Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 3:51 am Post subject: Laying Hen question
Do hens get all fluffed up & lose weight when they are laying?
I may have panicked a bit & removed the nest boxes as my hen has lost weight, I can feel her breast bone & she has been out of the box alot and sits all fluffed up all the time.
She laid 4 eggs on the floor & 2 in the nest boxes when I gave them to her.
When I examined her I was able to catch her quite easily with my hands.
Karen,
I would suggest you have a very sick bird and need to get her some medical attention promptly. If she has left the eggs and will allow you to catch her by hand she is defianately very sick and it sounds like she has picked up a bug whilst laying the eggs. During the laying process the hens do become very susceptible to any bacterial or viral disease that they would otherwise be less likely to catch.
Do kike's suffer with megabacteriosis? I had an outbreak of it wit my udgies last year & managed to successfully treat them with the vet prescribed medicine megabac-s.
If kike's do get megabacteriosis then I reckon that is what she has as some of the symptoms are the same.
I started treatment with megabac-s a number of days ago just to be on the safe side. Fingers crossed I got it into her in time. I must say though that I haven't been able to catch her for 2 days now.
Note: Treatment of animals should only be performed by a licensed veterinarian. Veterinarians should consult the current literature and current pharmacological formularies before initiating any treatment protocol
Also from the above site.
Quote:
Because M. ornithogaster grows in a more alkaline environment, another treatment option consists of increasing the acidity of the gastric system. This can be done by either acidifying the water with organic acids (apple vinegar, white vinegar, or grapefruit juice) or by using Lactobacillus spp.7
We mention in several places in this site regarding using vinegar soln to spray down aviaries and adding a little cider vinegar to the veggies on a regular basis.
Thu there is no hard scientific basis behind these recommendations, in practice birds and animals (including humans) respond well and are less susceptible to many ailments.
Alcohol and Acidic vinegars occur naturally in the wild, particular in the fermented nectar of many flowers.
I have seen on several occasions, Tui (NZ native bird) so drunk they cant fly after feeding on flax flowers. Alcohol if left will break down into vinegars. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Last edited by Steptoe on Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:57 am; edited 1 time in total
Karen, have u consulted a vet?
lethargic, no weight is not good for a Kakariki. And to have others showing similar symptoms...thats not good.
The 2 common causes are worms and old age...even the latter I'm not 100% sure of. We have a couple of 'rescued birds that I suspect are very old, thu at 1st had major weight loss, very little feathers, lethargic etc. They have picked up weight/feathers over the last 12 months, they are no where as active as the other birds.
I think u should have a vet run tests , including bacterial and worm checks.
Failing that It could very well be some organ failure (kidney) as described in other threads in this section.
It is very frustrating in cases like this, that have very 'general' type symptoms we cant be of more help. Diagnosis at a distance is near to imposable, and the best is to be able to maybe point in the right direction.
A vet is the best bet. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Unfortunately this is very often the case, yet birds are one of the most common pets.
Check out some of the sticky threads in the vets section, in particular
http://www.kakariki.net/ftopict-420.html http://www.kakariki.net/ftopict-59.html
With a little practice one can do basic testing themselves. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
I wormed her last week, gave her megabacteriosis treatment week before that.
I'm about to buy stuff call Spark or something like that that's supposed to give her her oompf back. She has been self medicating herself on my mums ginger plant yesterday & today!
I moved her to a slightly larger cage today & she seemed to brighten up as she could see her fellows in the next cage.
Maybe she has been depressed?
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