my poor chicken is dying :(

[crisgal]

i've had my speckeldy for three days now, and she has been very quiet since we got her. I've never had them before so didn't take it as anything serious.
Anyway, she's definitely on her last legs. The place we bought her from seems quite undeterred and has told us to get some live yoghurt and syringe it into her mouth, leave her overnight and see how she is in the morning.
Does anyone think this will work?

[LoftyLottie]

Oh no. Is this one of the pair you wanted names for. Is the other one OK. This has made me so sad. I don't know anything about yoghurt but I do know that birds need heat when they are unwell. Can you put her under a lamp somewhere? Have you contacted a vet?

[China Doll]

Without meaning to sound mean (but I will), how much research did you do before purchasing these chickens? I'd at least try and phone your vet and see if they can also offer some advice.

[LoftyLottie]

Please do phone your vet crisgal x

[ttfn]

Hi crisgal - have found this uk site which has forums. You may find this useful but do contact your vet first. Good luck
http://www.keepchickens.info/

[crisgal]

yes it's one of the two. We had decided to call her Mo.
She was very quiet when we brought her home, but they are known for their docile temperement, so we thought it was just that.

I did tons of research, chinadoll, and spoke to many chicken owners. We discussed, deliberated and did as much research as possible. We not the sort who just do things on a whim!

When we got her, the lady said that they were very small. I asked what she meant and she just said - nothing, i'm sure she'll be fine.
I should have asked for more info really shouldn't I?

We've given her the yoghurt and are just waiting now. We can't take her to the farm till the morning so will see how she does. I already asked my local vet if they treat chickens (as part of the research we did) and they said no, not really!

W

[crisgal]

that's a great site ttfn - thank you. will let you know how she is later x

[LoftyLottie]

Crisgal, I would phone another vet if you can. Our vets treat anything. Poor little chicken :o(

[mrs.chappie]

An avian vet would be ideal crisgal, although it would (unfortunately) be expensive for you, and there aren't so many avian vets around. I agree with lotty that additional heat might help.

I'll keep everything crossed for the poor wee thing. x

[crisgal]

she's died i'm afraid :(
I'll find out tomorrow what was wrong.

[LoftyLottie]

:o(

Poor little Mo

[mrs.chappie]

So sorry. x

[ttfn]

I had a search on several sites cris - one did advocate taking chickens to the vets but I suppose so much depends on the vet's experience with poultry. My sis had a peacock who was very off colour so she took it to the vet who then took its temperature. Having done that he hadn't a clue what was normal for the poor thing! Happily the bird recovered by itself to good health. Fingers crossed for Mo.

[ttfn]

Oh I am sorry cris - just as I was typing. Feel rotten for you. x

[friend_of_nature]

it sad when animals die on you i had a rabbit once called pheobe i had for 6 years and she died of an eye tumer the vet said they could save her but she would only last 6 months with and eye patch i still say to this day i would rather remember her happily play fighting with my dog (dalmation and he always lost! lol) than with an eye patch and killed by a fox the next day i still mess her so i think i know what your going through just try not to forget your chicken but think of it when it was happy
xxx

[crisgal]

thanks everyone. we'll get a sturdy companion for roxy tomorrow. x

[mrs.chappie]

My local vet told me himself - a bird with a serious ailment needs a specialist avian vet - ordinary vets tend to prescribe Baytril (a general-purpose antibiotic) in the hope that it will cure the bird. Unfortunately, in some cases Baytril can be detrimental (it kills off the good bacteria as well as the bad) and can actually finish the poorly bird off.

In my younger days, when I took in loads of unwanted and rescued birds, I took many of them to my local (non-avian) vet ..... and most of them sadly passed away (the birds, not the vet). When I started using an avian vet, my success rate rose dramatically. Avian vets do charge an awful lot though.

Best of luck with your new bird, crisgal. x

[wildwood]

The advice on yoghurt was a good one. Some young birds have trouble digesting their first food, especially if the parents were not in tip-top condition. The natural yoghurt contains acidophilus bacteria which is proven to start of the beneficial flora in the digestive system.

[josaphine32]

Sorry to hear you lost your poor Chick crisgal.
(Roxy like one of mine)
What Mrs Chappie says is right, I took my duck to our normal vet as he was loosing all his feathers around his face, we tried all different meds but as there has been not alot of trials of medication on poultry they are iffy to what they can give you due to insurance, After 3 weeks and alot of money spent we found an avian vet, which quickly diagnosed a Streptococci infection, we still have along way to go but he is improving very slowly

[crisgal]

yes, all this has made me much more nervous than i was!
I have spoken to the farm and they have an avian vet on site, and she says i can ring anytime. I said it was a shame that she hadn't told us that in the first place. She said it wouldn't have made a difference as it was 'just one of those things' and she was very sorry.
she said she has some bigger speckeldies and so we are picking one up later.She has assured me it won't happen with this one - but how does she know that??