Hen on deathbed

constantine · Dec 11, 2016

My frizzled bantam hasn't been doing so well and it's scaring me to death. I went to let her other three friends out when I found her on her back, foot in the air. She's beside me now in a box, but when I sat with her in my lap for ten minutes, crying, she would spaz, stretching her wings, or slowly straining her neck back. Sometimes, one eye closes, or she blinks slowly and twists her head around. Her movements are very jerky and slow.

Please help. I don't know what to do and I don't want to watch her die if I can fix it!

centrarchid · Dec 11, 2016

Does she feel warm under her wings? Does she have lots of meat over her breast bone? Heat source might help but not to much.

constantine · Dec 11, 2016

centrarchid said:
Does she feel warm under her wings? Does she have lots of meat over her breast bone? Heat source might help but not to much.

She feels a little cool, but she's a very slight framed bird, not much meat, more feathers than anything. Maybe I should try her on some sugar water and yogurt?

centrarchid · Dec 11, 2016

constantine said:
She feels a little cool, but she's a very slight framed bird, not much meat, more feathers than anything. Maybe I should try her on some sugar water and yogurt?

Sugar water and gentle warming. If you can get her back on her feet then look at her feces next. Must get weight back on her. If she survives night and comes back on feed then she has a chance. Be prepared to relate history as to what she is fed and times spent outside.

constantine · Dec 11, 2016

centrarchid said:
Sugar water and gentle warming. If you can get her back on her feet then look at her feces next. Must get weight back on her. If she survives night and comes back on feed then she has a chance. Be prepared to relate history as to what she is fed and times spent outside.

She's been fed table scraps (vegetables and fruit), grain, and whatever bugs she finds while digging about. All of our small flock has had the same as she's eaten but none are displaying the same signs of distress. They all look healthy. I put KILVERM, a poultry wormer, in their water, because one of them had wriggling gut worms in their stool, and it turned a runny orange/yellow colour. For a couple days now, she's been showing symptoms of a parasite called coccidiosis or something, but the vet could only give me Oxymav B. I don't know what she has. She's taking sugar water and I'm fetching the heatpack now.

constantine · Dec 11, 2016

I've given her an all over check (trying not to stress her out too much). Her vent is clean, I can't make out any stuck eggs (I'm very inexperienced, this is my first time looking after chickens full time), she has little yellow/orange lice but it's not an infestation and I have a lice spray that works well. But when I set her down to check her, her wings splay open and she rolls onto one side. She hasn't made any noises.
The full story is; we got them as a family from the next town over. There's a white silkie bantam, and a black frizzled bantam, then my mother bought a brown pullet (I think) the same day. The brown hen was dropping yellow/orange stool, very runny, with worms in it, so I used the wormer their previous owners had for them. As far as I know, it isn't out of date, and has been used before successfully. The grey frizzled bantam (I've named her Annabelle) was going to roost earlier than the others for a couple days before becoming extremely lethargic during the day. Until yesterday, she had been eating well, and drinking lots of water. I live in Australia, so we've had some pretty high temperatures, but they are in quite a shady, cool area. I put Avi-Lyte, an electrolyte, in their water. The rest are healthy (seeming so) with bright wattles and healthy appetites. The worms and runny stool has stopped, and they have regular routines. That's all I know. We've only had them for a couple weeks, and the previous owners never elaborated or told us of problems in the birds. I just want to know if I can save Annabelle. She's been living with her friends for a year and I'm worried that if she goes, the rest of them will deteriorate. I bought them to help with my depression, and provide a little bug control for my veggie gardens, and I'm not sure if I'll cope if Annabelle passes.

Wyorp Rock · Dec 12, 2016

constantine said:
I've given her an all over check (trying not to stress her out too much). Her vent is clean, I can't make out any stuck eggs (I'm very inexperienced, this is my first time looking after chickens full time), she has little yellow/orange lice but it's not an infestation and I have a lice spray that works well. But when I set her down to check her, her wings splay open and she rolls onto one side. She hasn't made any noises.
The full story is; we got them as a family from the next town over. There's a white silkie bantam, and a black frizzled bantam, then my mother bought a brown pullet (I think) the same day. The brown hen was dropping yellow/orange stool, very runny, with worms in it, so I used the wormer their previous owners had for them. As far as I know, it isn't out of date, and has been used before successfully. The grey frizzled bantam (I've named her Annabelle) was going to roost earlier than the others for a couple days before becoming extremely lethargic during the day. Until yesterday, she had been eating well, and drinking lots of water. I live in Australia, so we've had some pretty high temperatures, but they are in quite a shady, cool area. I put Avi-Lyte, an electrolyte, in their water. The rest are healthy (seeming so) with bright wattles and healthy appetites. The worms and runny stool has stopped, and they have regular routines. That's all I know. We've only had them for a couple weeks, and the previous owners never elaborated or told us of problems in the birds. I just want to know if I can save Annabelle. She's been living with her friends for a year and I'm worried that if she goes, the rest of them will deteriorate. I bought them to help with my depression, and provide a little bug control for my veggie gardens, and I'm not sure if I'll cope if Annabelle passes. Okay, my sweet Annabelle isn't alright, and the worst part is that I don't know what's wrong with her! I've checked her vent, it doesn't seem to be clogged, but she hasn't pooped yet. Her feet react slowly when I put my finger under them to get her to grip like she would on her roost. I've been feeding her softened, mushy pellets, with egg yolk, and sugar water with an electrolyte hourly.
Every so often, she spazzes; flailing her wings, throwing her head back, kicking her legs, and often falls on her side but doesn't get up again. She's doing it now, and tipping her head back slowly, shaking, and making gaspy, breathy noises. No clucking, no squawking. Her pupils react to light, but just a little bit, slowly shrinking. I don't want her to die, but I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been lethargic the past couple of days, starting about a week after we bought her from a couple who were selling her and her friends, another frizzled bantam, and a white silkie. The others are fine, scratching and eating, and aren't displaying the same signs of distress.
Help!

Please help me! I've just been informed by my step-father that if she isn't better by the weekend, he's going to "put her down"! If she passes, she passes, but if I can fix it, I will! I need to know if she'll pull through, or how to get her better again! Please please please help me!

I'm sorry you are having trouble.

Are you able to have the vet see her again?
How old is she?
Do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's?
Any way you can post a video or some photos of her?

The spasms, tipping back the head, etc., could be an indication of something like wry neck or crookneck. Neurological conditions can be caused by several things, such as Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency, certain diseases like Marek's, Avian Lymphoid Leukosis or Newcastles or from a head injury. You can try giving her extra vitamins in her water making sure you have Vitamin E and Selenium - also look for one that has Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) as well. See if she will eat some egg or tuna in addition to her normal feed.

While a vitamin deficiency could be the cause, your mentioning that her eyes don't react to light well is concerning. Marek's can present with symptoms that you are seeing. They only treatment would be giving supportive care, but a lot of times this is unsuccessful.

I understand this is distressing, but just know that you are doing the best that you can in helping her.

Keep us posted.

Here's some info on Marek's:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

mg15 · Dec 12, 2016

Give her poultry vitamins on the tongue asap.
every hour one drop.
Possible vitamin deficiency
mg

constantine · Dec 12, 2016

Update; her head isn't going back anymore, it's going forward. She still can't stand. Her stool, I'm not sure how to describe it, it got caught in the feathers around her vent despite the clipping I did yesterday. The stool is sticky, not loose at all. Yellowish, dark green. With a chunky kind of white blob.
She takes longer to open her eyes, but still drinks a little water when I drip it onto her beak.

constantine · Dec 12, 2016

Wyorp Rock said:
I'm sorry you are having trouble.

Are you able to have the vet see her again?
How old is she?
Do you know if she was vaccinated for Marek's?
Any way you can post a video or some photos of her?

The spasms, tipping back the head, etc., could be an indication of something like wry neck or crookneck. Neurological conditions can be caused by several things, such as Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency, certain diseases like Marek's, Avian Lymphoid Leukosis or Newcastles or from a head injury. You can try giving her extra vitamins in her water making sure you have Vitamin E and Selenium - also look for one that has Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) as well. See if she will eat some egg or tuna in addition to her normal feed.

While a vitamin deficiency could be the cause, your mentioning that her eyes don't react to light well is concerning. Marek's can present with symptoms that you are seeing. They only treatment would be giving supportive care, but a lot of times this is unsuccessful.

I understand this is distressing, but just know that you are doing the best that you can in helping her.

Keep us posted.

Here's some info on Marek's:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

Thank you. I was hoping she would be a little better this morning, but to no avail. Her head insists on straining forward. I've placed her in one of my old hoodies and bundled the hem around her neck to keep her head from dropping down.

According to the people who owned them last, they're all a year old,but I can't be sure. I've never owned chickens before, only looked after them, and they were Lohmanns. The bantam is tiny, and she only has two friends. I don't think I'm in a financially stable position to take her to the vet, but if there's any way, any way at all, to keep her alive and get her back on her feet, I'm willing to try.

Where would I get vitamins from? Can they be the human kind if I cut the dosage down, or dilute it?

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