geminimuse
In the Brooder
- Jul 6, 2023
- 6
- 40
- 44
Hey everyone, I need some guidance here please and I apologize for the length of this post. I have this 9 month old cuckoo marans hen with something going on for 7 days now.
Last Tuesday, I found her puffed up and huddled with her eyes closed in the yard. I immediately separated her from the rest of the flock (I have 33 total) and checked her out. Her crop was empty, not hard or squishy- just empty. She also felt very light so I’m wondering if something had been going on for awhile? Her vent, eyes and nose are clean and she did not appear to be egg bound. Her face and comb will appear pale at times throughout the day over the last week and her comb has always been “floppy” as it appears in the picture. They are “free range” on about 1.5 fenced acres and get a mix of layer feed and all flock as well as scratch grains in the evening if it is going to be cold. Temps here in my part of TX have recently dropped to around 30’s at night and 60’s-70’s during the day. They were wormed about 6 months ago and had a round of Corid about 4-5 months ago as well. I did have a fowl pox outbreak beginning about a month ago, so far only some chickens have the “dry pox” lesions but everyone seems to be faring well. I checked her mouth and as far back into her throat as I can see with a flashlight and there are no lesions, her mouth appears normal based on photos that I’ve looked at. I guess she could have a wet pox lesion further down her throat. She does not seem to have labored breathing or wheezing or anything that would indicate respiratory distress. She just won’t eat.
I placed food and water and a waterer with rooster booster in the isolation kennel (XXL Great Dane dog kennel) with her and kept checking on her throughout the day- she was not eating or drinking but was very interested in the food.
I decided to give her scrambled egg because they normally cannot resist that. She perked up and went for the eggs but just kind of opened her beak and then walked away. I decided to use a syringe to give her electrolytes and water and did that several times a day for 2 days. It appeared that she did eat some scrambled egg on day 3 but her condition did not improve. I have been “force feeding” her and giving her fluids with a syringe several times a day for the past 4-5? When she poops, it is green and white so I suspect that the green means she’s starving. I have been checking droppings in the coop from day one and have not seen anything abnormal. None of my other chickens are showing any signs of feeling bad, they’re just as wild and chickeny as ever. I’m still getting about 18 eggs a day out of 26 hens. She has not laid at least since I found her, I do not know when she last laid.
I wanted to support her in case she was fighting some kind of bug and fully expected her to have improved by now. She is not. My problem is that she seems so alert when I’m handling her, she’s making “chicken noises”, walks away sometimes with a lot of energy but then just goes and lays down. I have been grappling with culling her for the past few days but she just seems to have a lot of life in her.
What else can I do? Is there any point in trying to continue to keep her alive? What could this be? I am feeling guilty because I suspect the only reason she’s still alive right now is because I’ve been giving her fluids and food. I don’t want to prolong suffering but don’t know what this could be and if it’s something where she might just need a few more days, I’d feel terrible. I do not have a bird vet anywhere near me, my regular vet may or may not see her but they didn’t give me a straight answer when I asked about if they see chickens a few months ago.
Edited to add- she has a heat lamp in her kennel and she does not appear to have any mites or lice.
Last Tuesday, I found her puffed up and huddled with her eyes closed in the yard. I immediately separated her from the rest of the flock (I have 33 total) and checked her out. Her crop was empty, not hard or squishy- just empty. She also felt very light so I’m wondering if something had been going on for awhile? Her vent, eyes and nose are clean and she did not appear to be egg bound. Her face and comb will appear pale at times throughout the day over the last week and her comb has always been “floppy” as it appears in the picture. They are “free range” on about 1.5 fenced acres and get a mix of layer feed and all flock as well as scratch grains in the evening if it is going to be cold. Temps here in my part of TX have recently dropped to around 30’s at night and 60’s-70’s during the day. They were wormed about 6 months ago and had a round of Corid about 4-5 months ago as well. I did have a fowl pox outbreak beginning about a month ago, so far only some chickens have the “dry pox” lesions but everyone seems to be faring well. I checked her mouth and as far back into her throat as I can see with a flashlight and there are no lesions, her mouth appears normal based on photos that I’ve looked at. I guess she could have a wet pox lesion further down her throat. She does not seem to have labored breathing or wheezing or anything that would indicate respiratory distress. She just won’t eat.
I placed food and water and a waterer with rooster booster in the isolation kennel (XXL Great Dane dog kennel) with her and kept checking on her throughout the day- she was not eating or drinking but was very interested in the food.
I decided to give her scrambled egg because they normally cannot resist that. She perked up and went for the eggs but just kind of opened her beak and then walked away. I decided to use a syringe to give her electrolytes and water and did that several times a day for 2 days. It appeared that she did eat some scrambled egg on day 3 but her condition did not improve. I have been “force feeding” her and giving her fluids with a syringe several times a day for the past 4-5? When she poops, it is green and white so I suspect that the green means she’s starving. I have been checking droppings in the coop from day one and have not seen anything abnormal. None of my other chickens are showing any signs of feeling bad, they’re just as wild and chickeny as ever. I’m still getting about 18 eggs a day out of 26 hens. She has not laid at least since I found her, I do not know when she last laid.
I wanted to support her in case she was fighting some kind of bug and fully expected her to have improved by now. She is not. My problem is that she seems so alert when I’m handling her, she’s making “chicken noises”, walks away sometimes with a lot of energy but then just goes and lays down. I have been grappling with culling her for the past few days but she just seems to have a lot of life in her.
What else can I do? Is there any point in trying to continue to keep her alive? What could this be? I am feeling guilty because I suspect the only reason she’s still alive right now is because I’ve been giving her fluids and food. I don’t want to prolong suffering but don’t know what this could be and if it’s something where she might just need a few more days, I’d feel terrible. I do not have a bird vet anywhere near me, my regular vet may or may not see her but they didn’t give me a straight answer when I asked about if they see chickens a few months ago.
Edited to add- she has a heat lamp in her kennel and she does not appear to have any mites or lice.
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