any advice would be appreciated. Are there any natural remedies you use? I am quite distraught over my sweet, little girl!
Many thanks,
Lee
Two days ago I noticed one of my (10) chickens off by herself behaving a little strangely. I picked her up and sat her on my lap. Something was wrong. I tried to hand feed her some food which she went after eagerly, but could not swallow it. A friend who is also a chicken owner thought it might be impacted or sour crop. I couldn't feel anything going on in the area. I noticed a mucous (?) discharge coming from her beak?nose? I isolated her from the flock and set her up with water, but no food.
The next morning she eagerly went after water. I tried to give her a little food which, again, she wanted, but couldn't seem to swallow. Same mucous discharge. I called the only bird vet in the area and got an appointment for the afternoon. She also laid an egg yesterday.
The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her. The crop was fine. She was chatty as can be (charmed the whole office) and didn't appear to be in distress. I asked if he tried giving her any food or water and he did not. He said I could either leave her for observation (costs start adding up) or he could prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic. I took the antibiotic.
When we got her home she seemed more energetic and, after making her feed a bit mushy, was quite ravenous. She was then able to eat the dry food and also drank quite a bit. I decided to hold off on the antibiotic and see how she would be this morning. Well, today is kind of the same. At first, not really able to eat. She drank a bit. It looks like she pooped a little during the night. I made her a scrambled egg and she enthusiastically ate that, though it seemed like it was a little hard to swallow. I'm leaning towards giving her the antibiotic, but that would mean none of her eggs could be eaten until 2 weeks after she's done and, once she's with the flock, there's no real way (that I know of) to separate out her eggs.
Meanwhile, she is quite distraught missing her sisters. I've tried getting her outside a little, but she just wants to run over to them. I have an enclosed pool patio so I tried letting her wander there - there's even a small garden for her to explore, but she just wants to be back with the flock.
What have you all done when one of your birds is sick? How long do you isolate her? I am thinking I'd be willing to forego all the eggs if I can be sure she's not contagious. (The vet didn't seem to think she was, but to me it looks like a cold or...do chickens get sore/strep throats?) Any advice would be appreciated. Are there any natural remedies you use? I am quite distraught over my sweet, little girl!
Many thanks,
Lee
