worried abou my lethargic hen..

[Guernsey girls]

Can anybody help me as my 5 year old hen, which is a cross between a Maran and Barnevelders is not eating and is lethargic.[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] she hasn't laid any eggs for a year now and looks as if she's taken on a cockerels tail feathers! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I noticed today when I went to give them their corn that she wasn't eating. I even offered her corn from my hand but she wasn't interested. I even managed to pick her up without any fuss and she feels very light and I can feel that her breast bone is very prominent. Her eyes are clear but her comb is pale. She happily sat on my lap to warm up in the conservatory and made no effort to move off of me. she's now in the cat basket in the warmth. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Her breathing is not normal. She's not coughing but a bit gasping. Her crop feels fine. She has corn and mealy worms and some water but is not touching anything.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The rest of the hens are fine including her "sister". [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They have white dust free wood shavings on the floor of the hen house and pillow wade in the nesting box which is where she roosts at night. The dropping in the hen house look normal. They were cleaned out yesterday so everything was fresh.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Is she just old. She's never been a big bird like her sister and is very much a pet know, what should I do. I am a soft touch and will take her to the vet. [/FONT]

 

[drumstick diva]

Her age is probably why she hasn't been - but it wouldn't cause lethargy . It sounds like she is wasting away please post in the Emergencies,diseases, injuries etc. forum.

 

[sourland]

It may be that she has just about reached the end of her lifespan. The appearance of rooster feathering in hens is generally associated with ovarian cancer. Good luck with her, and welcome to BYC.

 

[Guernsey girls]

thanks Drumstick Diva will do.

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Sorry to hear about your hen. Best of luck with her!

 

[redsoxs]

Sorry to hear about your hen. Hope she gets to feeling better!!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!!

Glad you joined us!!

 

[Guernsey girls]

Just back from the vets. My old girl is seriously under weight I feel terrible that I hadn't noticed, she looked so healthy.

I gave her a bath last night of DM and she slept once again in my bathroom, it being the warmest room in the house at night!! Only trouble was that every time she gave a little croak, yes I mean croak, I was out of bed checking her thinking that was her last breath, I really most get a life ;-) Fed her via a syringe with 4mth old baby food.

Fed her again this morning no change, then went and gave the rest of the girls a bath this morning, can't say they were too happy to see me!! Cleaned out the coop and sprayed it with "Mite kill spray" .

Took Robina to the vets and she only weights 1400g eek. Gave her an injection of antibiotics and one for parasites just in case. They also gave me a critical care formula to feed her. So it's now just a case of wait and see.

I now how much to feed to give her over the day but not sure how often I should give it to her? The instructions say 1 5ml of formula to 3-5 5ml spoons of water for 200g of body weight. I mixed it strong so 1 in 3 = 20ml so through the day I will need to give 140ml? I gave her 30mls of mixed formula at 5pm and then she fell asleep on me! As I'm out tonight I thought I'd give her another 30mls when I get back around 1030? Now just need to work out a feeding table for tomorrow, not forgetting of course fitting in with going to work!!

Will keep you posted of Robina's progress.

 

[drumstick diva]

Please don't try to push extra on her to get weight back fast. First she isn't used to being full and secondly it can be overdone to the disaster level.

When I first started tube feeding ill puppies, I did just that. It was such a skinny pup it looked like a snake- I overfed to the point where she went into convulsions and died. The vet said I fed her so much her stomach ruptured. That's just another horrible guilt I carry around as baggage.

 

[liz9910]

hope your hen feels better soon.