Cream Legbar not as she should be!

A

Anthony 1974

New member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Evening all,
Merlin (my Cream Legbar - see "it's been like waiting for christmas") is not as she should be. She has stopped laying eggs, appears to be slightly hunched and has been keeping herself to herself. She is still eating and drinking. I have noticed she is doing green poos and gives a bit of a cough now and again.
I have just helped dislodge an ingrowing tail feather.
Any ideas please :-)19 ?

Thanks all,

Ant
 
Hi Anthony.
Others will probably suggest going to a poultry-friendly vet. If you have some Poultry Spice at home though, or can get some for tomorrow, add a little to the hens' food (I use a scant half teaspoon in 500g food for my 4 girls). So far I've found that it's perked up any of the girls who've been looking a bit hunched & under the weather, & it doesn't do the others any harm either.
 
Hi Anthony, sorry to hear about your Legbar girl. As Icemaiden says, a trip to the vet may be indicated, as its possible she has a gut infection, from the symptoms you describe, which will probably respond to antibiotics. I know she hasn't lived with you for very long and so she will still be settling in and therefore under a certain amount of stress, which could be a contributory factor. The settling in period takes a few weeks, even if they appear relaxed and happy, for the new flock to form and adapt to their environment, and during this time they are more at risk of depressed immune systems and consequent illness. They are adept at trying to conceal illness as far as they can, for their own protection, as weaker hens may get bullied, so its good to be alert for early symptoms. Probably nothing very serious, but it may just go on and on if not treated.
 
If her bottom appears swollen and is very firm it will certainly be an internal infection. We had a Cream Legbar with those symptoms a few months ago and she needed a course of Bayril. She's fine now and laying, even though she is 6 years old now. She also gets ingrowing feathers on the bottom which are removed carefully. Sounds as though Merlin may have a respiratory infection Anthony, if her bottom is OK. Presume she has been wormed with Flubenvet in the last 6 months?
 
Thanks all for your posts. She still seems subdued today but is still eating and drinking. All the girls had a course of Verm-X at the beginning of the month.
Back end seems to be OK - not swollen. The cough would suggest an infection so think a trip to the vet seems to be required.
I'll let you know how she gets on.

ANt
 
Vermex is a gut tonic, but is not effective at dealing with worms. For worming you must use Flubenvet. They should have their first course at around 6 months old, so if you haven't done them since they came, it would be a good idea to do so. If they do have a worm burden it will make any other problem worse.
See Poultrykeeper http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens
 
Echo Marigold. Flubenvet, Verm-X doesn't count, so it could be a massive worm infestation Anthony. Problem is this -when the worm infestation is too big, killing the worms kills the chickens. The reason is that when the worms die they release toxins. So it is really important to worm regularly with proper stuff.
 
Chris,
girls are around 22 weeks old now so should need their first lot of wormer - I'll get that sorted straight away.
Thanks for the help and advice.


Ant
 
Well - Merlin seems to have sorted herself out and is back to laying. Finishing a course of Flubenvent never-the-less.
Poos seem to back to normal too.
Will monitor. Hopefully a spell of good weather will help stabilise conditions for the girls - don't suppose for one minute they like the rubbish weather either!
Thanks for all the advice and tips - much appreciated.

Ant
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top