sick frizzle hen

[dac63]

I have a little frizzle hen that is molting badly and now is very thin and not eating the chicken feed. She seems dottery and does not get up on the roost she just stands there. She is about 4 years old. If she doesn't eat soon I am going to try to force feed her. I have done it before with success but the problem is I can't figure out what is causing this. I hate to just do nothing. What would be a good all round medication to give her. I have some of the stock terramycin and I have baytril that was given to me for a dog and also for a rabbit. Any help on meds and maybe a force feed that would perk her up would be greatly appreciated. She is with some cochins and another frizzle and all are well and not in molt like she is. I looked to see if there were lice, but did not see any. Thanks for any help. Donna63

 

[dlhunicorn]

if you have not already done so separate her to a temp stable area free of drafts to monitor her better and keep her from any environmental stress (heat and clold will tax her system)...

>>>First I want you to think about if this bird has been drinking sufficiently... If you suspect she has not been drinking sufficiently then add ELECTROLYTES to the water and dribble that along her beak to rehydrate. (diluted childrens PEDIALYTE will do in a pinch)

>>>order some AVIACHARGE 2000 (from McMurry or Strombergs) or see what supplements (if any) your feed store has specifically for molting birds.

>>>Get some baby parrot handfeeding formula from your pet store (this is a powder you mix with water) > this has often kept many a sick bird alive until they can get back eating.
She is very ill and you need to take action quickly.

 

[dac63]

I separated her and put food and water with vitamins that I have for a cockatiel. Mixed up some terramycin, but not sure of the right amount as it gives for large automatic waterers. I only put a small amount in a gallon of water and three drops of the caged bird vitamins. The only thing she would eat was some canned corn and bread and she is drinking. I will stop at the pet store near here and see if i can get the parrot feed. She is dottery and I feel so bad for her. Tried letting her out but she sat of edge of the pen so I put her back again. Thank you so much for your reply. She is a cutie and just looks like she is so tired. and pretty bare on top. Maybe from the roosters. I have two large cochins. I will let you know how I make out. Again thank you. donna

 

[dlhunicorn]

How old is this bird? Have you ever wormed her ? (Often when they are molting and wek then worms will occur at this time) I do not think it wise giving antibiotics (terramycin) ...underdosing in particular can cause resistance issues and they will kill off the good bacteria as well as any pathogenic ...If you do use only do so with the proper dosage. I would suspect worms before anything bacterial (which would be the only thing the antibiotic would be effective for)

 

[dac63]

what do I use for the worms? I have a tube of ivermectin for a pony of my grandaughter. I think I read somewhere that it can be used. If so how much? Also the pet store did not have the baby parrot food and I can't get to the larger store tonight. If I mix a wet mash what else should I add. Also I am not seeing any signs of poop. Please help me with this on worming and feed. Thanks Donna

 

[dlhunicorn]

well if she has not been eating then that would account for the lack of faeces...
I assume she has been on layer feed rations? You can cook some oatmeal (in water>nothing else) and mix that through her feed (just enough to make it clumpy yet moisten it also... you can also give her a cooked eggyolk through it... get a few mealworms from the bait store (no wild insects or worms from your garden) and put those on top of the feed to perk her interest...once they start pecking they will usually eat a bit of the feed too.

You can also give her POLYVISOL four drops in beak once a day and also offer some live culture yogurt.

I have always read and been told not to use the horse paste. The only one I can recommend would be the ivomec Eprinex (use the spot-on method on the base of the neck...it will be absorbed through the skin)... here is an article on that:
http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

 

[dac63]

Thanks for your reply. I just got done feeding her. I feed egg layer pellets. I watered it down and made a paste and added some bread and parakeet grit. I have childrens pedylite in packets. Berry flavored. I fed her like a baby bird pushing it back where she had to swallow it. You can now feel a little food in her craw. She did not seem to like the flavored pedylite. But she got some. She did drink some of the vitamin water today. So until I can get to a pet store that has the baby parrot food tomorrow I hope that this will give her a little strength. Do you think I should worm her? I will have to get something else as I only have the ivemect paste for horses. She gave me a little fight over the feeding so maybe that is a good thing . I just hope I did not stress her out. I had a crooked necked cochin a few years ago. She got stuck under a bush and when I found her she was almost dead. Her balance was not good because of the handicap. I hand fed her for weeks. She couldnt even stand . Then I had to help her walk and after a while she was fine until a year later in the winter she fell head first into the waterer and could not get up. It was at night and cold and I lost her. Very upsetting as she became a real pet following me around looking like a buzzard with that neck. Thanks for your help. donna

 

[dlhunicorn]

It is really better to use the unflavored pedialyte (the flavoring has something in it that can cause a reaction of some sorts sometimes)
The bread will do nothing for your bird...
make up some oatmeal and mix that with the feed (it will help digestion) and give a cooked eggyolk (this has methionine which is often deficient in molting birds) ...try live culture (plain not flavored ) yogurt... they usually like this and it is very nutricious. Your bird does not need the parakeet grit.