The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: ewesaidit on August 31, 2011, 07:58:07 pm

Title: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: ewesaidit on August 31, 2011, 07:58:07 pm
Hi

we have a poorly hen - an isa brown, about 3 and a half years old         about 5/6 weeks ago was very lethargic and not feeding well and sitting with her neck sort of drawn in - took her to the vet who said she wasn't egg bound and we were given antibiotics and after a few days she brightened up and got back to normal       however, she is now back to moping about - doing things in slow motion if that makes sense, and not eating very actively,  her comb looks ok       they were wormed with Flubenvet about 3 weeks ago

any ideas?       
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: little blue on August 31, 2011, 08:47:53 pm
did the vet mention coccidiosis?
It can give the drawn in neck you describe
it has a cycle, so if its in your ground, it'll re-occur til the hen has immunity.
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: cairnhill on August 31, 2011, 09:26:29 pm
try Coxoid in her water,  it is licenced for pigeons but used by a lot of poultry folk.  Failing that the treatment from the vet is Baycox but I think it is only available in large volumes so not cost effective for smallholders.  She may just be coming to the end of her life.  Some laying strains just put everything into laying and have short lives compared to pure breeds. 
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: hughesy on August 31, 2011, 09:51:32 pm
Three and a half years is a fair old age for a hybrid egg layer. Time to go I think.
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: northfifeduckling on September 01, 2011, 08:04:47 am
Quote from: hughesy on August 31, 2011, 09:51:32 pm
Three and a half years is a fair old age for a hybrid egg layer. Time to go I think.

really  ???  I'm fairly new to chickens and would have guessed a lifespan like ducks 10 years +!
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: doganjo on September 01, 2011, 10:21:57 am
Kerstin, it depends on the breed.  My ex-batts usually live to 2 or 3 years, I've had pure hens live to 5 or 6, but no longer.  My old duck was only 7 when she died.
Title: Re: poorly hen - advice please
Post by: northfifeduckling on September 01, 2011, 11:55:21 am
we've had the ducks for 4 years and no idea how old they were when we got them. we lost 2 this summer, one for no obvious reason and the other was drowned by the bl+~#£%&>< boys (so one of them is swimming away at an animal park now!) . It helps to know - no idea where I got the lifespan figure from!
At least I know now what to expect from the hens.

How is yours now, ewes??  I had these symptoms you describe after flubenvet (some of the hens did ) , it could be a side effect...  :&>