StinkerChickens
Chirping
- Nov 4, 2019
- 4
- 16
- 54
Our favorite girl has come down with a terrible bout of ascites and I've learned quite a lot over the last week, so I thought I would share since I don't see anything like this mentioned here.
When I first noticed that her legs were held widely and she was having discomfort in walking (it's been over a year since her last egg laying) I made up a concoction that worked quite well: Oats soaked in tea made from Corn Silk, Parsley and Garlic, (silk yield from 4 small ears of corn, 1 tbsp parsley and 4 cloves of garlic steeped in 1 cup of water and just enough oats to keep it soupy, but be visible to the chicken). I noticed her poops were very watery for the first few days and her belly shrunk down almost to normal. A win there.
However, she is spoiled and got tired of oats, so two days ago she wouldn't eat them at all and bloated back up overnight. She won't drink the tea alone, so I thought apple sauce might help, but no, she won't eat that either. Today, she's very uncomfortable, can barely walk and she's not interested in most foods. Corn is now out of season and decent corn silk not available, and now, after trying different concoctions that she won't willingly consume, I've run out of cornsilk tea.
Today I tried green tea (1 packet per cup of water) instead and have been giving her 2ml of tea by dropper about every 2 hours, however, this is not having the same effect. She's hardly pooping at all and when she does it's drier than I think it should be for the proper diuretic effect. But I think I made a mistake not adding the parsley and garlic. So tomorrow, I'll be remaking her green tea with those included.
If the green tea/parsley/garlic doesn't work well enough tomorrow, and I can get her to survive one more night, our local store has dandelion teas aplenty and I'll try that, as it seems to have the reputation of being more potent than corn silk. I haven't tried this yet because, for such a small creature, getting the dosage correct is more difficult.
In summary, all the research I've done says this:
I hope this helps someone, and I'll update as she gets through the next few days, (or doesn't). If anyone has any experience with these methods, please share.
When I first noticed that her legs were held widely and she was having discomfort in walking (it's been over a year since her last egg laying) I made up a concoction that worked quite well: Oats soaked in tea made from Corn Silk, Parsley and Garlic, (silk yield from 4 small ears of corn, 1 tbsp parsley and 4 cloves of garlic steeped in 1 cup of water and just enough oats to keep it soupy, but be visible to the chicken). I noticed her poops were very watery for the first few days and her belly shrunk down almost to normal. A win there.
However, she is spoiled and got tired of oats, so two days ago she wouldn't eat them at all and bloated back up overnight. She won't drink the tea alone, so I thought apple sauce might help, but no, she won't eat that either. Today, she's very uncomfortable, can barely walk and she's not interested in most foods. Corn is now out of season and decent corn silk not available, and now, after trying different concoctions that she won't willingly consume, I've run out of cornsilk tea.
Today I tried green tea (1 packet per cup of water) instead and have been giving her 2ml of tea by dropper about every 2 hours, however, this is not having the same effect. She's hardly pooping at all and when she does it's drier than I think it should be for the proper diuretic effect. But I think I made a mistake not adding the parsley and garlic. So tomorrow, I'll be remaking her green tea with those included.
If the green tea/parsley/garlic doesn't work well enough tomorrow, and I can get her to survive one more night, our local store has dandelion teas aplenty and I'll try that, as it seems to have the reputation of being more potent than corn silk. I haven't tried this yet because, for such a small creature, getting the dosage correct is more difficult.
In summary, all the research I've done says this:
- Sodium exacerbates ascites.
- Natural diuretic teas including dandelion, corn silk, and parsley seem to have a good reputation in helping chickens with ascites.
- Green tea is overall good for chicken health and can be added to their regular diet to reduce the effects of avian flu as well as being a mild diuretic and bolstering liver production and health.
- Turmeric and Garlic can be added to a chicken's diet to increase and maintain liver function.
- Though genetics seem to be a factor, there is a lot of debate about commercial feed and the overall health and longevity of chickens, specifically in regard to ascites, due to the high sodium content.
I hope this helps someone, and I'll update as she gets through the next few days, (or doesn't). If anyone has any experience with these methods, please share.
