Sparkle’s new home for now

Today I needed to start worming the girls for the second time, three weeks from the first time, to break the egg/worm cycle. I have a slight problem though. I ordered more flubenvet powder from my vet three weeks ago (it usually comes in the next day) but there has been a manufacturing problem with flubenvet and there is a back log of orders for it. It isn’t due in until the end of the month at the earliest.

All the other worming products the vet could order are for commercial chicken flocks and only come in huge quantities. Flubenvet is the only wormer that comes in a small size for back yard chicken keepers.

Jackie has come to my rescue. She has recently wormed her girls and had some pellets with flubenvet left over which were reaching their use by date. She passed them on to me in case the flubenvet didn’t arrive in time.

The problem is that with Sparkle not eating pellets it’s going to be tricky getting her to have her dose. I decided the only way was to put her back in the cat box with a dish of water and a dish of mash and leave her there until she eats some. This will be helpful in a couple of ways. It will not only mean she gets wormed but will mean she will eat pellets which she isn’t doing at the moment. It will give me a chance to see what her poop is like and as she only sits all day on the run floor or the table it isn’t a hardship for her.

Last night I emptied the food bowls, washed them and filled them with the new pellets. This morning I made a dish of mash from them and put it in the run to encourage the girls to eat it. They soon got stuck in.

I then picked Sparkle up and put her in the cat box with her dish of mash and a dish of water. I sprinkled a few sunflower hearts and a chopped grape on top of the mash to get her started. I then settled her cat box in the bathroom where she will be safe and cool while we are out doing our deliveries.

Sparkle’s new home for now

Sparkle’s mash and water

I kept checking on her to see if she was eating. I was disappointed that she picked the sunflower hearts from the mash but wasn’t touching the mash itself or even the grapes.

After two hours and just as I was about to leave to do my deliveries I finally caught her tucking into the mash. She was only pecking at it very slowly but at least she was having some.

On my return it didn’t appear that she had eaten much and she wasn’t eating once more. As I would rather she eat anything than nothing at all I gave her some spinach and a small cube of melon. She ate a few leaves and pecked at the melon.

My husband found a worm for her and put it through the bars. Sparkle pecked at it then dropped it. I opened the cat box to try to offer her the worm but she suddenly decided it was time to break for freedom. As she tried to push past my hand she stood in the water bowl and knocked it over.

It seemed that Sparkle had made the decision for us. It was now half past one and time to return her to the run. Once back in the run she preened for a bit and then settled down on the run floor and dozed for a while.

Sparkle is back in the run

At least I feel happier knowing that Sparkle has had some pellets even if it’s not a lot. The poop in the cat box looked quite normal too which is a good sign.

As we will be home for the next two days I intend to do the same thing again and then I will decide how to progress from there. At least it means she is eating some mash and she only spends her days sitting at the moment anyway.

She also seems to have stopped laying now which is good as she couldn’t make shells but is also another sign that all is not well with her. On the positive side she is eating a little, is drinking and pooping and doesn’t look as unhappy as she did when trying to pass a shell less egg. I guess only time will tell but I will keep hoping she will get better and will do all I can to help her.