what’s wrong with this chicken? is this EYP?

[zenstarling]

this lady had a thing in early June for about two weeks where she was lethargic, pale comb, not laying, sort of acting egg bound. @azygous walked me through the calcium protocol for egg binding which was a great help. I never did see an egg while she was separated. she seemed to bounce back and rejoined the flock and did resume laying we think… hard to prove… we have not had all 7 chickens all lay on the same day since.

now she’s having these symptoms again but seemingly worse. her comb is pale, she will no longer stand, she just lays fluffed up with her vent and tail feathers pulsing, and yellow/white poop is accumulating on her feathers below the vent. I do not feel a bound egg inside. we cleaned her up, gave her an epsom salt bath and blow dry yesterday which she loved. today back to the same deal, she is laying in one spot and no longer eating. I feel like she’s suffering from something major that never did resolve and is only getting worse. someone on a local facebook group suggested it’s EYP… is that what this looks/sounds like?

 

[Pegbud]

I just lost my reply, but My Pequeña seems to have the exact same symptoms. I don’t know if you are aware of the extreme activity of the sun and our magnetic field, but it is affecting sensitive people, and I am thinking it is affecting Pequeña. The heat also does not help.
i have added oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage to her food. And I give her drops of oil of oregano mixed with water and apple cider vinegar. She is lethargic and her comb is dull, but every morning she is alive and trying to forage with the other two. They love the addition of those herbs to their food.

 

[zenstarling]

I just lost my reply, but My Pequeña seems to have the exact same symptoms. I don’t know if you are aware of the extreme activity of the sun and our magnetic field, but it is affecting sensitive people, and I am thinking it is affecting Pequeña. The heat also does not help.
i have added oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage to her food. And I give her drops of oil of oregano mixed with water and apple cider vinegar. She is lethargic and her comb is dull, but every morning she is alive and trying to forage with the other two. They love the addition of those herbs to their food.

I didn’t know about that. she is no longer active though. laying in one spot with eyes closed and beak open panting with each breath.

 

[azygous]

Your hen is very sick, likely from EYP and dehydration and heat stress.

First, if you are able, tube some fluids into her containing a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Next, she should be started on an antibiotic. What do you have on hand?

 

[zenstarling]

Your hen is very sick, likely from EYP and dehydration and heat stress.

First, if you are able, tube some fluids into her containing a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Next, she should be started on an antibiotic. What do you have on hand?

thank you. I don’t have any antibiotics here. I’m trying to get in touch with a vet that could see her today. I was able to get her to eat a bit of yogurt and electrolyte water, that was it.

yeah she looks terrible.

 

[Pegbud]

Zen starling…….another thought. My chicks are free to roam. Pequeña perks up when I dig in the soil. There are no bugs…..again our strange environment these days……but she pecks in the soil. Soil is know to be the best place to absorb natural antibiotics. I am hoping the soil will help her. I also gave her a small dose of amoxicillin this morning. I am trying everything. I put it on top of her yogurt with frozen blueberries and she ate it. Like you, I am at a loss, and am trying everything.

 

[Pegbud]

Your hen is very sick, likely from EYP and dehydration and heat stress.

First, if you are able, tube some fluids into her containing a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Next, she should be started on an antibiotic. What do you have on hand?

What is EYP?

 

[Pegbud]

I didn’t know about that. she is no longer active though. laying in one spot with eyes closed and beak open panting with each breath.

Yes. pequeña does the same. I kept her in the kitchen yesterday where it was cool and then she went out at the end of the day. I have been concerned that she has that respiratory sickness that hens get, but the coolness helped.
also the epsom bath. I will do that everyday. Oregano is super for a home remedy. The oil of oregano is great but it needs to be disguised. thyme, also. I use on her what I use on me. I am watching her today. So far so good, but I will bring her in to the house if she seems to be having a hard time. Vets are hard to find for Chickens. That is what I found. This seems to be a DIY pet. I like the idea of sugar water and salt in a dropper. Also cantaloupe or watermelon for the liquid.

 

[Pegbud]

I didn’t know about that. she is no longer active though. laying in one spot with eyes closed and beak open panting with each breath.

The panting was upsetting. It is how they keep cooler, like dogs do. Try to keep her where she is cooler. Pequeña is allowed in my house and we have cool air, not air conditioner, which might get too cold? I did give her a very small amount of antibiotic, and she has been getting oregano in her food, which is also an antibiotic, and of course, the soil which is where chicks get natural antibiotics when they scratch. It does sound like yours needs a little help. Another trick that worked, when she is feeling better, maybe after her bath……I cut a cantaloupe in round slices. Each slice has seeds and soft fruit. I added some electrolyte/water mix in the middle with the seeds. She and her sister who also doesn’t drink enough, ate and ate and ate and we’re getting liquid and electrolytes.
i hope you can cool you hen down first. Imperial I am helping you. I was distraught, but Pequeña seems better. I will continue with what I do. Let me know.

 

[zenstarling]

we got her into the vet. they gave her fluid and antibiotic injections. not 10 minutes into the car ride home she seized and died. I fully expected her to die at home today, but I didn’t expect THAT right out of the vet’s office. RIP Midnight.