1yo leghorn, suddently stopped laying, comb blacking out, lethargic

[unepoulebrune]

Hi!

Second thread here! And unfortunately bad news too..

Our 1yo leghorn started showing symptoms of weakness. First thing we noticed is that she is slow and lethargic. Her comb is blacking out and getting darker every day. Her stools are runny. She doesn't eat or drink much. She also won't sit, she's constantly standing without moving. She used to lay everyday without a single exception but since friday, she doesn't lay. It doesn't look good. I've read that this could be heart or liver failure. Any idea? thanks!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@azygous @casportpony can you guys help?

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Hens or cockerels with combs and wattles turning black or very dark often have either a heart or liver problems,

If the liver is damaged in some way the body begins to shut down and the extremeties are usually the first to go as they are the furtherest blood supply. The damaged liver will only look after the surround tissue the rest is left to go.

 

[azygous]

That's terrible! Poor little girl.

Two things can cause arteriosclerosis and peripheral neuropathy in chickens. One is Marek's. The other is a riboflavin deficiency.

Not much can be done if it's Marek's but it's easy enough to give vitamin B2. I'd do 100mg in the morning and 100mg at night. But the comb needs care. The tissue is dying, and infection needs to be guarded against. An antibiotic ointment or Vetericyn spray is what I would recommend.

 

[unepoulebrune]

Thanks for the replies. Found her dead yesterday