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[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi there Rudies roost!

Sorry to hear you have a sick hen, you seem to have covered all the things I would do first as in mites/lice and worming. Lice sure can drain them and make them pretty unwell. As for the drooped wing I'm just sure. The only thing I could think of if your vet has ruled out other things is that could she have gotten into a fight with some one else and she has got injured? As you have been away though you may not know. Have you checked if she is has an egg stuck? Does her vent look normal?

How's she today?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora

Hi Barbara

Hatch is done!! 12/14 that made it to lockdown have hatched. Have left 2 eggs in there but I think they are dead in shell No internal pip or movement but left them just incase but I reckon that's wishful thinking on my part. The final 3 hatched in the night and I've just moved them to the brooder.

Did the lady ring you about coming to help and maybe ride?

Hope your having a good day today

 

[Rudies Roost]

Hi Yorkshire Coop, many thanks for replying. The vet checked for stuck eggs etc and detected nothing. I did wonder if one of the cockerels had been a bit over zealous, she is top hen so a scrap cant be ruled out. What concerns me more is that she wont eat or drink a thing, why a bit of soft tissue damage would stop her eating i have no idea...i have syringed water into her beak. Today she is looking really poor, very thin and just sleepy, not putting her head under her wing yet but very lethargic. I think we'll be lucky if she sees the day out. I have lost hens to seemingly nothing before, it's heartbreaking. This was my first hen so she's a bit precious.

 

[rebrascora]

@Yorkshire coop

Hi Kim

Many congrats on the hatch. They look gorgeous and that video is absolutely amazing. I guess that's the one bit I don't get to see with broody hatching. Little oiks pecking at it whilst it's still stuck in the shell.... bet they are boys! Shame about the two that haven't hatched yet, but keeping my fingers crossed for them even if there is very little hope.

No sadly I haven't heard from that girl yet. Feeling a little deflated but perhaps she works through the week and will contact me at the weekend when she has more time or perhaps they haven't seen her to pass on my phone number yet.

Had a bit of an under the weather day yesterday so I've got lots of catching up to do today.

Hope you have a great day playing with your little cuties.... bet you don't get much work done!

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

As someone who has Marek's, it does sound like that might be it although she is old to be having a first attack.... it normally hits birds under a year old, but perhaps she had minor attack when she was younger that either you didn't spot or didn't worry too much about because she recovered within a day or two. If you have had other unexplained deaths, then that makes it more suspicious.
Certainly birds with Marek's waste away although mine usually are keen to eat unless they were depressed. The two things I found helped enormously were keeping them within sight of the other chickens in a cage and scattering food in and around it, so that they felt like they were competing for food with the other chickens. Sunshine and grass....putting them in a cage on the lawn on warm sunny days, with shelter if they need it for those April showers. If you have another mild mannered chicken to put in with her, having a companion also helped enormously with one of mine that had given up. I know you will be worried about quarantining the sick bird but the chances are that the rest of your flock has already been exposed.

Stress is normally a trigger with Marek's so I wonder if something happened whilst you were away. Adding new birds to the flock, however healthy looking and even after quarantine, is usually how it is introduced, although it is very easily contracted and can even be wind bourn. I think that here in the UK the strains of Marek's are not as aggressive as some I read about in the states and I didn't lose any chickens to it last year, despite having 28 broody reared chicks within the infected flock. I'm very wary now of adding new hens to the flock though and prefer to either hatch my own flock's eggs or buy hatching eggs and let my broodies rear them, so that they are exposed from day one and hopefully build up some immunity.

I hope you are able to save your girl, but it sounds like it might be too late. I would encourage you to do a post mortem on her if she dies (or you decide to end her suffering). I know it's not an easy thing to do with a pet, but it can be beneficial for the rest of the flock if you find something untoward. I haven't got any medical training but I've learned a lot from doing this over the past few years.
Keeping my fingers crossed that she makes a recovery though. Good luck with her and the rest of your flock.

Regards

Barbara

 

[GGBEAR]

Hello all well been a while again as you can imagine I'm up to my eyes in nappies and sick lol.

@ Yorkshirecoop no evidence spotted of mites but her assistance looks like a bullseye lol

Its my birthday coming up so I'm gonna treat myself to some more birds cant resist.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@Yorkshire coop


Hi Kim

Many congrats on the hatch. They look gorgeous and that video is absolutely amazing. I guess that's the one bit I don't get to see with broody hatching. Little oiks pecking at it whilst it's still stuck in the shell.... bet they are boys! Shame about the two that haven't hatched yet, but keeping my fingers crossed for them even if there is very little hope.

No sadly I haven't heard from that girl yet. Feeling a little deflated but perhaps she works through the week and will contact me at the weekend when she has more time or perhaps they haven't seen her to pass on my phone number yet.

Had a bit of an under the weather day yesterday so I've got lots of catching up to do today.

Hope you have a great day playing with your little cuties.... bet you don't get much work done!

Hi Barabara

Sorry you were under the weather yesterday
Maybe the girl just hasn't got your number yet, if I were her I would not miss the opportunity!! Yes the chicks are like Hawks when they hatch, straight in with the pecking and picking. The poor newly hatched ones have to man up pretty quick!! I'm afraid that yes I've been messing wth them most of the day Only the basics have got done today, everything else can wait. Still nothing form the last two eggs so I'm going to call it quits in the morning and get the incubator cleaned out. I'm sure it's ready for a rest as its been running for 5 weeks non stop. My replacement eggs are coming from Durham hens at the end of the month so it needs to be in full working order for then.

Hope you have had a better day today and are having a relaxing evening.
Catch you soon

Kim xx

Hello all well been a while again as you can imagine I'm up to my eyes in nappies and sick lol.

@ Yorkshirecoop no evidence spotted of mites but her assistance looks like a bullseye lol

Its my birthday coming up so I'm gonna treat myself to some more birds cant resist.

Hi GG

Oh goodness nappies and sick Hope Aiyla is coming on well and you too?

Assistance? Am I just being blonde?

Birthday and new birds, can't think of anything better

Mine next week and I'm not sure what the other has got me (I told him not to get anything) but I've been warned not to buy anything apart from food. I'm sure it's not chickens though as I'm over run already!!
What are you looking at getting next?

 

[GGBEAR]

[@ Yorkshirecoop sorry for the typo its bloody predictive text

its supposed to say *** her *** looks like a bullseye

Aiyla doing really well she was weighed Tuesday and she is piling on the pounds 13lb 7oz she was 12lb 8oz 2 weeks ago

Regarding what birds in gonna get in really not sure I want a red one I think but I gonna get my man to take me to the farm and see what takes my fancy I might get another duck also ill post pics when I get them

[/B]


Ps Yorkshirecoop I'm loving

the fox pose

 

[GGBEAR]

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora

Many thanks Barbara for the advice. Somehow, she is hanging on in with us this morning, i have just done as you suggested and popped her out with the flock in her isolation cage as so far it's a nice sunny morning here. I noticed her "gaping" her mouth this morning so i do hope she's not got gapeworm too, as i mentioned, they've all been treated with Ivermectin in the last few days so hopefully it'll act against any potential nasties. Can't believe that I go away for 1 whole week and i have to come back to this.....never going away again!!