Think one of my hens is dying.....

[shannonb]

Okay, so here's the deal.

There is something def wrong with her eyesight. I'm locking her in the dog kennel tonight with water of course (though I'll doubt she'll drink it)....and before I wash her tomorrow I'll get a poop sample from her. My vet that I work for is going to take a look at her tomorrow for me : ) I thought that was sweet.....she's not a "bird" vet, but she does do wing clippings and beaktrimming. I've been there a year and a half and did NOT know that. She could not promise me anything, but at least it's a vet. I'll do the fecal at that time -

Tonight when I got home, she was huddled in the corner...still no sneezing or discharge, but her tummy rumbled constantly while I was giving her electrolyte/water and a seperate syringe of whole milk (per vet). I got even less into her this time than I did this morning, even with dipping her beak. It's not looking good............if anyone could spare some prayers, I sure would appreciate it. Sometimes I hate farm life.

 

[BreadNButterFarm]

Sending prayers your way . . . and I totally get you about sometimes hating farm life. We try so hard to do our best for our critters but sometimes it is just out of our hands . . . hang in there!

 

[shannonb]

Thank you.





Can anyone answer the lifespan of a chicken?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
You can drown her yes. I'll post more in a sec after i read more, but wanted to post this asap.

 

[threehorses]

OK trying to add information in spots here.

First, bird digestive tracts are quite different from the design of a human one. You do want to let it rest via no big diet changes, easily digested and dissolved foods (i.e. her pellets, crumbled in the blender for the mean time), and because bird digestive tracts slow during stress, no grains or solids.

You will want to boost her bacterial colonies. Birds' digestive tracts are HIGHLY dependent upon bacteria. Ask the vet, if you can, for a probiotic while you're there at the vet. Yogurt will work, but if your vet prescribes an antibiotic you may not be able to give it. Acidophilus tablets/capsules from the grocery are a great thing to have in your cabinet for occassions such as this as they're safe to give while medicating.

You ALWAYS want to boost bacterial numbers in your bird's guts during stress, medication, and illness. Daily during those times. Every other day during recovery for at least a week or two.

As for the vet not being an avian vet usually, please make sure not to make any major decisions tomorrow with her unless you decide to see an avian vet. Remember their normal temperatures are way higher than mammals and birds rarely if ever run a 'fever' as we consider it. They can over heat, however. But their normal non-critical temperature range runs way higher than ours.

If she does give antibiotics, I'd see about her consulting an avian vet on which one - she can do that viaphone and it shouldn't cost extra.

As for the eye trouble, can you test this at home? Make sure to point that out to the vet. Have her test the dilation/contraction of the pupil there in the office.

Some birds can develop an occular form of Mareks disease which will cause pupil shape irregularity and color changes and it also causes blindness. It can have rather sudden onset. The pupil should be exactly round and responsive to light. If the vet sees something otherwise, this could be it. To be honest, I had two birds in my previous flock who had this. They lived long lives. They were home grown and not vaccinated. Most purchased chicks are vaccinated. If you find mareks in your flock, you chould be sure to vaccinate new chicks if you breed.

Let us know how it goes, please. And good luck to you.

 

[caralouise1974]

Quote:
According to Gail Damerow, up to 30 years!

In practice, I'd say 5 years for a commercial hybrid and possibly up to 9 or 10 years for a large fowl pure breed e.g. such as an orpington.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Tonight when I got home, she was huddled in the corner...still no sneezing or discharge, but her tummy rumbled constantly while I was giving her electrolyte/water and a seperate syringe of whole milk (per vet).

STOP GIVING THE MILK
Birds cannot process the lactose (they lack the enzyme lactase ) > yogurt is not a problem as the "processing" more or less eliminates the problem. DO give yogurt (you can mix in the dry probiotic mentioned into) free choice.
I suggest you get some Polyvisol enfamil formulation (not the one with the extra iron) and give her four drops of that in beak once a day for a week then taper off the next.
McMurry or Strombergs has an excellent general supplement called AviaCharge 2000 which is one of the most complete (and correctly balanced) nutritional/vitamin/mineral supplement I know of.
If your bird is deficient (and she probably is) then you need to ensure she is getting the minimum nutritional recquirements and the two products mentioned above will help that.
You can also put some baby parrot formula (this is a powder sold at pet stores for birds that you add water to) and add that through her feed to concentrate the nutrition.​

 

[janinepeters]

I agree - NO MILK. I would still be reluctant to give any food (including yogurt) by syringe, but if others have had success with that, maybe I'm wrong. One thing about that, though: you run the risk of causing aspiration pneuminia. That's when stuff goes down the wrong tube - down the trachea instead of the esophagus, gets into the lung, and causes infection. If she seems to take anything in when you dip her beak, I'd go that route, (she's more likely to swallow it normally) and it would be okay to mix in a little yogurt (along with electrolytes).

Hope she is still with us...

 

[shannonb]

THreehorses, thank you so much for the information.....I'll print it out and bring it with me. I really appreciate that so much!

Whoever said that abou tthe milk, thank you....I will quit the milk. THe vet was reading out of an aviary book when she told me about htat....something about vitamin k.

Threehorses....I pretty much decided to have her euth'd today, because I can't see her getting better....but after reading what you wrote, I've decided that if she keeps the will, so will I.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[shannonb]

Janine, Thank you....I will not be doing anymore yogurt until she's wanting it herself. The beakdipping goes better than the syringe, so I will do more of that as well.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!!!