Chicken has been sick for 3 days now, still no idea what’s wrong

coltgrizzz

Songster
Aug 24, 2018
124
237
141
New Jersey
My bird has been acting lethargic for about 3 days now, prior she was just fine. Vent is clean, she’s not pale, but she refuses to move much (preferring to sleep in place), hasn’t been eating or drinking, and hasnt been laying eggs. She was a rescue but we believe she is fairly young. Any thoughts? Was thinking of giving corid just incase it was coccidiosis but there’s no blood in her droppings. Instead, her droppings seem watery with some chalky yellow portion to it. I also can’t feel any eggs in her abdomen (egg binding was my first though) and her crop is soft. Any help would be great, thanks!
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she refuses to move much (preferring to sleep in place), hasn’t been eating or drinking, and hasnt been laying eggs. She was a rescue but we believe she is fairly young. Any thoughts? Was thinking of giving corid just incase it was coccidiosis but there’s no blood in her droppings. Instead, her droppings seem watery with some chalky yellow portion to it. I also can’t feel any eggs in her abdomen (egg binding was my first though) and her crop is soft. Any help would be great, thanks!
Ho long ago did you rescue her and bring her to your place?

So only one or two of the 9-11 strains of coccidia known to effect chickens will present as blood in droppings. Her legs do look fairly young still with exception to the spur, which indicates a fair age or at least no longer pullet.

The yellow urates means something more.. maybe egg yolk peritonitis (internal laying) or possibly something liver condition related. I wonder aside from not feeling eggs in her abdomen/vent.. was it swollen or squishy at all between her legs? Looking for any signs of ascites (water belly) here.

When you describe the crop as soft.. is it squishy with water or flat with nothing? What's her feed routine since being with you?

Have you inspected her skin for parasites or considered a fecal float to check for coccidiosis and or worm load and species identification? Is seeing a veterinarian a possibility for you guys?

She won't starve.. but dehydration is deadly fast. Maybe bring the water to her? Do you happen to have any poultry nutri drench on hand?

Sorry she is unwell, hopefully you get some answers and she recovers quickly! :fl
 
Ho long ago did you rescue her and bring her to your place?

So only one or two of the 9-11 strains of coccidia known to effect chickens will present as blood in droppings. Her legs do look fairly young still with exception to the spur, which indicates a fair age or at least no longer pullet.

The yellow urates means something more.. maybe egg yolk peritonitis (internal laying) or possibly something liver condition related. I wonder aside from not feeling eggs in her abdomen/vent.. was it swollen or squishy at all between her legs? Looking for any signs of ascites (water belly) here.

When you describe the crop as soft.. is it squishy with water or flat with nothing? What's her feed routine since being with you?

Have you inspected her skin for parasites or considered a fecal float to check for coccidiosis and or worm load and species identification? Is seeing a veterinarian a possibility for you guys?

She won't starve.. but dehydration is deadly fast. Maybe bring the water to her? Do you happen to have any poultry nutri drench on hand?

Sorry she is unwell, hopefully you get some answers and she recovers quickly! :fl
So about her, we rescued her a little less than a year ago so she's been with us for a while. I have consulted with more people who have also said it might be coccidiosis so I'm probably going to give her some corid. I have had a bird in the past who had egg peritonitis with ascites and would drain her every other week (she ended up living almost 2 years and was lively!) but I don't feel any free fluid in her abdomen. As for her crop, it was flat and completely empty. She's kind of weird with feeding since she's at the bottom of the totem poll but would usually eat a lot at night before roosting. I have not inspected her skin but I will also be doing a mite dusting - we did have an issue with mites last fall however it never got this out of control :-( As for a veterinarian, there's no veterinarian in my area (avian or farm) that will treat poultry but I do work at an emergency vet. We don't do fecal floats but I can send out a sample, though it will take a while to get the results back. Lastly, I have offered her water but she has no interest but I am probably going to be driving out to the feed store so I can pick up some nutridrench.
 

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