Trapped for 11 days no food, no water - very thin pullet

[TrystInn]

Quote:
The treat list is wrong. The digestive system of a chicken is vastly different from those of mammals. Yogurt can give chickens diarrhea.

 

[BayouPoules]

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X's 2! People have to stop with the yogurt and chickens (any bird)! There is a probiotic product they carry at feed stores called "Probios" it can be used on all animals.

Plain yogurt is on the treats chart and it says it's good for the digestive system.

OK,.. I have seen literally dozens of posts here on BYC teaching/telling to use yogurt for chickens and this is the first I seen saying not to,.. I use rooster booster with probiotics and a good ACV with the mother for my birds,..which I prefer,.. and I sometimes give plain homemade yogurt,.... I can understand that dairy isn't part of a chickens natural diet,.. but I have given it as a treat with flaxseed mixed in for a long time and have seen only good results,..


I would like to hear more from the don't use camp, always open to learning truth,.. this is also why I hesitate to give advise,..

eta better spelling

 

[wyoDreamer]

On the subject of Yogurt and chickens - "Birds are lactose intolerant" - blanket statements mean nothing. Show me the science.

For example: I believe there is a study out there (my boss claims to have to have read it) that states that all people over the age of 18 are lactose intolerant and shouldn't eat dairy. Dairy doesn't make me sick, but my little sister gets severe stomache cramps if she eats dairy. So because she gets sick and is lactose intolerant, every one is lactose intolerant and I have to give up ice cream and cheese on my pizza?! Good luck with that!

My irish setter loves yogurt, and I let him have limited amounts of it. About 2 ounces twice a week, it seems to help his digestive system. When he gets yogurt regularly, he has alot less gas and his farts are not as bad. And man, can he fart!

My black lab gets diarrhea when she eats dairy - so she just gets to lick the spoon. Can't give to one and not the other and I haven't seen any reactions to the little bit she gets off the spoon. Give her a stick of string cheese and it's squirts-ville.
Obviously my lab is lactose intolerant and my setter is not.

Could it be the same way with birds? you know, some birds are and some are not lactose intolerant. Start with just a little bit, and if the chicken doesn't react negatively to the yogurt, I say let her have it. Good source of protein and possible advantage of probiotics. Just watch for negative reactions, and if she gets diarrhea, stop giving her yogurt. So many people here give their birds yogurt, that should be some indication that not all birds are lactose intolerant.

TO THE OP:

Good luck with your bird. I am glad she showed up!

I'm sorry you have to re-home her. That must be tough. Hope you find a good home for her!

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:
X's 2! People have to stop with the yogurt and chickens (any bird)! There is a probiotic product they carry at feed stores called "Probios" it can be used on all animals.

Plain yogurt is on the treats chart and it says it's good for the digestive system.

There are other items which can help with gut flora that are non-dairy, why use something they don't have the biology to properly break down? When does a bird EVER in their lives eat diary? I've spoken to enough bird/poultry experts/medical professionals and the consensus is the same. No dairy for birds. Its not even good for cats which is a mammal that once required a form of "milk" during it's life.

Yogurt hasn't killed any body but it's not the best form of probiotics for a bird PLUS the numbers of good bacteria aren't even high enough to make a really difference. If you really want to get serious about your bird's digestive tract you go with something like Avi-Culture which is made for birds.

OP: I'm so sorry you have to re-home her! To find her and have to let her go. That's so tough.

 

[TrystInn]

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First off, your analogy is inappropriate. Your dog is a mammal, breastfed by his mother and likely has the appropriate lactase to digest diary. Your chicken wasn't and doesn't. The biology simply doesn't work.

Sources:

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/dairy.html
"Lactase (the enzyme necessary to digest and process lactose) is encoded by a single genetic locus on chromosome 2.[12] It is expressed exclusively by mammalian small intestine enterocytes and in very low levels in the colon during fetal development" - Wikipedia.

http://books.google.com/books?id=t5dhP1 … mp;f=false

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14519787
Chickens do not possess the necessary enzymes to efficiently hydrolyze lactose into glucose and galactose.

http://4hembryology.psu.edu/c-biology.html

If you can, get access to your extension office's reports on poultry. There's a lot of great information out there.

 

[BayouPoules]

Hey RyRy2! didn't mean to star a debate on your thread,.. but I sure liked hearing both sides,..

I was just wondering how that little hen is doing? She must be one happy chicken to be back,.. what a fighter,,.. staying alive all that time!....

 

[CupOJoe42]

This argument has been bugging me as everything that I've read and been told is that chickens CAN have milk, and in fact, love it! "Modest amounts make a terrific supplement for your chickens" according to "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens."

In addition to vitamin/electrolytes, I would give your pullet some hard boiled or scrambled egg.

 

[ellieroo]

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We had the exact same thing happen but with a Welsummer hen.She could barely walk. She took a day or two to recover but is fine.Electrolites in water and maklng sure she did not get pecked on was all we did.How they survive w/o water is a mystery!!

 

[RyRy2]

She is doing much better, thanks for all of the kind words and suggestions, she is a special girl always following me around looking for attention. She is still eating and drinking, unfortunately the reason I need to re-home her reared it's ugly head again today. I went down after lunch and the other chickens had attacked her again, ripping all of the feathers out of her head, luckily since she disappeared I was able to mostly finish my coop addition(no roosts yet, so the other chickens haven't moved in, but it has walls, roof, and door.. So she is currently in the addition by herself and hopefully she will be going to her new home in a few days..

 

[purpletree23]

Nice to see a happy story! That little girl has nine lives. Sounds like you care for her very much and she'll be back to normal weight in no time.