Sick Chicken

[rockymountain]

My one chicken out of four has been not doing well. I first noticed a week ago her coloring was very poor versus her siblings that are bright red. She also was the only one with poopy but. She is two years old and a orp buff. I brought a separate water with electrolytes vitamin farm brand. They all drank it within a day and she did add color to her head. She does show signs of frost bite at her tips. She has always been picked on by her siblings for two years now. They wont let her on the mounting pole at night. She just goes down in the coop and sleeps in the hay. I am guessing she was subject to more air draft down there instead of the others roosting, which caused her frost bite. Anyway I found her not coming out so put her in sick bay in a dog cage in a warm room. I noticed she is not really eating but does get up for water. I have given her eggs and she took a few bites but that was it. I also provided yogurt but doesn't seem to care for it. I also provided her oats and she did eat a little on this. She did love the oranges I gave her sliced. Anyway she is really not

pooping much, so worried. Washing her poop off of her the vent looks good no redness, just very white and clean. Some reason I can't find her actual butt hole to many feathers. I decided to give her a dose of Safeguard to be sure I am not dealing with parasites. She is weak and does loose her balance but very bright eye and tail is straight up wile she just lays most of the time. Also her chest is very small not much in there as well, so not dealing with issues on that except she just is not eating much.

 

[azygous]

The key is "being picked on". This can lead to starvation, weakness, and eventually death. A chicken can become too weak to eat, same as humans. When a chicken is behaving ill, it's smart to look at the most obvious thing first. If after you treat that, there is no improvement, then you can take a look at other possibilities.

For starters, give her access to sugar water laced with some Poultry Nutri-drench. This will raise her glucose levels and the vitamins can also boost her strength. If you see a marked improvement by the second day, you've nailed it.

Then the next issue should be rehabilitating her so she will have the confidence to grab her share at the feeder and stand up to her bullies. Here is the plan. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[ChicNmom]

Hopefully once she eats more she will perk up

I've had a couple of situations where a rooster decided only his favorite girls could get treats or food and would chase any others away. Eventually the more timid girls just stopped eating. The roosters were replaced.

Even though you only have 4 hens possibly add another small feeder in the coop when you get her settled back in.

 

[rockymountain]

The key is "being picked on". This can lead to starvation, weakness, and eventually death. A chicken can become too weak to eat, same as humans. When a chicken is behaving ill, it's smart to look at the most obvious thing first. If after you treat that, there is no improvement, then you can take a look at other possibilities.

For starters, give her access to sugar water laced with some Poultry Nutri-drench. This will raise her glucose levels and the vitamins can also boost her strength. If you see a marked improvement by the second day, you've nailed it.

Then the next issue should be rehabilitating her so she will have the confidence to grab her share at the feeder and stand up to her bullies. Here is the plan. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

I have her water is treated poultry nutri drench with vitamins. She is now just laying next to it. I think I am loosing her. I am going to see if I can put some directly in her beak but think she needs some kind of food supplement as well. She wont eat cooked eggs, so I am going to try to force feed her some yogurt. I am at a loss what to do. Once I get her strong enough I will look into what to do about bully chickens. I just got her to drink a little, she fights me as well a little bit of yogurt. Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Here's how to "force" feed a chicken without choking them. The airway is that hole just behind the tongue. If food ot liquid gets in there, the chicken can die.
The larynx is on the chicken's right side of their throat. If you slip the top of the oral syringe into that hole, keeping off the top of the tongue, you can easily, painlessly get liquids right into the crop.

I use raw egg and yogurt mixed together with vitamins to get food and liquid into a chicken very easily with no mess.

I helps to wrap the chicken snugly in a towel to confine wings and feet. Once you've done this, it will be obvious it's the easiest way to feed a chicken that refuses to eat or drink. Even more important, you will not have to guess how much the chicken is eating or drinking.

If your chicken is very weak, this may be the only way to keep them from dying.

 

[rockymountain]

I am at a lost. Each day she just got worst. Today was the worst. Very weak when she got up this morning. I can't find anything she will eat. I did give her some carrots that she managed to eat I could tell she did drink the water with electoryltes in it, and some food. She even ate some grit that I added. I gave her electrolytes this morning, by syringe but didn't help, very weak to even realize I put this in her. She is breathing hard now and opens mouth when breathing, laying on her side, with eyes closed. Should I try to keep putting fluids down her at this point or should I just let her pass? Has anyone ever brought them out of this stage?

 

[Cazook]

I am at a lost. Each day she just got worst. Today was the worst. Very weak when she got up this morning. I can't find anything she will eat.

When they are that sick that they don't eat/drink enough on their own you have to do it for them. I've had success with feeding yolk just by dripping it on their tongue a little at a time. Same with water. Water is more important, but its easier to tubefeed water than food which always gets stuck to me.

Her comb looks really pale/anemic. Did you check for mites and/or consider coccidiosis?

 

[rockymountain]

She has no mites, and I just can't believe her feathers are so great. She was picked on and frost bite on her head. I am giving her strong electrolytes, every ten minutes, a small syringe full each time. She does seem to try to fight me, so there is still a small little energy in her. I am thinking trying syringe some Greek plan yogurt as well. I am just trying to snap her out of this. Her crop has very little in it but am messaging this as well hopping this might help. The previous poster told me how to feed without choking them and is working great to get it down her.

 

[rockymountain]

She just died, so sad. I just don't understand what was wrong with her. Her crop was fine, but very thin, so might be to being to weak and her fluffy feathers hid it so well. The other chickens have been so bully for two years but didn't seem that bad. I had two feeding stations. I feel bad that she couldn't roost with the rest of them but bed down at the bottom of the coop which caused her to get frost bite, didn't look that bad thou. Anyway thank to everyone's help.

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry. If you want to try to see what caused this, and if you have the courage, you can open up her abdominal cavity and see what you can find. I've done this on quite a few of my chickens that died mysteriously, and about half the time, I see quite obviously what was wrong. In one case last summer, a year old hen died very suddenly. I opened her up and found what looked like boiled eggs. She has been laying internally. Another time, a "soup" of bean-size cancer tumors were filling the stomach cavity.