Blizzy is Dizzy? (Started out 'dizzy', can't walk, won't eat)

[suki'smom]

Epsom salt is a laxative. That will account for her runny poo.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thank you. I figured as much, but wasn't sure what would be relevant to diagnosing her.


I made Blizzy a sling so she is no longer waddling around on the ground. She does not appear to have any more use of her feet, but appeared to be using her knees as she wandered around the floor. She seems comfortable in her sling, so I'll go with the hopes that it will make her time a bit better while she's in this condition.

I fed her some raw egg at about noon and part of it has not yet passed from her crop (it is now 5 pm for me, so it's been 5 hours). I'm not sure what the rate of passage is for their digestive tracts, but this was a little concerning for me. As we were putting her in her sling, she regurgitated a little yolk. The yolk was sour-smelling (so says my sister, who was helping me). Blizzy has not had anything solid that could block her up since she was brought inside, and I would think the Epsom salt water would have cleared anything out in the other direction. I am hoping that she has not somehow managed to get sour crop.

I am hesitant to fed her any more since she still has a partially full crop. What is there to do? Considering another round of Epsom salt at this point...



EDIT: Half an hour after we got her in the sling, Blizzy had passed everything that was in her crop! She is now sleeping comfortably (I hope) with 5 mL of vitamin/electrolyte water in her.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I am amazed at what just getting Blizz off the ground has done! She has perked up, is looking around, and is getting some of her stubbornness back again! She absolutely did not want to be given her bedtime vitamin/electrolyte water through the syringe. I got a small dish out and put about a half inch of the vitamin/electrolyte water in it and she chugged it like no tomorrow! Now, she's dozing with a blanket over her crate to keep the light out.

I have not seen her panting since she's been in the sling, and she doesn't feel as feverish anymore. She's also dry, rather than covered in her own droppings from rolling around all over the place. She is keeping her balance well, too, now that she's supported on both sides. I haven't seen her try to balance herself with her beak since she's been in the sling. No more face-planting for Blizzy!

 

[sezjasper]

Pipd, I hope you know how special you are. I'm sure that Blizzy knows how lucky she is and can feel all the love you are giving her. I hope she pulls through.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Pipd, I hope you know how special you are.  I'm sure that Blizzy knows how lucky she is and can feel all the love you are giving her.  I hope she pulls through. 

Blizzy's so special to all of us here. I'm hoping, too.




Regrettably, she is not doing well this morning. She managed to get her head out of the sling, so she had her head hanging for who knows how long last night. My brother and I put a dowel through the crate for her to rest her head on. I figure a dowel is a bit more sturdy than a strip of fabric, so hopefully it'll help her keep her balance.

She is very tired today. I hope it's just because her head was hanging like that all night. She would not eat her egg this morning, and would not take any vitamin/electrolyte water. I got her to drink about 8 mL of vitamin/electrolyte water and she ate about half a teaspoon of egg just now.

She is getting 'shocks' now, or so it looks. Every once in a while, she just twitches and is struggling to catch her balance again. Any time someone bumps her crate, even lightly, or makes a loud sound, she will also get one of these 'shocks'. Unfortunately, I have a niece and nephew that like to have the occasional screaming contest... (They are 3 years and just under 1 year old. We're trying to get them to stop, but it's like going upstream against them.) If I support her on both sides with my hands, she does not have any 'shocks'. I don't think her sling is off balance, so I'm not sure why.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I got plenty of water in Blizzy over the day, but was having a hard time getting her to eat. I decided tonight, since it was late, that I'd just try to get her to eat a little yolk for supper, just to keep her going.

I was not aware that raw yolks were so thick! This made my life a heck of a lot easier feeding her! She was able to eat it off a spoon easily because of how thick it was, and she ate almost all of it with about 6 mL of water.

She seems to do better in the afternoon, and worse in the morning. I'm not sure if I can get myself up in the middle of the night to feed and water her to see if that's why. She has been in the house for three days. I guess time will tell if my work is going to pay off. I really want to see Blizzy stand on her own again. Trying not to get too hopeful, though.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I got plenty of water in Blizzy over the day, but was having a hard time getting her to eat. I decided tonight, since it was late, that I'd just try to get her to eat a little yolk for supper, just to keep her going.
I was not aware that raw yolks were so thick! This made my life a heck of a lot easier feeding her! She was able to eat it off a spoon easily because of how thick it was, and she ate almost all of it with about 6 mL of water.
She seems to do better in the afternoon, and worse in the morning. I'm not sure if I can get myself up in the middle of the night to feed and water her to see if that's why. She has been in the house for three days. I guess time will tell if my work is going to pay off. I really want to see Blizzy stand on her own again. Trying not to get too hopeful, though.

You're makin' a good effort to try 'n help Blizzy, and I'm sorry she's been so sick ... those 'shocks' are most probably tremors that result from lack of muscular response to her attempts to move. I'm not real sure about the use of raw eggs, or puttin' her back on the epsom salt solution at this point. The epsom salts are a laxative, but the most effective treatment for the toxins from botulism, for example, is plain ol' apple cider vinegar in water (at the rate of 4 teaspoons to the gallon, but not in galvanized metal containers). I'd give it to the entire flock, for at least the next threee days.

>> peck here << for information about toxins from the Merck Vet Manual, and be sure 'n check the links at the bottom of my post (they all open in new windows ~'-)

In her condition? I'd give her a bit stronger solution -- about 1 teaspoon in a pint of water would be fine. The tannin in Apple Cider Vinegar aids in the removal of any toxins, and 'cuts through' the mucus and other coatings in the mouth, throat and intestines, helping them to better expel it. This also helps them to better absorb the nutrients/vitamins, and any medication(s) you may be administering.

It's great that you're able to tube feed, but 6 ml is just a little less than 1-1/4 tablespoon of water, which ain't nearly enough for a healthy bird, let alone one w/ diarrhea. She's most probably dehydrated badly. If she's incapable of eating/drinking on her own, you're gonna have to fill that crop full before you leave, and check on her as soon as you get back (and several times throughout the day/night, to keep her full 'n upright ~'-)

If, at some point, you need to administer a laxative again? Do either one or the other of the following two choices: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of epsom salts into 1 ounce of water OR use 1/2 fluid ounce (0.5 oz.) of caster oil. Place either solution (but not both) directly into the crop.

A 'just in case it is contagious' plan ... clean up before you get near your flock, and wear different shoes while you're goin' near either her or your flock.

Above all else, and of far greater importance than whether she responds well to treatment, or not ... you've made an excellent effort, and should take pride in the fact that you've done what needed done to the best of your knowledge/ability.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thank you so much for all the information!!

I have been feeding her the raw eggs because she just won't eat anything else. I figured the yolk would at least have something in it to keep her going. I also know that the Epsom salt works as a laxative. I was considering another dose, however, because while I was researching the dosage, I came across someone that used it to treat a magnesium deficiency in a hen that had somewhat similar symptoms to Blizzy's.

I will be sure to try ACV with her and the rest of the flock as well--I was not aware that it would help in this case! Their waterers are rubber/plastic buckets. I'm assuming that's okay. Does it matter if the ACV is the store-bought kind, not the kind with the 'mother' in it? I don't have any with the 'mother' on hand right now, but I do have the other kind.

I am not tube feeding, sorry if I confused you with the wording in my posts. I have been administering 5-10 ml of vitamin/electrolyte water about every hour by just dropping it on her beak and letting her suck it up from there. I didn't know how much water she would need, so I was just giving her what she would take before dozing off (which she tends to do at about 6-7 mL). I will try to start giving her some water in the night, too, if that's what it takes to get her through this.

I have been washing my hands after every time I come into contact with her, no matter how brief. While I don't think at this point that it's contagious, I will not be taking that risk with my flock.

Thank you again for your post--I at least know some more things I can do to keep her going!



As for how she's doing this morning, I was surprised to find her pretty perky and looking around when I uncovered her crate. (I think she has been having bad mornings due to the fact that yesterday, her head had been hanging most of the night, and the day before that, her head had been stuck in the bars of the crate most of the night. Today, she was not able to let her head hang, and so it appears she is doing better than she has in mornings past.)

She is trying to use her legs again! The dog crate is small, but it wasn't quite small enough for her to reach the floor in her sling, so I will be trying to give her something to stand on today and see if she can get some strength back in her legs (hopefully without pushing herself out of her sling).

She ate more of her egg this morning than she did yesterday. I managed to get about 15 mL of her vitamin/electrolyte water in her before she dozed off, too. I will give her more when I next sit down with her.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I appear to have cured Blizzy's 'shocks'.

Apparently, the 'shocks' I was seeing had been Blizzy trying to shift herself to a more comfortable position. I designed the sling to allow her wings to hang over the edges while the sling itself was against her sides. I tucked her wings into the sides of the sling, and lo and behold, the 'shocks' are no more!

So in spite of feeling kind of lousy for causing her more discomfort, I got between 46 and 50 mL of water in her (the measuring cup said 50 mL, but the syringe said 46 mL). I'm hoping that's a better amount for her to have to prevent dehydration.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I appear to have cured Blizzy's 'shocks'.
Apparently, the 'shocks' I was seeing had been Blizzy trying to shift herself to a more comfortable position. I designed the sling to allow her wings to hang over the edges while the sling itself was against her sides. I tucked her wings into the sides of the sling, and lo and behold, the 'shocks' are no more!
So in spite of feeling kind of lousy for causing her more discomfort, I got between 46 and 50 mL of water in her (the measuring cup said 50 mL, but the syringe said 46 mL). I'm hoping that's a better amount for her to have to prevent dehydration.

The electrolyte solution may have some astringent effect, but the tannin in apple cider vinegar would probably do her the most benefit at this point -- by reducing the viscosity of the mucus, it will help her to expel it, and anything it contains. And, it's gonna improve the uptake of the nutrients/vitamins as well.

Also, if this is caused by the toxin produced by botulism, this is the only effective treatment I know of (it's one of the most poisonous known to man )-;~