Ive never had any sick chickens, dead ones but never noticed them being any different till they are gone. But I did fix one of those problems night before last, a possum, enough said.
We gave it a warm bath and kept it inside for a while. Offered it oatmeal and yogurt, but it didnt' really eat much. Once she started to move around more we put her back outside. She is walking and pecking now, if not up to her normal speed. Going to try to offer her a bit more calcium laced foods over the next few days to see if that helps.
If they're egg bound, you can usually feel the egg in their abdomen and a warm bath is often all that's needed, it's a great first step and chickens are usually very cooperative once they get in that nice warm water. You could also carefully get some olive oil, KY, or vasoline on your finger and reach inside her vent help ease an egg out. (Inside the vent, the egg opening is on the top and the poo opening is on the bottom.) This will also get some lubrication inside her which often helps get the egg out. Yes, Yes, I understand it sounds gross, but it's not THAT bad. Use one finger gently and ease around. Be careful if there IS an egg there, you don't want to break it. I call it being eggsipated as opposed to being constipated.
Thanks for the advice. Thus far I can't feel any egg by feeling on the outside. She did have a poopy butt. She liked the bath it seemed and we kept her inside until she was mostly dry and started to move around. She came out of her cage and explored my son's room. :) She seemed more normal in her pecking and walking around outside this afternoon. I'll re-evaluate in the morning.
There is a product called CalciBoost that I keep on hand. I have never had to use it on my chickens, but I have used it on a canary that was eggbound. A few drops on the beak and they lay the egg almost instantly. You would not want to use it everyday, but for an emergency, it is great. You can order it online.
Thanks for the help and recommendations. Unfortunately, it was not egg bound. Lil'Red died and so did two others. A neighbor came down (I love my neighbors!) and checked things out for me. She thinks it was the change in food. Either I got a bad bag or they just couldn't handle the increase of protein in the feed. However, since they seemed to get sick one by one she brought some antibiotics and added it to their water. The rest of the chickens' tail feathers are back up and the rest seem to be doing okay. I'm still kind of holding my breath and preparing myself because….well, it's been a rough week. Chickens haven't been the only sickies around here. The flu has hit the household and I want my Mommy!
On a positive note, it's been great to see my son pick up the slack. The boy has taken over the cooking. This morning was pancakes and bacon, Yum! Oh, and of course he has learned to make my hot British tea. He has set out steak for dinner this evening and pork chops for the crock pot tomorrow. Over the last week he has made homemade chicken soup, spaghetti, tacos, and something else that I just can't seem to remember. Pretty good for a 12yr.(soon to be 13yrs.) old.
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