chrismahon
Well-known member
Seems we had our first case of Botulism yesterday afternoon. Ruby, a French Buff Orpington, was fine at 2.00pm but at 3.00pm was struggling to walk. We first suspected an injury and put Arnica gel on a hot knee joint. But after watching her wobbling about and then seeing her fall off a low perch it was obvious she was going to need to be put in a cage overnight as injuring herself was highly likely. She had lost her ability to balance and couldn't stand in the cage without falling over.
Another glass of wine resulted in a Google search on Botulism. Gale Damerow's book was taken off the shelf for a read on the subject. Apparently the entire body muscle system can become paralysed with the final stage being the eyes closing and then the heart stopping. Gale advises 5mL of an Epsom Salts preparation (one teaspoon in 120mL) be given twice a day for 2-3 days to flush the toxins from the digestive system as quickly as possible.
Fearing the worst checking on Ruby this morning revealed she had made a miraculous recovery with none of the previous imbalance noticeable, so she was put back in her outside run. Yesterday the fallen dead leaves were raked out from the enclosure and perhaps something was under them? Alternatively she may have eaten some of the toadstools that have stated to grow in the damp conditions and just been poisoned? Either way we'll never know. Just hope she keeps laying because eggs are in short supply at the moment!
Another glass of wine resulted in a Google search on Botulism. Gale Damerow's book was taken off the shelf for a read on the subject. Apparently the entire body muscle system can become paralysed with the final stage being the eyes closing and then the heart stopping. Gale advises 5mL of an Epsom Salts preparation (one teaspoon in 120mL) be given twice a day for 2-3 days to flush the toxins from the digestive system as quickly as possible.
Fearing the worst checking on Ruby this morning revealed she had made a miraculous recovery with none of the previous imbalance noticeable, so she was put back in her outside run. Yesterday the fallen dead leaves were raked out from the enclosure and perhaps something was under them? Alternatively she may have eaten some of the toadstools that have stated to grow in the damp conditions and just been poisoned? Either way we'll never know. Just hope she keeps laying because eggs are in short supply at the moment!
