Grow Your Own Magazine

Poor little Pink, she seemed a little under the weather when they came out yesterday, by the afternoon we noticed she was wheezing a little & this morning she stayed in the hen house so we made up a warm box with sawdust feed & water and put her in side then brought her in. I kept checking evry half hour & by 1pm she had died.
So upset [50 years old & bawling]. Very concerned as about a month ago another one was the same, took her to the vet [who said she was going to die] he gave her a shot of antibiotsics & more for the nest 2 days, she pulled through & was great for about 5 days & then died. They came from the same place, was concerned when I saw it but bought 5 hens as I did not want them to stay there. Pink was great up to Sunday whan she did her usual 'peep peep peep' don't forget me & the 50m dash for sweetcorn. I am goung to ring the vet & see it they can find out what it is............... really really worrie now.

minskey

sorry to hear about pink. I have yet to get my hens so am new to this but can understand how it must feel to lose them. think its good idea for you to look into it though as you dont want to lose anymore. take care.

angela

Sorry to hear that, let us know what the vet says
xxx

Just called the vet, told me to send her to Horncastle 60 odd miles away for PM if I wish, he won't do it. But he said it may be gapeworm!!! I've only wormed them 10 days ago, no sign of 'gaping' & all have been gaining weight. Don't know what to do now.........

Sorry about Pink Minskey!We've just experienced our 1st poorly chook so I understand your worry.She seems to gradually be picking up so fingers crossed.How old are yours?Could this be a factor?
All the best.x

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

Very sorry to hear about Pink. I have wormed twice in a fortnight with Verm-X yet my girls still have them. I have now bought Flubenvet but advised not to use it yet as it might be too soon after Verm-X. May I ask what wormer you used? Hope your other hens are all OK.

I'm so sorry to hear about your chicken, I do know exactly how you're feeling, my Rose died about 3 weeks ago. I still miss her very much, especially at night when I go and do the "count up" when they've gone to bed, get up to 9 and there's no 10 there

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Always look on the bright side of life
View my blog - http://chooksandveggies.blogspot.com/ updated November 1st 2008

I have sent Pink to the lab in Horncastle, I 'phoned them & they were very helpful, told me how to wrap her etc, she will arrive in the morning then I will hear from them in due course.

I used Verm-X, I didn't know it would not clear gapeworm.

I bought the 5 hen's as POL in July, 1 is definateley POL, she started laying with a very small egg [brown hen, brown ears, white Egg] The other 4 look like Calder Rangers, none have layed. As I have read up more on Hen's I have noticed that they have very gnarled legs, which is partly due to scaley leg which the 4 had when I got them but they also look 'Old' & knobbly, the beaks are also like old cow horn, so compared with the other hens I have [a Specklydy & a Bluebell both POL] I thought they may be older & not POL.

I keep going outside to see if they are OK. On a rather happier note, the brown hen is broody & I bought some Buff Wyandotte eggs for her to sit on so fingers crossed

Minskey please don't blame yourself for using Verm-X, lots of people use it successfully. It just hasn't worked for my girls. Mine haven't got gapeworm so maybe Verm-X does work for that. Mine have a sort of threadworm which even the vet doesn't know what it is! He just says there are lots of different types of worm.
At least you gave your hens a better life than they would have had if you had left then where you bought them but I can understand how upset you are.

Oh...poor Pink!! It's so sad Minskey.... Let's hope that some life comes from your little eggs! Fingers crossed for you! xxx

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I can resist everything, except temptation!

i am so sorry to hear about poor pink. hope your other girls are all ok
xxxmillyxxx

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The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.

- Alfred Austin

Sorry to hear about your hen, I've only had mine a week and already can't imagine being without them! Hope yo find out what happened and it's nothng that can effect your other girls.

So sorry to hear about Pink xxx

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

A little hen can become as dear a pet as a dog or cat. I am sorry for your loss, I know I would be very sad should one of my girls die of anything other than old age!

I have just spoken to the Lab & Pink died from a heart attack brought on by infectious bronchites, I was told it is common, there was not much I could do. Also she was not a pullet as I was told when I bought her, Loved her anyway, but just goes to show how people are cashing in on the popularity of keeping hens.

Glad you have found out the problem, could it affect your other girls?
At least you know that you haven't done anything wrong.
I agree that some people are not being honest when selling hens, it's very difficult for newbies to know what to look for/what questions to ask.

Sorry to hear about your chicken, it is sad to lose any animal (I had to have a pony put to sleep yesterday). Hope your other hens are okay and that you have a successful hatching with no boys!

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Sorry to hear about your hen - they are prone to respiratory problems, unfortunately

If you see any more symptoms - or just in case - you might want to get hold of some Citricidal (a grapefruit seed extract that's meant to be good for respiratory illness) and AviPro (a vitamin and probiotic supplement to boost the immune system). Neither will replace veterinary treatment, but they might help a stressed hen to hang in there until drugs can take effect.

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Small Plot? No Problem! - my blog about growing organic veg

Oh Shirlthegirl43, I'm so sorry about your pony. I will get some citricidal tomorrow. he said I could vaccinate against infectious bronchites but the vaccination only comes in batches of 1000 or more for commercial breeders, us 'backyad' peeps don't usually vaccinate, his words not mine! I stripped back the henhouse ans disenfected it along with my feed/water containers etc.