11 week old Silkie Lethargic

[kami52275]

My daughter has an 11 week old Silkie, has been doing fine until today. She has been very lethargic and not moving around as much as usual. She is always the more mild of

My daughter took some scrambled eggs down to her this afternoon and she ate them. She also drank some water when it was put up on her beak. Otherwise she just falls asleep where she is set or will walk around a little bit and lay down. She does seem a little wobbly.

The crop seems full, but she did just eat eggs? Doesn't seem more full than the other chicken's crops.

We have brought her up to the house and are keeping her in a large crate to monitor her more closely.

Thanks for any insights you may have!

 

[Eggcessive]

At this age, I would always look for symptoms of coccidiosis: lethargy, standing puffed up or hunched, ruffled feathers, poor appetite, and diarrhea, sometimes but not always with blood. The treatment is Corid (amprollium) for 5 days. Dosage is 2 tsp of liquid (or 1.5 tsp powder) per gallon of water, and treat all birds at the same time. If she becomes lame or loses balance, Mareks disease could be a possibility. Checkher skin especially under the vent area for lice or mites. Think about worming her with Valbazen or fenbendazole (SafeGuard, Panacur.) Here is a link about cocci: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

 

[kami52275]

Thanks for your reply. My father is a vet in a neighboring town, so we took her there today. He doesn't treat a lot of chickens, but he did check her crop/digestive tract and didn't feel any impaction. We had a stool sample so he checked for parasites and didn't see any. Her temp was 106.

We are giving her electrolyte water via dropper. She will take some of it. She ate a few bites of plain yogurt. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, again.

 

[CindyJackJr]

Kami, How is your chicken?

 

[kami52275]

Hi, Cindy! Thanks for asking! Marshmallow pulled through and is doing fine!! She did not appear to be getting better, so my dad gave her a broad spectrum antibiotic and within 3 days she was doing great. In fact, my daughter entered her in the county fair and she took 2nd place overall! We are beyond thrilled that she recovered.

 

[CindyJackJr]

That is great news Kami. Seems like it's so hard to tell what is really going on with an animal that never wants to let you know it is not feeling well until it is too late..