I am NO expert but I do agree that wild birds are a problem. I have wild birds that try to sneak in the hen house while my girls are out free ranging. I have recently saved a hen form the brink of death & will relate what I tried in my case, just in case it helps:
Thanksgiving day I found my barred rock listless & not moving well. She couldn't stand up or anything. I think the other girls had started to pick on her too because of her illness. I immediately isolated her from the flock in a large dog crate on our patio. She was skinny, so I think she may have been sick longer than I realized. She is so skittish & never lets me pick her up so I dont check her much.
I gave her fresh water & turkey/applesauce baby food which she ate ravenously. (The next few days I gave her babyfood & mushy-wet chicken feed.)
Her symptoms seemed like they might be an infection...who knows with birds, but I had SULMET on hand. I gave her this in her water per instructions on the bottle for 6 days. Within 24 hours she was a new bird. By 3 days she was walking fine & I began giving her short trips to eat grass. Well, she seemed to eat way too much grass & wood chips too I think. Her crop became very sluggish & seemed to stop working because now she wasn't pooping. So I started her on Terra Vet powder-oxytetracycline (1tb per gallon of h2o). After 7 days of antibiotics (these were after the sulmet, not concurrent) she was eating, drinking & pooping normally. She looks great now & is living like a queen with me at her beck & call. She gets to free range a lot more than the other girls.
The only downside is the flock will not accept her back- I have tried lots of ways to reunite them but she gets bullied too much, so I am building another house for her. I wanted another hen house anyway....so I will let her live out her retirement like a queen & then have a nice pen for a replacement flock.
Best of luck with your flock.
Arash Razi > Beth KramerDecember 15, 2010 at 6:04pm
Thank you very much Beth. They are doing much better and will read more as to how keep them safe. Thanks all.
Thanks for asking Chirs. She looks the same, but she is still with us (in the house in a little crate). The staff at Pratt's mentioned that wild birds could have brought some infection that she got. So, I have to think getting rid of them somehow.
Replies
I hope your girl is doing better ! :)
I am NO expert but I do agree that wild birds are a problem. I have wild birds that try to sneak in the hen house while my girls are out free ranging. I have recently saved a hen form the brink of death & will relate what I tried in my case, just in case it helps:
Thanksgiving day I found my barred rock listless & not moving well. She couldn't stand up or anything. I think the other girls had started to pick on her too because of her illness. I immediately isolated her from the flock in a large dog crate on our patio. She was skinny, so I think she may have been sick longer than I realized. She is so skittish & never lets me pick her up so I dont check her much.
I gave her fresh water & turkey/applesauce baby food which she ate ravenously. (The next few days I gave her babyfood & mushy-wet chicken feed.)
Her symptoms seemed like they might be an infection...who knows with birds, but I had SULMET on hand. I gave her this in her water per instructions on the bottle for 6 days. Within 24 hours she was a new bird. By 3 days she was walking fine & I began giving her short trips to eat grass. Well, she seemed to eat way too much grass & wood chips too I think. Her crop became very sluggish & seemed to stop working because now she wasn't pooping. So I started her on Terra Vet powder-oxytetracycline (1tb per gallon of h2o). After 7 days of antibiotics (these were after the sulmet, not concurrent) she was eating, drinking & pooping normally. She looks great now & is living like a queen with me at her beck & call. She gets to free range a lot more than the other girls.
The only downside is the flock will not accept her back- I have tried lots of ways to reunite them but she gets bullied too much, so I am building another house for her. I wanted another hen house anyway....so I will let her live out her retirement like a queen & then have a nice pen for a replacement flock.
Best of luck with your flock.
Thank you very much Beth. They are doing much better and will read more as to how keep them safe. Thanks all.