Listless and Sleepy-eyed

[LittleBits]

One of our Golden Comets has been acting strange today. She is very listless, shuffles around if she moves at all, keeps her head pulled in (I haven't seen her extend her neck all day.) She just stands there mostly with her eyes closed. Not pecking around like all her room-mates. Nobody else acting like this. I can't tell if it's her feathers fluffed out or what, but she looks bigger than normal.

We've had 3 days of rain and the pen/run is extremely muddy. Most of them don't seem to care, but it is a mess. They have a coop to go into, and most of them do when it is raining pretty hard. Pine shavings on the floor and in their nests as of today. Had shredded paper in the nests but when it spilled out a little on the floor, they would eat it so I got rid of it.

They are served crumbles and occasional treats like cracked corn, table scraps, grass and clover.

Her poop is runny and some of the others have runny poop, too. A little while ago, I saw her poop out green runs - looked like grass/clover.

They all looked like drowned rats last night, but today it cleared up and they are all fluffy and dry. (Wish the run was...)

Anybody have ideas what might be wrong with her?
Could she be sick from the mud and cold rain? Pneumonia? She isn't making any abnormal noises, like coughing or wheezing. Haven't heard her cluck, either.
Should I separate her from the others?

Thanks for any suggestions and feedback.
I'm just not sure what to do for her.

 

[dawg53]

Check them all for lice/mites. Listless, head tucked in, runny poop, not acting like a chicken should, wet soil = worms. Worm all your birds with valbazen cattle/sheep wormer or safeguard liquid goat wormer.

 

[Michael Apple]

Muddy and wet? Sounds like the Greens aka enteritis to me. For treating the flock, get some BMD soluble and Neomycin. Some states have put restrictions on BMD (Bacitricin) because they are micromanaging commie-EPA vermin. QC carries it: http://www.qcsupply.com/farm-livestock/pharmaceuticals/poultry-gamebirds/540348-bmd-sol-powder.html Mix equal parts together dry in a jar and give 1 tsp of mixture per gallon of water for 10 days. The one hen that is slumped over and lethargic, give 1 cc shot of Bio-Mycin or LA-200 in the breast muscle morning and evening for 3-5 days. Use a short 22 to 24 gauge needle.

It could be worms, but those hens need to stay alive.

 

[LittleBits]

Muddy and wet? Sounds like the Greens aka enteritis to me. For treating the flock, get some BMD soluble and Neomycin. Some states have put restrictions on BMD (Bacitricin) because they are micromanaging commie-EPA vermin. QC carries it: http://www.qcsupply.com/farm-livestock/pharmaceuticals/poultry-gamebirds/540348-bmd-sol-powder.html Mix equal parts together dry in a jar and give 1 tsp of mixture per gallon of water for 10 days. The one hen that is slumped over and lethargic, give 1 cc shot of Bio-Mycin or LA-200 in the breast muscle morning and evening for 3-5 days. Use a short 22 to 24 gauge needle.

It could be worms, but those hens need to stay alive.

Is this contagious?

 

[LittleBits]

Check them all for lice/mites. Listless, head tucked in, runny poop, not acting like a chicken should, wet soil = worms. Worm all your birds with valbazen cattle/sheep wormer or safeguard liquid goat wormer.

Lice/mites is treated by powder, correct? Is the Valbazen put in the water?

 

[LittleBits]

Quote:

Quote: One other question regarding both treatments: Can the eggs be eaten during treatments?

 

[Michael Apple]

One other question regarding both treatments: Can the eggs be eaten during treatments?

No. Give two weeks for Valbazen and the same with Neomycin/Bacitricin before you eat eggs.

 

[Michael Apple]

Is this contagious?

No. It will affect more if the chickens are drinking out of the muddy, stagnant pools which are breeding grounds for bacteria and protozoa.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

This sounds like coccidiosis to me, but it could very well be worms. Or both!

Lethargic
Diarrhea
Feathers fluffed up
Eyes closed

Green poo can mean not eating enough - common with coccidiosis and worms.

If it were me, I'd treat for coccidiosis. Then if I saw improvement in 24 hours (which has always been my experience after treating coccidiosis) I'd know it was that. Then I'd see if there were signs of worms at that point. Worms can cause diarrhea and listnessness too. But the feathers fluffed up makes me think cocci.

If after 24 hours there was no improvement after the Corid then I'd consider another cause as the primary cause. Worms and bacteria are definitely possible as dawg53 and MichaelApple said.

Some vets will do a fecal test for cocci and worms for a small fee - just bring the poo. False negatives are possible, even likely, on the worms test. But this might be a good thing to do if not sure which direction to take.

Oh - I forgot to mention that older hens can get coccidiosis if immunocompromised or exposed to new soil (and worms makes them immunocompromised). This is usually the illness of those 8 weeks and under.

 

[Michael Apple]

This sounds like coccidiosis to me, but it could very well be worms. Or both!

Lethargic
Diarrhea
Feathers fluffed up
Eyes closed

Green poo can mean not eating enough - common with coccidiosis and worms.

If it were me, I'd treat for coccidiosis. Then if I saw improvement in 24 hours (which has always been my experience after treating coccidiosis) I'd know it was that. Then I'd see if there were signs of worms at that point. Worms can cause diarrhea and listnessness too. But the feathers fluffed up makes me think cocci.

If after 24 hours there was no improvement after the Corid then I'd consider another cause as the primary cause. Worms and bacteria are definitely possible as dawg53 and MichaelApple said.

Some vets will do a fecal test for cocci and worms for a small fee - just bring the poo. False negatives are possible, even likely, on the worms test. But this might be a good thing to do if not sure which direction to take.

Oh - I forgot to mention that older hens can get coccidiosis if immunocompromised or exposed to new soil (and worms makes them immunocompromised). This is usually the illness of those 8 weeks and under.

Good points. I wish I knew a vet around here that would do fecal samples for a small fee. Last I checked they wanted $150 for a fecal sample. That is just robbery.