A visit to the vet with a Sick Hen

How the vet and my husband saved us from culling a hen

My poor big white hen (a broiler) had a wound on her backside that had become infested with maggots.

At the vet’s

We took her to the vet and he suggestd three options – the vet could give her an anaesthetic and treat the wound (a £50 job); we could treat her ourselves or we could cull her. I felt ill every time I looked at the wound and thought the best thing to do would be to cull her but my husband wanted to treat her.

Treatment

Our large white broiler when still quite young

So we had to prepare a saline solution,  buy special wound cleaning solution and antibiotic spray. First we had to remove all the maggots with tweezers. Then we  used saline water with a syringe to flush out the wound. Then we cleaned the wound with the solution and cotton wool. Lastly we sprayed it with the antibiotic spray.

Hen jacket

My husband made her a special jacket which prevented her from flapping her wings.  Every day we have been repeating the procedure. In fact when my husband wasn’t available my youngest son Hamish took on the  role of  No 1 medic and gave her the full treatment.

Back to Full Health

She is now back to full health and enjoying life. She laid a massive egg today, despite the snowy conditions – it weighed in at 104 grams – should be a double yolker.