Amazingly, Scarlet is still hanging in there. I don’t know how. There is nothing to her. She is too weak to even keep herself upright. Very often when an animal has been this sick for this long, they tend to “slip away” mentally. They may still be breathing, but they have withdrawn and are no longer “there”. Scarlet sleeps a lot, but she is still alert. She lifts her head whenever I approach and watches any activity going on nearby. This tells me she is still fighting. As long as she is still fighting, I will keep doing what I can for her.

We had a little sun today so I put Scarlet in a sunbeam coming in the window. She didn’t really seem to care one way or the other. I had to keep moving her as the sunbeam moved while I was doing chores. She is still not showing any improvement, but she also doesn’t seem any worse. Sigh.

Scarlet is still hanging on, but she keeps getting weaker. Today she did get out of the bed I made for her, but only walked about 2 feet. She was shivering, too. I don’t understand it. She is pooping, so her guts are working on the food I’ve been forcing into her. She is not snotty of congested, so it’s not a cold. She is not panting, so it’s not pneumonia. She is not feverish. She just is weak, lethargic, and won’t eat. The antibiotics haven’t helped. I can’t imagine what it could be. She does have enough energy to fight me when I try to force-feed her, so that’s a good thing. But she is slowly getting worse every day. Wish I knew what to do.

Scarlet is not getting any better. She is losing weight, is very lethargic, won’t eat. I have been force feeding her broth with a syringe to keep her strength up. She cannot get up to roost by herself. But if I lift her up to sleep there for the night, she will not get herself down. So tonight I made her a little bed on the floor right in front of the waterer. She will drink if I set her right in front of it. Hopefully if she is parked there she will at least keep herself hydrated. I put a dish of food right in her bed, maybe she will eat something. And with the blanket to hold in some body heat, maybe her energy can be better spent fighting off whatever is ailing her instead of keeping warm. She needs to start showing improvement! I don’t know what else to do for her.

She did drink on her own when I put her in front of the waterer, but she would not eat again tonight. I had to feed her. Ever try force-feeding a chicken?

Poor Scarlet isn’t feeling well. The last couple of nights I’ve had to pick her up and put her on the roost. Today she wouldn’t eat. Her comb is drooping. She is lethargic. I syringed some water and broth into her mouth and gave her some antibiotics. Don’t know what else to do for her. I hope she will be alright.