Is it too late? Frostbite, lethargy

[Thaderiver]

It has been snowing the past few days, getting down to 16F at night. I just noticed one chicken very lethargic and with some frostbite on her comb. I have brought her inside the house now. She won’t eat or drink. Just lays and sleeps.
Is it too late? Anything else I can try?

 

[azygous]

Forget tube feeding for now. Try dipping her beak in the warm sugar water until she starts to drink on her own. This should give her a boost of strength and if you give her a cooked egg or some boiled rice she will probably start to eat on her own.

 

[azygous]

If this chicken has not molted yet, those feathers tell us she either has a serious case of depluming mites or if she has recently molted and those are new feathers, she likely has an avian virus that is causing deformed feathers.

Those are not the way new feathers normally grow out.

If she has frostbite and is lethargic it can indicate a chicken with a severely compromised immune system that she is unable to handle cold temperatures. Bring her in, place her in a hospital crate with warm sugar water. This will hopefully revive her. Then give her cooked egg to give her quick strength.

Observe her for a few days. If she continues to decline, it would be more evidence of a serious illness rather than simple reaction to the cold.

 

[azygous]

I hate to be tossing this troubling comment at you at this time of sadness over this hen, but her general condition points to a possible avian virus, avian leucosis possibly. If you can locate a university animal testing lab, it would be worth it to have her body necropsied. If she is carrying an avian virus, your whole flock would be assumed to carry it.

My flock carries this leucosis virus, and I've had a hen grow in feathers like your hen where there are no radial components (barbs) to the feathers, just mainly naked shafts. At that point, my hen was becoming more lethargic and losing weight. She died not long after that.

 

[Thaderiver]

If the whole body is infected I do not know.

I don’t think it’s an infection. I think the feathers still have a sheath on them so the chicken wasn’t able to keep warm when the snow storm hit.

 

[tripletfeb]

If the whole body is infected I do not know.

Why would you say that? What makes you think her whole body is infected?

Sorry not infection but where is the frostbite around the body? How bad?

???

OP, please listen to those that have "educator" badges by their name. Those members are very helpful and knowledgeable

 

[azygous]

If you've tried dipping her beak into the water and she doesn't respond, continues to keep her eyes closed and is lying on her side, she is dying, and is likely within hours of it.

 

[Thaderiver]

If you've tried dipping her beak into the water and she doesn't respond, continues to keep her eyes closed and is lying on her side, she is dying, and is likely within hours of it.

Ok. That’s kinda where I think we’re at then.

 

[Sally PB]

How long has she been like this?

You can try tube feeding her.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/videos-on-how-to-tube-feed-chickens.78678/

If you don't have the tubing, you can try giving her drops of sugar water via an eye dropper. Put a drop of water at the side of her beak; she might take it. She needs some water and calories asap.

Do not touch the frostbite on her comb, just leave it alone.

 

[Sally PB]

@azygous, can you offer some advice please?