These were originally separate posts, one for each day.
TUESDAY 29th April
Update Tuesday, 10am
7.20am Opened the pop hole to let them out, Lydia reluctant to come out. When she did, she couldn't walk properly, and sat in the Run. I was very distressed and considered calling the Vet to end it now, but I realise that I need to give the penicillin a chance to work. She isn't hunched up like she's suffering, she's just sitting.
Brought her into the house and offered her mixed corn, yoghurt, water. She had some yoghurt. Gave her her penicillin stuffed into two quarter grapes. Put her back in the Run while I went out to get some Growers rations.
Made some porridge out of Growers Pellets and hot water. Got Lydia from the Run, offered her Growers Pellets in one bowl, Pellet Mash in another. She declined both, but ate a bit more Yoghurt. She then just flumped onto the kitchen floor.
I sat down beside her, whilst talking to DH about whether to put her back in the Run, or put her in a box in the kitchen. As she wasn't eating at all, I thought I might put her back in the Run for a while, then get her out again in an hour or so to see if she wanted to eat.
Then she started eating the porridge. She ate and ate and ate. Have decided it's best to put her in a box in the kitchen for now, so she can flump in peace but have the food and water within reach. (If I put her in the Run and put food and water next to her, the other Girls would eat it all).
She's currently sitting quietly, dozing on and off, and eating a bit more every five minutes or so.
Update Tuesday 4:05pm Very up and down today. Sometimes she looks better, other times she looks no better.
At about 09.30 I syringed some water into her beak, and she drank quite a bit. At about 12.00, she did a really runny poo in her crate, and then wanted to get out (can't say I blame her, I would too if I'd done something that revolting in my bed!). She hobbled about the kitchen and did another really runny poo. She didn't want to eat anything, she didn't want to get back in the crate (despite my having removed the offending poo), so I put her back out in the Run. She flew up on to one of the perches and sat there. An hour later, she was back on the Run floor, sitting in one spot.
At 2.30 I brought her into the kitchen to try her with some more food and water. She didn't want to be in the crate, she wasn't interested in the food or water. I gave her her afternoon dose of penicillin, hidden in 2 grape quarters, and put her back in the Run with the others.
At 2.45 I went into the garden, and she came running up to the Run door.
At 3.15 I took some (growers)pellet porridge into the Run. She wasn't interested, but the other two were. I left the bowl on the floor and - I'll cut a long story short here - two other bowls of porridge. She ate a little bit, from a bowl on her own and from the other two bowls. Then she left the other two to it.
At 4pm she was back roosting on the perch..
At 4.05pm she was back sitting on the Run floor.
We're going to weigh her at 7.30pm (same time as last night) to see if there is any difference. If necessary, we'll put her inside the coop for the night so she doesn't have to try and negotiate the ramp.
I might update later if there's anything else worth reporting.
WEDNESDAY 30th April
7.15am Hesitant to come out of the coop, but did in the end. Brought her in to give her some porridge. Not very interested, picked at it a bit. Put her in the Crate with a bowl of pellet porridge and a bowl of water. Eyes bright, looking around. Pecked a bt at the floor of crate so I scattered large handful of pellets for her. Ate some. Did a poo, firm - normal. Gave her penicillin in 2 quarter grapes. Took her back out to the run at 8.00.
9.00 Sitting under coop with the others, out of the rain. Also walking around slowly. Not eating.
12.00 She's wandering around looking fairly normal. Put three bowls of pellet porridge in the run so they can all have some. She ate loads. Now roosting on the perch with the other two beside her
12.30 Gave them some sweetcorn and mixed corn, she made sure she had her share. Also hung up some spinach for them to eat when they've finished their corn, and she was first at it.
16.00 Penicillin. She looks "ok" - not well, but more like she did on,say, Saturday.
17.05 She's helping herself to pellets from the Grub in the Run. Gave more porridge, ate lots.
19.00 Brought her in and weighed her. She's lost 5g. At least the weightloss has slowed. She's very alert and not interested in eating.
THURSDAY 1st MAY
07.15 Very reluctant to come out of the coop, but did come down the ramp slowly. Brought her in, she was busy strutting round the kitchen. She ate a little porridge, had her penicillin, then I put her back in the Run while I got ready
08.30 Got her out of the run, offered her porridge, pellets and water. She ate a little porridge but not a lot. Pooed on the kitchen floor (thank goodness I have a Karndean floor, I wonder if they could use this in their advertising?). Popped her in her chicken carrier, along with a chunk of cabbage and took her to the Vets.
10.30 Back from the Vet. Vet very pleased with her progress. She's not out of the woods, but she is definitely better. Have to halve the penicillin dose now, and continue until the course is completed. The testing time will be once the penicillin is finished, as she may go back downhill at that point. Unlikely to get any eggs from her this year, but that doesn't matter.
15.45 Went out with pellet porridge after lunch. Later, about 2pm, I took out some cat food which I put on top of the remaining porridge. Just got back in from scattering a handful of corn on the Run floor: they've completely eaten ALL the porridge and ALL the catfood. Vet phoned back to confirm that adding Avipro to the rations is a good move, so I'll do that when I offer Lydia her porridge this evening.
18.00 SHe's helping herself to the feeders in the Run.
19.15 Gave her penicillin and some Avipro. Then gave them all some penne... they all ran around trying to steal from each other; she managed 2 pieces to the others 1 each.
FRIDAY 2nd MAY
10.00 Brought her in the house after opening up the coop, and offered her porridge, pellets and water. She wasn't really interested in eating, prefering to walk slowly round the kitchen. Chicken walking is often like one of those wind up toys, this was the same but in slow motion.
The Cats were not impressed. Isabelle refused to eat her breakfast and shot out the back door. Washburn was too busy staring to be able to eat.
Eventually I got her to eat a few beakfuls, and she did drink the water which was laced with Avipro. I also gave her four quarter grapes: one had the penicillin in, the other three had been rolled in Avipro. She didn't want to be carried, so I walked her down the path back to the Run.
At about 8.30 I took out three bowls of porridge, and shared out a sachet of cat food between them. All girls happily guzzled. I'm not looking forward to cleaning out the poo trays for the next few days, as I'm expecting the meat (and lack of bokashi bran) will make their poo pungent.
SHe's now just sitting on the perch. I wanted to let them out but its raining now. Maybe if it clears up later I'll let them have a quick range.
14.30 Took some mixed corn out after lunch and scattered it in the Run. She was quite active in rooking around for her share. One minute she looks absolutely fine, then a minute later she's sitting quietly and looking under the weather. Scarlett laid a soft shelled egg today. I wonder if that's because she's had too much Growers feed and not enough Layers. I'll have to go back to taking Lydia out of the Run and trying to feed her separately, just in case.
16.00 Penicillin and porridge, in the kitchen. Also cat food.
19.30 Well, she's been in for more food. This time she picked out the cat food and dropped it on the kitchen floor. (Isabelle was most happy to eat it up, less keen on the pellet porridge). Weighed her. No weightloss, let's hope it's stopped.
SATURDAY 3rd MAY
Not so good today. Brought her in first thing and gave her porridge and penicillin in the kitchen. When sh had had enough she tootled off towards the Run, so I walked with her and (obviously as she can't do it herself) let her back into the Run.
Later, DH got her back in and fed her. She ate quite well. Afterwards she let herself out of the kitchen, and he let her in the Run. She's been sitting around a lot today, much more than yesterday. We've decided to increase the penicillin to 1 and a half tablets a day. Brought her back in early afternoon for some more penicillin, and a bit later I went and gave everyone treats and a cuddle.
About 2.30 they were all having a dust bathe, although Lydia was mainly sitting rather than actively showering. DH mowed the grass, so I let them out to free range at about 3.30. She's been rootling about, but has also been sitting a bit - not as much as this morning.
Right now I am less confident than I was yesterday. Still. We'll see.
19.30 she's lost weight again. but she did eat very vigorously after we weighed her (we weigh before feeding at about 7.20pm).
SUNDAY 4th MAY
Sorry this has become purely a Lydia diary.
One of the girls was sqwarking her head off in the closed coop this morning, so I got up to see if there was a problem or an egg. Nothing. Let them out. Lydia was more reluctant than she has been at all to come out. I opened the coop roof to lift her out, but she didn't want to be picked up.
She ate a smidgeon from the Run feeders, then sat on the run floor. At 7, I brought her in and tried to get her to eat. She ate a tiny bit, not a lot. I gave her her penicillin, waited and tried again. A little, not a lot. Not inerested in the cat food. Took a little water. In the end I put her back in the Run. We'll try again later.
20.20 Had her in a few times today, she ate a bit. Also let her out free ranging with the others. She ate some roast potato. Brought her in at 7.35. She's lost another 12g. SHe ate some porridge, but not very henthusiastically. I then opened a bag of chick crumbs and she's eaten some of those. it took ages. DH was feeding her for over half an hour.
TUESDAY 29th April
Update Tuesday, 10am
7.20am Opened the pop hole to let them out, Lydia reluctant to come out. When she did, she couldn't walk properly, and sat in the Run. I was very distressed and considered calling the Vet to end it now, but I realise that I need to give the penicillin a chance to work. She isn't hunched up like she's suffering, she's just sitting.
Brought her into the house and offered her mixed corn, yoghurt, water. She had some yoghurt. Gave her her penicillin stuffed into two quarter grapes. Put her back in the Run while I went out to get some Growers rations.
Made some porridge out of Growers Pellets and hot water. Got Lydia from the Run, offered her Growers Pellets in one bowl, Pellet Mash in another. She declined both, but ate a bit more Yoghurt. She then just flumped onto the kitchen floor.
I sat down beside her, whilst talking to DH about whether to put her back in the Run, or put her in a box in the kitchen. As she wasn't eating at all, I thought I might put her back in the Run for a while, then get her out again in an hour or so to see if she wanted to eat.
Then she started eating the porridge. She ate and ate and ate. Have decided it's best to put her in a box in the kitchen for now, so she can flump in peace but have the food and water within reach. (If I put her in the Run and put food and water next to her, the other Girls would eat it all).
She's currently sitting quietly, dozing on and off, and eating a bit more every five minutes or so.
Update Tuesday 4:05pm Very up and down today. Sometimes she looks better, other times she looks no better.
At about 09.30 I syringed some water into her beak, and she drank quite a bit. At about 12.00, she did a really runny poo in her crate, and then wanted to get out (can't say I blame her, I would too if I'd done something that revolting in my bed!). She hobbled about the kitchen and did another really runny poo. She didn't want to eat anything, she didn't want to get back in the crate (despite my having removed the offending poo), so I put her back out in the Run. She flew up on to one of the perches and sat there. An hour later, she was back on the Run floor, sitting in one spot.
At 2.30 I brought her into the kitchen to try her with some more food and water. She didn't want to be in the crate, she wasn't interested in the food or water. I gave her her afternoon dose of penicillin, hidden in 2 grape quarters, and put her back in the Run with the others.
At 2.45 I went into the garden, and she came running up to the Run door.
At 3.15 I took some (growers)pellet porridge into the Run. She wasn't interested, but the other two were. I left the bowl on the floor and - I'll cut a long story short here - two other bowls of porridge. She ate a little bit, from a bowl on her own and from the other two bowls. Then she left the other two to it.
At 4pm she was back roosting on the perch..
At 4.05pm she was back sitting on the Run floor.
We're going to weigh her at 7.30pm (same time as last night) to see if there is any difference. If necessary, we'll put her inside the coop for the night so she doesn't have to try and negotiate the ramp.
I might update later if there's anything else worth reporting.
WEDNESDAY 30th April
7.15am Hesitant to come out of the coop, but did in the end. Brought her in to give her some porridge. Not very interested, picked at it a bit. Put her in the Crate with a bowl of pellet porridge and a bowl of water. Eyes bright, looking around. Pecked a bt at the floor of crate so I scattered large handful of pellets for her. Ate some. Did a poo, firm - normal. Gave her penicillin in 2 quarter grapes. Took her back out to the run at 8.00.
9.00 Sitting under coop with the others, out of the rain. Also walking around slowly. Not eating.
12.00 She's wandering around looking fairly normal. Put three bowls of pellet porridge in the run so they can all have some. She ate loads. Now roosting on the perch with the other two beside her
12.30 Gave them some sweetcorn and mixed corn, she made sure she had her share. Also hung up some spinach for them to eat when they've finished their corn, and she was first at it.
16.00 Penicillin. She looks "ok" - not well, but more like she did on,say, Saturday.
17.05 She's helping herself to pellets from the Grub in the Run. Gave more porridge, ate lots.
19.00 Brought her in and weighed her. She's lost 5g. At least the weightloss has slowed. She's very alert and not interested in eating.
THURSDAY 1st MAY
07.15 Very reluctant to come out of the coop, but did come down the ramp slowly. Brought her in, she was busy strutting round the kitchen. She ate a little porridge, had her penicillin, then I put her back in the Run while I got ready
08.30 Got her out of the run, offered her porridge, pellets and water. She ate a little porridge but not a lot. Pooed on the kitchen floor (thank goodness I have a Karndean floor, I wonder if they could use this in their advertising?). Popped her in her chicken carrier, along with a chunk of cabbage and took her to the Vets.
10.30 Back from the Vet. Vet very pleased with her progress. She's not out of the woods, but she is definitely better. Have to halve the penicillin dose now, and continue until the course is completed. The testing time will be once the penicillin is finished, as she may go back downhill at that point. Unlikely to get any eggs from her this year, but that doesn't matter.
15.45 Went out with pellet porridge after lunch. Later, about 2pm, I took out some cat food which I put on top of the remaining porridge. Just got back in from scattering a handful of corn on the Run floor: they've completely eaten ALL the porridge and ALL the catfood. Vet phoned back to confirm that adding Avipro to the rations is a good move, so I'll do that when I offer Lydia her porridge this evening.
18.00 SHe's helping herself to the feeders in the Run.
19.15 Gave her penicillin and some Avipro. Then gave them all some penne... they all ran around trying to steal from each other; she managed 2 pieces to the others 1 each.
FRIDAY 2nd MAY
10.00 Brought her in the house after opening up the coop, and offered her porridge, pellets and water. She wasn't really interested in eating, prefering to walk slowly round the kitchen. Chicken walking is often like one of those wind up toys, this was the same but in slow motion.
The Cats were not impressed. Isabelle refused to eat her breakfast and shot out the back door. Washburn was too busy staring to be able to eat.
Eventually I got her to eat a few beakfuls, and she did drink the water which was laced with Avipro. I also gave her four quarter grapes: one had the penicillin in, the other three had been rolled in Avipro. She didn't want to be carried, so I walked her down the path back to the Run.
At about 8.30 I took out three bowls of porridge, and shared out a sachet of cat food between them. All girls happily guzzled. I'm not looking forward to cleaning out the poo trays for the next few days, as I'm expecting the meat (and lack of bokashi bran) will make their poo pungent.
SHe's now just sitting on the perch. I wanted to let them out but its raining now. Maybe if it clears up later I'll let them have a quick range.
14.30 Took some mixed corn out after lunch and scattered it in the Run. She was quite active in rooking around for her share. One minute she looks absolutely fine, then a minute later she's sitting quietly and looking under the weather. Scarlett laid a soft shelled egg today. I wonder if that's because she's had too much Growers feed and not enough Layers. I'll have to go back to taking Lydia out of the Run and trying to feed her separately, just in case.
16.00 Penicillin and porridge, in the kitchen. Also cat food.
19.30 Well, she's been in for more food. This time she picked out the cat food and dropped it on the kitchen floor. (Isabelle was most happy to eat it up, less keen on the pellet porridge). Weighed her. No weightloss, let's hope it's stopped.
SATURDAY 3rd MAY
Not so good today. Brought her in first thing and gave her porridge and penicillin in the kitchen. When sh had had enough she tootled off towards the Run, so I walked with her and (obviously as she can't do it herself) let her back into the Run.
Later, DH got her back in and fed her. She ate quite well. Afterwards she let herself out of the kitchen, and he let her in the Run. She's been sitting around a lot today, much more than yesterday. We've decided to increase the penicillin to 1 and a half tablets a day. Brought her back in early afternoon for some more penicillin, and a bit later I went and gave everyone treats and a cuddle.
About 2.30 they were all having a dust bathe, although Lydia was mainly sitting rather than actively showering. DH mowed the grass, so I let them out to free range at about 3.30. She's been rootling about, but has also been sitting a bit - not as much as this morning.
Right now I am less confident than I was yesterday. Still. We'll see.
19.30 she's lost weight again. but she did eat very vigorously after we weighed her (we weigh before feeding at about 7.20pm).
SUNDAY 4th MAY
Sorry this has become purely a Lydia diary.
One of the girls was sqwarking her head off in the closed coop this morning, so I got up to see if there was a problem or an egg. Nothing. Let them out. Lydia was more reluctant than she has been at all to come out. I opened the coop roof to lift her out, but she didn't want to be picked up.
She ate a smidgeon from the Run feeders, then sat on the run floor. At 7, I brought her in and tried to get her to eat. She ate a tiny bit, not a lot. I gave her her penicillin, waited and tried again. A little, not a lot. Not inerested in the cat food. Took a little water. In the end I put her back in the Run. We'll try again later.
20.20 Had her in a few times today, she ate a bit. Also let her out free ranging with the others. She ate some roast potato. Brought her in at 7.35. She's lost another 12g. SHe ate some porridge, but not very henthusiastically. I then opened a bag of chick crumbs and she's eaten some of those. it took ages. DH was feeding her for over half an hour.
