sophielucidojohnson
In the Brooder
- Aug 3, 2019
- 5
- 1
- 12
Hi all,
Thank you so much for all the support you've provided over the past few years. I have another head-scratcher and would love some advice about moving forward.
In my flock of eight, I have a Rhode Island Red hen who has always been at the top of the pecking order. All my chickens are rescues so it's hard to know how old they are, but I am fairly certain Helen (the RIR) is the oldest: at least five years old. About four days ago, I noticed she was looking lethargic. She was still eating, but she was moving more slowly, closing her eyes a lot, not running toward me or away from me no matter what. She fell over while standing up twice that day, and I decided to isolate her.
In isolation, she remained really sluggish. I guess I figured she might just be entering into old age and getting ready to pass? I put her in a large cage and brought her inside, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Today she's eating and drinking water, which she wasn't doing much of yesterday. She hasn't delivered any stool in the past 24 hours that I could find.
I felt around her cloaca and rear side and didn't feel anything hard or out of the ordinary. She also doesn't seem particularly skinny. Her chest is not rattling, but when she gets stressed out (like, she doesn't like me picking her up and carrying her through the yard, and she still has some fight in her kick), she does sound a little wheezy, like she's purring?
I've looked closely at a lot of poop from the other flock, and it all looks very normal. No one else is showing symptoms of a respiratory thing, I don't think. (I feel like maybe one of them sneezed four days ago, but they all seem spritely and normal sense then.)
Helen hasn't laid an egg in a long time, but I think she stopped laying a few months ago. (Hard for me to tell, to be honest.)
Here's my question: Should I just continue to keep her comfy and isolated? She ate corn and watermelon and water today. Or should I try to get her into a vet? We called an exotic pets vet for our other chicken who is suffering (she has a prolapsed oviduct; I posted in this forum last week, too), and they are taking her tomorrow. I asked if they could take a second chicken, and the vet said no, there wasn't space at this time. To get an emergency room visit is out of our price range. Mostly, I just want to make sure she's not suffering, and I feel confused about what to do. She doesn't seem any weaker than she was four days ago, but no stronger either.
Thank you for your advice in advance. I'm so, so grateful.
Thank you so much for all the support you've provided over the past few years. I have another head-scratcher and would love some advice about moving forward.
In my flock of eight, I have a Rhode Island Red hen who has always been at the top of the pecking order. All my chickens are rescues so it's hard to know how old they are, but I am fairly certain Helen (the RIR) is the oldest: at least five years old. About four days ago, I noticed she was looking lethargic. She was still eating, but she was moving more slowly, closing her eyes a lot, not running toward me or away from me no matter what. She fell over while standing up twice that day, and I decided to isolate her.
In isolation, she remained really sluggish. I guess I figured she might just be entering into old age and getting ready to pass? I put her in a large cage and brought her inside, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Today she's eating and drinking water, which she wasn't doing much of yesterday. She hasn't delivered any stool in the past 24 hours that I could find.
I felt around her cloaca and rear side and didn't feel anything hard or out of the ordinary. She also doesn't seem particularly skinny. Her chest is not rattling, but when she gets stressed out (like, she doesn't like me picking her up and carrying her through the yard, and she still has some fight in her kick), she does sound a little wheezy, like she's purring?
I've looked closely at a lot of poop from the other flock, and it all looks very normal. No one else is showing symptoms of a respiratory thing, I don't think. (I feel like maybe one of them sneezed four days ago, but they all seem spritely and normal sense then.)
Helen hasn't laid an egg in a long time, but I think she stopped laying a few months ago. (Hard for me to tell, to be honest.)
Here's my question: Should I just continue to keep her comfy and isolated? She ate corn and watermelon and water today. Or should I try to get her into a vet? We called an exotic pets vet for our other chicken who is suffering (she has a prolapsed oviduct; I posted in this forum last week, too), and they are taking her tomorrow. I asked if they could take a second chicken, and the vet said no, there wasn't space at this time. To get an emergency room visit is out of our price range. Mostly, I just want to make sure she's not suffering, and I feel confused about what to do. She doesn't seem any weaker than she was four days ago, but no stronger either.
Thank you for your advice in advance. I'm so, so grateful.
