**Sick hen! Is it the Cold Weather!? Please Help!**

[BeccaB00]

So my FAVORITE little game hen, Sonny, is sick. I really need help! Yesterday I noticed her being very lethargic. Puffing up in one place

and being veeerrryyy slow at moving. Her water had been froze all day, when we FINALLY got water out to them she and her other cage

buddies went CRAZY, as they should. They also eat real good. But today, I go outside to give them water and food, shes still the puffy

little chicken in the corner, but today she seems to have trouble swollowing (and tries very often like theres somthing in her throat) AND

she decides not to eat OR drink, and I find that a sure sign shes sick cause her waters been froze all morning, and she SHOULD be

thirsty. I love winter, but I ABSOLUTELY HATE how it's so hard to get water to my babies. Shes definatly sick I'll post some pictures.

Please help me! Shes my baby and I hatched her out with my incubator and shes the tamest chicken I've got. I dont want this winter to

get her! Heres a more clear way of explaining things:

Symptoms: Lethargic, not eating or drinking, seems to have ALOT of trouble swollowing
Treatment so far: Nothing!

I don't know what to do!
Type of chicken: Game hen
Age: about 2 years
treatment: MUST be on my own! I have no vets for birds around here and I dont have the money to take her!

I have a hole packet of electrolytes (However you spell that!) Should I give that to her in her water? I'm going to beg my parents to

bring her inside, as many chickens we've had in the house they shouldn't mind TO much...Any info on what she may have would help. I

think it's the cold thats getting her, It was snowy and WINDY for 2 days straight. ...I've never lost a chicken to the cold before though...

 

[poultrycrazy]

my OEGB has been doing the same thing but she always eats and drinks

 

[teach1rusl]

If your parents will let you, and you have a dog crate or something similar, do bring her in. It'll give her a warmer area to hopefully recover, and you'll be able to keep a close eye on her to better observe whether she's eating/drinking at all, and whether she's pooping. It'll also give you a better opportunity to fully inspect her. If you are able to bring her in, I'd keep her in one of the cooler rooms in the house, so it's not so hard on her when she goes back out. Other than the electrolites and tempting her with special treats (scrambled eggs or sunflower seeds, something yummy), there's not a lot you can do. I sure hope she perks up!

 

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
thankyou so much. I sure hope she gets better to... Shes such a sweet girl.

 

[jjthink]

Agree with above - she needs to be brought in and kept very comfortable and in a quiet, stress free area where you can observe her closely. This includes seeing if her poop looks normal, and seeing whether she eats or drinks once in. She does sound quite ill. She truly may need medical care. And she absolutely cannot endure cold while sick. Please let folks here know every bit of info you can think of that might help you help her. What is her diet? Age? Last known egg laid if she's of egg laying age. Any discharges from anywhere on her face?

All the birds need to have a supply of fresh unfrozen water at all times.

There's a lot more I'd ask and check back to see your responses but I'm at work and just had a sec - I'm sure others will see your posts and updates and will try to help.

JJ

 

[BeccaB00]

Her diet is just the regular chicken scratch and we had been feeding pellets but ran out. Shes also been eating veggies lately.

Her last laid egg would have been back in the summer.
2 years old
she lives in a 10x10x6 chainlink dog kennel with 2 other hens and a rooster

I do feel horribel about the water situation but it's very hard when you have 4 different pens, and the water just freezes right back.

 

[BeccaB00]

I've got her on our front porch in a cat carrier that we use to carry out cats to the vet.. It's tiny but it'll have to do.
Please know that our front porch is all enclosed and fairly warm. Not heated or air conditioned though. I opened her mouth a bit to see if I could see why she keeps swollowing over and over again, I opened her beak just a bit and saliva oozed out! She Drowning in saliva, and I dont know what to do about it!

 

[jjthink]

A chicken scratch diet is not healthy - scratch is fine as a snack but not at all as the main diet. If they've been on this for awhile without also having regular chicken pellets/crumbles, the birds will be vulnerable to illness because they will be malnourished. For starters, I would give your sick bird 3 drops daily of Polyvisol liquid children's vitamins (without added iron) dribbled via a dropper gently along her beak line (so she swallows on her own and doesn't choke). I would offer her scrambled egg if you can, sunflower seeds if you can.....

Two years old and no egg since the summer is concerning. Is oyster shell available at all times? Has she molted this fall? What color is her comb - nice and red or pale?

Do the birds have a coop to sleep in at night? Chain link will not protect them from predators, by the way.

Oh dear - there is so much wrong with this whole situation. Can you urgently try to find out if there is a 4-H organization in your area that can help you help your birds?

JJ

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
This post came through at the same time I posted. Don't force anything in her mouth under these circumstances. I am wondering if she has an impacted crop. She really needs experienced help urgently Becca.

JJ

 

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
This post came through at the same time I posted. Don't force anything in her mouth under these circumstances. I am wondering if she has an impacted crop. She really needs experienced help urgently Becca.

JJ

I know, I feel really stupid.

I've been feeling of her crop since we've dealt with impacted crop before, her crop is full but was empty this morning... We ran out of the grit. JUST as with the pellets, our feed store closes at 5:00-6:00 and noobdy gets of work in time

My dad had to rush home the other day just to get a bag of dang food...They all molted big this year, and no I dont have a coop. We have game chickens. We DONT fight. They're all my feathery pets. But we dont have $1.000 extra dollars to build a bunch of coops. We've put up tarps around one side of the cage to keep the wind off of them.

honastly, this christmas I think I'm asking for coops for them