JustMeBlondi
Hatching
- May 21, 2023
- 6
- 3
- 8
My Orpington Hen will only eat mealworms, and drinks almost no water...
A week ago I brought my severely underweight, anemic and weak Orpington Hen into the house. She weighed only 960g (34oz)
She was infested with lice, mites and sticktight fleas. I immediately treated her with Ivermectin orally (0.02ml), sprayed her with Fipronil and injected a long acting oxytetracycline subcutaneous. I offered her scrambled egg, layers meal, peas and a seed mix. She was eating small amounts. She was not drinking any water however, I mixed her water with a powdered poultry vitamin mix.
Day 3/4 she stopped pooing, was dehydrated and her crop was not emptying. I treated with 0.3cc(ml) lactulose syrup twice daily, 10ml of Epsom Salt/Water/Oil mix. She passed droppings, but her crop was still emptying extremely slowly, 6-8hours. So I continued treatment.
Day 5 she had slightly watery droppings, so I stopped the Epsom Salt/Oil/Water mix. She was eating, but not enough to gain weight, I started tube feeding 15cc(ml) once a day when her crop was empty. Hand rearing mix, with probiotics, 1ml apple cider vinegar a day and psyllium husk powder. I offered her some meal worms mixed with the layers meal. I heated her water and changed to mixing with a poultry electrolyte mix. She finally drank and drank water, if only she had continued.
I gradually increased the amount given with tube feeding every day, she is now (Day 8) on 25ml 2-4 times a day when the crop is (mostly) empty. So she is getting most of her water and feed intake by tube at this point. I have removed the psyllium husk powder from the mix, only giving probiotics and lactulose syrup once daily now.
Unfortunately from Day 7 her water intake decreased again. She now refuses to eat anything but mealworms.
Today(Day 8), she had cecal poo for the first time, there were some dead worms visible, a bit of mucous and possible a small amount of blood(unsure). Other than that the rest of her poo is normal. I will post photo's on request.
She is looking much better in her demeanor, more energetic. Her comb and wattles are much more red now (not completely there yet).
My current dilemma is that I cannot afford for her to lose weight again, but I don't want the tube feeding to teach her to not eat and drink herself. She will only eat mealworms at this point, scratches through everything looking for them, so I have stopped giving them entirely. I am weary to give more antibiotics as to how it will affect her digestive system, but I will if necessary.
The rest of the chickens are being treated with Ivermectin in their water tomorrow, sprayed with Fipronil and their cages/runs will be sprayed with a local product indicated for poultry, Mercaptothion (Organophosphate). We have completely resurfaced the cages flooring with clean soil.
The tube feeding is causing me a great deal of anxiety and sleepless nights, so scared she gets a respiratory infection from the oral meds and tube feeding. Her purring almost gave me a heart attack the first time, still scares me now.
What can I do about the eating and drinking?
Are there any other treatments I need to give?
Any suggestions and support will be appreciated
A week ago I brought my severely underweight, anemic and weak Orpington Hen into the house. She weighed only 960g (34oz)
She was infested with lice, mites and sticktight fleas. I immediately treated her with Ivermectin orally (0.02ml), sprayed her with Fipronil and injected a long acting oxytetracycline subcutaneous. I offered her scrambled egg, layers meal, peas and a seed mix. She was eating small amounts. She was not drinking any water however, I mixed her water with a powdered poultry vitamin mix.
Day 3/4 she stopped pooing, was dehydrated and her crop was not emptying. I treated with 0.3cc(ml) lactulose syrup twice daily, 10ml of Epsom Salt/Water/Oil mix. She passed droppings, but her crop was still emptying extremely slowly, 6-8hours. So I continued treatment.
Day 5 she had slightly watery droppings, so I stopped the Epsom Salt/Oil/Water mix. She was eating, but not enough to gain weight, I started tube feeding 15cc(ml) once a day when her crop was empty. Hand rearing mix, with probiotics, 1ml apple cider vinegar a day and psyllium husk powder. I offered her some meal worms mixed with the layers meal. I heated her water and changed to mixing with a poultry electrolyte mix. She finally drank and drank water, if only she had continued.
I gradually increased the amount given with tube feeding every day, she is now (Day 8) on 25ml 2-4 times a day when the crop is (mostly) empty. So she is getting most of her water and feed intake by tube at this point. I have removed the psyllium husk powder from the mix, only giving probiotics and lactulose syrup once daily now.
Unfortunately from Day 7 her water intake decreased again. She now refuses to eat anything but mealworms.
Today(Day 8), she had cecal poo for the first time, there were some dead worms visible, a bit of mucous and possible a small amount of blood(unsure). Other than that the rest of her poo is normal. I will post photo's on request.
She is looking much better in her demeanor, more energetic. Her comb and wattles are much more red now (not completely there yet).
My current dilemma is that I cannot afford for her to lose weight again, but I don't want the tube feeding to teach her to not eat and drink herself. She will only eat mealworms at this point, scratches through everything looking for them, so I have stopped giving them entirely. I am weary to give more antibiotics as to how it will affect her digestive system, but I will if necessary.
The rest of the chickens are being treated with Ivermectin in their water tomorrow, sprayed with Fipronil and their cages/runs will be sprayed with a local product indicated for poultry, Mercaptothion (Organophosphate). We have completely resurfaced the cages flooring with clean soil.
The tube feeding is causing me a great deal of anxiety and sleepless nights, so scared she gets a respiratory infection from the oral meds and tube feeding. Her purring almost gave me a heart attack the first time, still scares me now.
What can I do about the eating and drinking?
Are there any other treatments I need to give?
Any suggestions and support will be appreciated
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