Crisis for Misty...(Update..she died.)

[Suzie]

Misty has been unwell for two days...

She shows no interest in food and her stance is similar to a chicken that is egg bound...she has had warm baths and her vent pulsates but she does not pass anything..her poop is mainly white with a little dark green...

I have wormed her with oxfendazole and treated her for any lice/mite infestation...

She has been given water through a syringe and will perk up after...she shakes her head and stretches her neck as though she is having problems with swallowing...nothing to see in her mouth and on checking her again this evening her crop is empty...no squishy nor hard area...

I do not know her age...she was gifted to me three years ago....her eyes are "droopy" and she looks tired...it may be due to her age or any other factor...any help anyone can give may help me to help her...I am at a loss as to what to do to help her...

Thanks for any input

Suzie

 

[dawg53]

Suzie, it could possibly be a couple of things. Perhaps there is something stuck in her throat. You can give her an eyedropperful of olive oil orally, then massage her neck just down past her crop. She will either pass or throw up what is stuck...if that's what it is.
She may have an impacted gizzard. Give her tomato juice, it should get it moving.
Finally, it could be the onset of a respiratory problem. Mucus builds up in the trachea and birds will neck stretch and shake their heads to try to loosen the mucus in order to breath normally. She could also be doing this to simply adjust her crop which would be normal, nothing to do with a respiratory problem. As you know, there are usually other symptoms with respiratory problems.

 

[Suzie]

Dawg...

I can't thank you enough for your suggestions... I treated her with olive oil and massaged her...she appeared brighter in her appearance but continued stretching her neck and shaking her head...

After a few hours I gave her some tomato juice and she again perked up...she did have some bubbles appear in her mouth a few minutes after ingesting the tomato juice...I was( and still am ) worried that she may have ingested some into her lungs...she did however manage to fly up to her perch tonight....she has energy which to me is a good sign, she will run away from me when I try catching hold of her.

If Misty survives it will be due to your input in helping her and me! As you know, I have the greatest respect for you in your knowledge and expert advice..your response to my post here is so much appreciated!

Thank you again!

Suzie and Misty

 

[Nambroth]

Sweet Misty! I hope she recovers.
Is she eating okay? If not, what happens when you coax her with a special treat, like cooked egg or mealworms (if you have some)? Any foods that are nutritionally packed and easy to digest would probably do her good if she will take them. Cooked egg, mealworms, a bit of tuna (in water)... a trick I like to use is to run some feed through a food processor to make it a powder, then make some plain oatmeal and mix the 'feed flour' in until it is very firm, that always seems to be a hit with my birds when they are under the weather.

 

[Suzie]

Thanks for your suggestions Nambroth...

Misty will drink freely...I do however syringe water into her too...she shows absolutely no interest in eating...so I put scrambled egg into her mouth, she will swallow with some difficulty, I do also give her mashed chick feed...again she shows no interest so I put it into her mouth and she will slowly digest it...

Today I have again given her olive oil and massaged her.... nothing seems to make any difference..I have this evening dosed her with some oxytetracycline..she did manage to get up to the roost with her babies...so she does still have some energy...

This is so frustrating....she may have a tumour which could be the reason for her acting the way she does...the head shaking and neck twisting are still apparent...it seems as if there is a blockage or obstruction that will not allow her to eat....arrrgggh!!!!

While there is life there is hope....I will keep going as long as she is willing...

Thanks again!

Suzie

 

[Nambroth]

I really wish I knew what to suggest. If she does not start eating more soon, have you considered tube feeding her?

I am not trying to offer a diagnosis with this, because I don't want you to jump to any conclusion. I'm just telling you this to offer the only similar experience I had:
Last year I had a rooster that acted normally, but seemed to have trouble eating one day. He acted much like how you describe your hen for about two days; he still had energy but seemed generally a bit depressed and would eat almost nothing at all. Concerned, I very carefully inspected him and discovered a tiny fleshy lump right about where his crop would be. It wasn't food... it felt like a small tumor, maybe the size of a small marble.
I took him to the vet and she thought perhaps it was a tumor in his crop preventing him from eating. As he was a very loved pet, I opted to have it removed. Surgery revealed that it was not in the crop as suspected, but growing on the thymus. We sent it away for testing.
My rooster seemed to improve but then after a few days went downhill very quickly. Only after this did he demonstrate symptoms of any disease; he suddenly could not stand and seemed to have paralysis. He declined very rapidly and only a few days after the surgery we had to put him to sleep as he was obviously suffering badly and could barely breathe. It ended up being Marek's disease and the tumor on the thymus was the very first symptom. He ended up having tumors in all of his major organs, and the rest of his digestive tract was damaged by the disease as well.

Again I am not trying to suggest that this is Marek's in your hen, but simply want to offer my experience...

Anyhow, you can try tube feeding and see if she can get some strength back. The other option is to take her to a vet if you can and see if you can get any insight this way, but I understand not everyone has a vet they can see for chickens, nor can they always afford it. I don't know if you have any vets in Auvergne that will see poultry. My vet is over two hours drive away, but I am a crazy chicken lady and so it was worth it to me.

I am glad to hear she is still drinking well, as dehydration is bad news indeed!

 

[ten chicks]

Have you done a cloacal exam to check for egg binding?

 

[Suzie]

Thanks Nambroth and ten chicks for your suggestions and comments...

Misty is still alive...

I have never tube fed any of my chickens ( so far )...it is something I have given consideration to...I have looked studiousy at Casportpony's information on tube feeding...I would need to find a supplier of the equipment to enable me to start this. I am also concerned that if she has something stuck in her throat that I could make matters worse by inserting a tube....I am at the moment feeding Misty by hand, she has a major problem in swallowing any feed..I spend ages putting small amounts of chick feed and scrambled egg in her mouth and waiting for her to swallow..as you can imagine...the little darling sprays me with any excess! She is still drinking and I also syringe water slowly into her mouth.

I have been observing her and her baby chicks and one of them in particular will peck at Misty's face and neck in quite an aggressive manner...I have noticed a couple of blood spots on Misty's face so have isolated the chick for now...I have extensively examined Misty and her throat seems swollen...no noticeable injury to her mouth but I am wondering if she has been pecked and has developed an infection from this source... I may be clutching at straws but am continuing with the oxytetracycline.

Thank you for your frank speaking about the possibility of Mareks disease...the thought was already in my mind..I will observe Misty for any symptoms of this potential nightmare...sadly here in France there is not much possibility of a Veterinarian even considering treating a chicken...

ten chicks...I did attempt to check her vent ( whilst I was bathing her ) for any signs of her being egg bound...I am no expert here but found no apparent evidence of a problem...I have read on BYC that you have given instructions/advice in how to do this procedure ...could you please give me some direction in how to carry this out ? I did initially feel that she may have had a problem being egg bound as her stance was not normal.

Thanks again to both of you ...

Suzie and Misty

 

[sanchabird]

Does her crop feel swollen? The way you are describing it sounds like she has impacted crop.

 

[Suzie]

Hi Sanchabird..

I should have been clearer in my description of the swollen area...it is where the wattles are...her crop feels normal. Thanks for your suggestion though.

Suzie