Suicidal Chicken...
Went out to the mini coop a couple weeks ago to feed and put the littles to bed and found one of my favs just laying on her side. She wasn't very responsive, they usually freak out (telling, flapping, etc) when I go into their coop area.
Picked her up and she did not protest. That's when I knew something was wrong! But what? Shit if I know!
The only symptom I had to work with was lethargy.
So, feeling her, she was skin and bones, crop completely empty. But her butt looked fine!
So I gave her some electrolyte and probiotic water, at first she wasn't interested, but I put some on her beak and then she went to town. She drank A LOT. She drank probably over one cup of water (mixed with probiotics and electrolytes) in one sitting.
So, what I think is the real problem here... I'm dealing with severely stupid chickens. I bet you're wondering why.
A week or so before this event? I don't even remember when exactly, but I bought a larger waterer and put it in the bottom of their run of their coop. I removed the quart jar waterer from the inside of their coop.
I honest to goodness think that his one in particular hadn't left the actual coop area at all to drink. The grit is also down there, and so I'm assuming that's why she hadn't been eating. I showed them all the water was down there... so it's not like it wasn't available.
After she drank a bunch of water (like over a cup), I put her in her inside space and she started eating.
The day after, she was doing pretty well from what I could tell. She was no longer losing balance. She's got food in her crop and she's still drinking. Thankfully to say, she's definitely not as high strung by herself as she is with the rest of her group!
After a few days of special treatment she was just fine and got put out back with the rest of the flock. She is still doing just fine. As far as I can tell anyway, I can't seem to tell the Faverolles apart. If she IS the one I am thinking, she is smaller than the others. But again, I really can't tell for sure. Haha.
Moral of the story, if your chickens are basically dying, make sure they're not trying to commit chicken suicide by not drinking. Man, these ones are DUMB.
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Wow, sounds like you really know to take care of your birds! What kind of probiotic water did you give her? That's a bit of a passion of mine. I believe probiotics are generally underutilized. For example, when my dog completed her antibiotic treatment after a surgery she had, I started giving her small pieces of kombucha culture. Not the drink, she doesn't like it, but the kombucha mother. Just a tiny piece a day for a week or so. She loved it, and I'm sure it helped her too.
I have "Chick Boost Probiotics" also has electrolytes in it. Thanks, I have done a ridiculous amoutn of research and have talked to many people who raise chickens both for fun and for a living. It's kind of what I do. Hahah. Research the shit out of stuff until I feel comfortable. Which takes a lot of research.
I wish I COULD have probiotics, but, they give me vertigo. Awful vertigo. Like fall out of chair. Hahah.
Oh no! Better be careful then! That's horrible, I'm sorry. Does this happen even if you just eat a yogurt? Those tend to be the weakest, most benign probiotics (okay, not true, cheese and sour-dough bread, or beer are all probiotics in a way, just not as rich as kombucha).
As for research, that's the best way to go. :-) Better safe than sorry, and if you do something might as well do it 100%.
Nah, thank goodness not with any of those things. But I was trying out supplements for my tum, it took me a couple weeks to figure out what was going on! Hahah I def. need to eat more of those things you mention tho. Haha
We just lost our first chicken this morning, and I think to the same problem (even though there WAS water available...it has been 90+ degrees every day). Either that or coccidosis...it's hard for this first-timer to know.
We nursed her for a few hours last night with electrolyte water (homemade molasses kind), but she was gone by sunrise. Tough loosing your first one! I don't think I'll get used to it.
So glad your dumb chicken recovered ;).
Awe I'm sorry. I think if it was coccidia more chickens would be showing symptoms and you'd be finding suspect poop. I hope it's not.
I'm not sure about the homemade electrolytes... haven't used them myself. But did use baking soda water to rid pasty butt. I'd actually try giving them some baking soda water. 1tsp per gallon.
The rest of the flock is doing perfectly fine, thankfully, which is why I suspect stupidity-dehydration. The one that died was always small, picked-on, and somewhat unsure-seeming.
What signifies the coccidia poop? I've read through lists of symptoms multiple times, but not heard as much about the actual characteristics of the poop.
"how on earth do you deal with severely stupid chickens?"
If you figure this out, maybe we can apply it to humans too. And one of my dogs.
Aweee even the dooooggg?? Hahaha
Happy to hear that she recovered!
Thanks for nice the nice write up.
Thanks for stopping by to check it out!
She obviously opened up here Polo account and lost the will to live. I don't blame her.
Oh. Haha
Oh Mama chicken!
So glad you figured it out and all is well again.
Yeah! I can't believe this chicken had no sense of self preservation! Haha.
It's posts like this that make me glad I join Steemit. Great info.
Check
haha
I guess they didn't come up with the name "bird brain" for no reason!! Hahaha
We're building a chicken house, so obviously I am prepared to deal with those iddy bitty brains. Herzog says it all hahaha
I guess the name "bird brain" didn't come from no where!!
Good job diagnosing the problem. You have to be part 'detective' when dealing with critters. You'll probably end up being a chicken-whisperer. ;~D
Honestly, I had no idea what on earth was her problem! They had water available and everything!! I didn't know it was stupidity. ;) hahahahaha
ROFL! Well, now that's on your checklist...
Food - check
Water- check
Stupid - uh-oh...
Bahahahhaha
I'm laughing!
Hilarious! I have had hens that run the full spectrum of intelligence. The Aracaunas my smartest and the White Cornish my dumbest. Turkeys can be pretty smart and REALLY dumb, the heritage smarter and the bronze and white dumb. Ducks have been mostly mid spectrum intelligence but do some really dumb things, like not looking where they are going and plowing into everything around them.
Nature generally takes care of the problem by culling through natural selection.... they die of their own stupidity.
Haha, one of my Indian Runner ducks got "stuck" behind a bush today. The only bush. In the entire field. She kept trying to walk through it to get to the rest of the birds on the other side.
...sigh...
Hah! Yep, ducks don't seem to have a reverse gear. They are only 1st gear on the ground, 2 gear in the water, and 3rd gear in the air, with an occasional tiny nitro boost if they need to act fast.