sick chicken

[JWTphoto]

Well, after 12 hours of getting her to drink H2O w/ wazine & apple cider vinegar (wasn't sure if she had a sour crop) she is now pooping almost pellet size, tar like droppings. Is this normal? I did get het to eat some tiny bits of apple (bout 1 tsp full) and some dried meal worms. Thats the only thing she really goes after. She did not care for scramled egg. Should I keep giving her the worms & anything else she will accept? & what about the poop? I need some guidance...........
I just offered her some of her pellets crumled & she is going after them. I hope this is a good sign.

 

[Matt A NC]

When something is wrong, one of the best thing you can do it keep the bird eating. If they won't eat, then you are going to have a really tuff time saving them.

I give them whatever they will eat. Mine love mealworms(fresh from my bins) and canned corn.

Matt

 

[JWTphoto]

Quote:
Canned corn went down great. She is eating and looking much better.

 

[Kittymomma]

I've had really good luck with canned cat food when a sick bird won't touch anything else. You don't want to use it for days on end--too much salt--but it works great for jump starting their appetite.

ETA: Other then the salt it's pretty good for them, lots of protien.

 

[JWTphoto]

Thank you all soooo much for the input! She has been LOVING dried meal worms, yogurt, chopped apple, grapes, & canned corn along with starting to eat her regular laying pellets. Needless to say, her appetite has picked up & she has been drinking. However, she has not layed an egg in 4 days. Is that normal for a hen not feeling well? When she used to lay 1-2 eggs /day. Also, she is still puffing up her feathers. What is the puffing up about? Does anyone know?

 

[Billy7871]

Mine puff up to stay warm (I guess)

 

[usschicago1]

Quote:
Sorry I havent checked back on your thread...Glad your worming her, she definitly has worms!! Yeah dont expect eggs for a while, and you cant eat them for a couple of weeks after worming. I suggest once you have this worming thing in check, that you routienly worm your flock with invermectin or something similiar every 6 months or once a year. The puffing is how she is reacting to the worms...

 

[usschicago1]

Now that you have wormed with wazine, in 2 weeks worm with invermectin. Wazine kills roundworms, and you worm with this first so you dont cause a blockage. So you need invermectin pour on ($20) if you cant afford that there are some cheeper all worm wormers at you feed store for abouy 8-10$, but there not as effective. Make sure to take her off the terremycin a few days before worming round #2. Thanks for being so patient with her...

 

[JWTphoto]

I never did give her any terremycin. When she started improving w/ wazine I thought that was good enough. I did not want to over medicate. Her appetite has definitely picked up and she is drinking. My husband had her outside for ~1 hour today & she was pecking & scratching almost like normal. Should the whole flock get wazine? If so, then we don't eat any eggs for how many weeks? Is this normal procedure?

 

[Kittymomma]

I'd take a few fresh samples into the vet and have a fecal float done before worming if everybody looks healthy and happy. Lots of people just worm on a schedule (I believe withdrawl is 2-weeks, but not 100% sure) but I like to do it on an as needed basis.

If she is eating and drinking I'd put her back out with the flock during the daytime as long as the weather is ok and she doesn't have to use a ton of energy staying warm. Chickens are flock animals and she'll like being with her buddies, also if you keep her away too long you'll have to deal with reintagration which can be a real pain.