Very ill hen, and flock laying shell less eggs :(

[emeraldgreen]

Ok no more treats, they are a bit spoilt and do sit on the back door step waiting for extras most of the day, which my 3 year old is happy to provide

Thanks heaps

 

[emeraldgreen]

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

Sadly paddy didn't make it through the night. I bathed her, fed her apple cider vinegar and water through a syringe and even got her to ave a wee bit of yoghurt sprinkled with pro biotics but it wasn't enough . She started pooping bloody stuff last night too.

As for the rest of the flock, they have been getting raisins rolled in crushed calcium tabs and pro biotics, acv in their water and worming powder sprinkled on their laying pellets, and NO scraps. Emerald is less lethargic this morn, but still has watery white poop.

I did get 2 perfect eggs this morn - yippee!!!

I feel like I'm on top of thing now and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that all of their health improves and I can prevent what happened to poor paddy

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

Sadly paddy didn't make it through the night. I bathed her, fed her apple cider vinegar and water through a syringe and even got her to ave a wee bit of yoghurt sprinkled with pro biotics but it wasn't enough

. She started pooping bloody stuff last night too.

As for the rest of the flock, they have been getting raisins rolled in crushed calcium tabs and pro biotics, acv in their water and worming powder sprinkled on their laying pellets, and NO scraps. Emerald is less lethargic this morn, but still has watery white poop.

I did get 2 perfect eggs this morn - yippee!!!

I feel like I'm on top of thing now and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that all of their health improves and I can prevent what happened to poor paddy

I am so sorry you lost your Paddy.

When ever a bird in my flock is sick, I run it through my brain and think of all the things I should be doing to keep them healthy....have I kept them wormed on a regular basis, (worms cause impactions in the intestines and eventually kill the bird) have I been easy on the treats, (too much sweets, even natural sweets or too much fat can cause yeast infections and fungal infections) could they have Coccidiosis (this stuff is everywhere but keeping a clean environment and catching this early enough and I can save them,) are they having laying issues and should I add more calcium. Am I keeping up with probiotics and occasional vitamin supplements....While there are so many things that can plague chickens, there are a few very common issues that can be prevented quite easily and thus keep them healthy as possible.

Keep us posted and I hope your birds pull through this! Yay on the 2 perfect eggies!!!

 

[emeraldgreen]

I'm so amazed by today's results so I thought I'd post a pic.

The bottom egg is our 'best' egg from a couple of days ago, it has a shell, but is very soft at the top.
The top egg is from this morning and it is HUGE! And hard.

 

[TwoCrows]

Congrats on those beautiful eggs!!

Keep the flock healthy. Use Corid if needed right now and keep them wormed on a regular basis.

You can use the calcium for the next full week and then try backing off on it. If you start to see calcium bumps on the outside of the shell, you will know they are getting enough and you don't need the human calcium.

After a week don't use any and see how it goes. Make sure to keep some oyster shell around so they can pick through that as they need it. Keep the Caltrate on hand for future issues and use it as needed.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would definitely consider submitting either Paddy or another bird for necropsy. Unfortunately, that is the only way you will know for sure what is going on. There are some viruses that cause shell-less or thin-shelled/wrinkly eggs, but any disease affecting an entire flock is cause for concern. Getting a proper diagnosis will help you direct your management of the others.

 

[emeraldgreen]

Funny you should say that chickerdoodle, I've just walked out to find one of the chooks leaking gunk and straining:

She is trying to push out a peice of something, maybe shell? It's long and thin. I'm not sure, she is still pooping.

I've also had another leave a big yellow yolky poop on the door step.

Looks like this might be contagious

They are still eating and none are listless

 

[emeraldgreen]

Ok so 'Buzz' has passed the shell. I think it's complete but did have fresh blood on it. She has stopped eating and is lethargic, so very similar behavior to the hen I lost yesterday.

What should u do? I don't have a vet here to take her too. Should I flush her with a syringe? I read about antibiotics, I have a small amount of amoxicillin left over from my daughters recent illness, should I give her some? How much?

I'll continue with calcium, probiotics and acv. Should I keep her in a crate?

Thanks heaps

 

[tannysue88]

How did this end up, emeraldgreen?

 

[emeraldgreen]

All the hens are happy and healthy, we haven't had any issues with 'stuck' eggs since.
However egg quality is pretty poor. On a good day we get 3 eggs from our 5, but usually only 1. And only one hen lays well formed eggs, the others have soft spots. We can't really do anymore for them, so I'm just chalking it up to their old age.....

So at this stage they are expensive, high matenence pets

Thanks for asking