off-grid hen
Songster
I hate to be long-winded, but I feel I need to start at the beginning.
For 3 days, it was very hot and humid here. When I came home from work on the first hot day, there was one hen moving a little more slowly than everyone else, but she seemed fine otherwise. She turned a year old in April. I watched her for a while to make sure she was drinking enough. I saw her drink plenty but not excessively. She ate some. She had a small amount of dried poo below her vent feathers, but not a lot. The following morning, she was still moving a little slowly but otherwise ok. That night after work, she was in the nest box when I checked on her. I gave her a pat and told her I'd check on her in a little while. She clucked at me a little. She was the same when i checked her later, but she had not laid. She slept on the roost that night. The following morning, She was waddling and moving more slowly. I checked her out, and noticed she still had a little poo below her vent feathers, but the same as before. When I checked her out, she was very bloated and warm. I checked to see if maybe she was egg bound or maybe she had pasted up. I rinsed her vent feathers, there was no blockage that I could see or feel. Her face and comb were still normal looking. I isolated her. I had to go to work that day too.
I called the vet, and explained the situation. They said (of course) that chickens were not their expertise. But I asked about worms, and they said to bring a fecal sample. The bloated hen had not yet pooped, so I grabbed three fresh samples from various spots in the run, and bagged them. I figured if one hen is exhibiting symptoms this severe, then everyone else has been exposed, and it would show up in the feces. I dropped off the fecal sample at the vet on my way to work.
I had my MIL check on the hen while I was at work, and she said that she was the same, but her droppings were runny with white and yellowish green.
I called the vet to get my fecal sample results. No worms, Yay! However, They said coccidia was present in the feces. I explained that the SICK hen hadn't pooped, that this was from the other hens, etc. Since nobody was showing symptoms, and the the poo looked otherwise normal, they suggested Corid OR medicated feed. Vet assistant told me that it can show up in the feces but they can have immunity. I have 4 week old chicks in the brooder in the closed in porch. I bought medicated feed for everyone on the way home.
Last night when I checked the bloated hen, she seemed very tired. I call the vet and asked of there was anything I could do, but I think she was not going to survive until morning. I asked about necropsy. They said they don't have a contract with anyone to do that. (?) I would do it myself, but I've never processed a chicken before, so I am not yet familiar with the internal workings of a chicken.
I checked here, read about ascites, draining the fluid, the recurrence of infections, etc. I was considering nursing her back to health in the morning, to see if draining helped. I didn't have any of the supplies needed so figured I'd pick it up. But when I checked her around bedtime, she had very labored breathing and was obviously struggling, so I waited til dark and put her down. She was so full of fluid, that I thought she would pop like a water ballon as I held her. It's kind of awful.
I am wondering about the coccidia results, but I am not familiar with coccidia in adult chickens. I should also mention that I have 11-week olds in the run as well as my year-olds. Nobody else has slowed down a bit. They feel slightly thin, but not emaciated. They have been getting a lot of exercise roaming around. Do I need to start Corid if they all look ok? The fecal sample looked pretty normal. I think I need to call the vet and get a copy of the lab results.
Edit-got lab results. There was a small to slightly moderate amount of coccidia present.
For 3 days, it was very hot and humid here. When I came home from work on the first hot day, there was one hen moving a little more slowly than everyone else, but she seemed fine otherwise. She turned a year old in April. I watched her for a while to make sure she was drinking enough. I saw her drink plenty but not excessively. She ate some. She had a small amount of dried poo below her vent feathers, but not a lot. The following morning, she was still moving a little slowly but otherwise ok. That night after work, she was in the nest box when I checked on her. I gave her a pat and told her I'd check on her in a little while. She clucked at me a little. She was the same when i checked her later, but she had not laid. She slept on the roost that night. The following morning, She was waddling and moving more slowly. I checked her out, and noticed she still had a little poo below her vent feathers, but the same as before. When I checked her out, she was very bloated and warm. I checked to see if maybe she was egg bound or maybe she had pasted up. I rinsed her vent feathers, there was no blockage that I could see or feel. Her face and comb were still normal looking. I isolated her. I had to go to work that day too.
I called the vet, and explained the situation. They said (of course) that chickens were not their expertise. But I asked about worms, and they said to bring a fecal sample. The bloated hen had not yet pooped, so I grabbed three fresh samples from various spots in the run, and bagged them. I figured if one hen is exhibiting symptoms this severe, then everyone else has been exposed, and it would show up in the feces. I dropped off the fecal sample at the vet on my way to work.
I had my MIL check on the hen while I was at work, and she said that she was the same, but her droppings were runny with white and yellowish green.
I called the vet to get my fecal sample results. No worms, Yay! However, They said coccidia was present in the feces. I explained that the SICK hen hadn't pooped, that this was from the other hens, etc. Since nobody was showing symptoms, and the the poo looked otherwise normal, they suggested Corid OR medicated feed. Vet assistant told me that it can show up in the feces but they can have immunity. I have 4 week old chicks in the brooder in the closed in porch. I bought medicated feed for everyone on the way home.
Last night when I checked the bloated hen, she seemed very tired. I call the vet and asked of there was anything I could do, but I think she was not going to survive until morning. I asked about necropsy. They said they don't have a contract with anyone to do that. (?) I would do it myself, but I've never processed a chicken before, so I am not yet familiar with the internal workings of a chicken.
I checked here, read about ascites, draining the fluid, the recurrence of infections, etc. I was considering nursing her back to health in the morning, to see if draining helped. I didn't have any of the supplies needed so figured I'd pick it up. But when I checked her around bedtime, she had very labored breathing and was obviously struggling, so I waited til dark and put her down. She was so full of fluid, that I thought she would pop like a water ballon as I held her. It's kind of awful.
I am wondering about the coccidia results, but I am not familiar with coccidia in adult chickens. I should also mention that I have 11-week olds in the run as well as my year-olds. Nobody else has slowed down a bit. They feel slightly thin, but not emaciated. They have been getting a lot of exercise roaming around. Do I need to start Corid if they all look ok? The fecal sample looked pretty normal. I think I need to call the vet and get a copy of the lab results.
Edit-got lab results. There was a small to slightly moderate amount of coccidia present.
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