2 yr. old Light Brahma Diarrhea, Mites and can't walk.

[Suzanne Dunn]

• What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
• 2 year old Light Brahma
• 4.1lbs. weighed by avian vet on Friday, March 11, 2022
• Lighter than others in flock

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

• Watery droppings – brownish green
• quiet
• lethargy, can not walk much at all. Very shaky
• Last laid an egg was probably October before molt
  • Brought into isolation 2 weeks ago
  • Was treating her for Scaly Leg Mites – soak in warm Epsom salt water, oil and brush legs and added Vaseline to legs and feet.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

• For about a month

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

• None of the others are showing any issues

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

• None

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

• She stopped dust bathing - Mites
• Thought the mites were the reason for her not being able to walk.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

• Feed
  • Dumor - 16% Layer feed
  • Some scratch grains Dumor 6 grain scratch
• Water with Apple Cider vinegar
• Was treating her for possible vitamin deficiency with E and B complex diluted in water – have since stopped
• Marigold is eating and drinking, I’d say with fairly normal frequency.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

• Greenish brown- sort of resembles coffee grounds but greenish brown, with undigested bits and probably half water as well

Droppings from today:




9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

• Kept in isolation, quiet and comfortable
• Easy access to feed and water
• some apple cider vinegar in water
• dusting with Permethrin powder

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

• Took hen to avian vet on March 11, 2022
• Below is what they said:
• 
  
• March 15, 2022 Vet update: No internal parasites
• Vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory for pain

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

• No wounds

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

• Sand in coop, changed over from pine shavings 2 weeks ago but she has not been in coop since we did that. Straw in nesting boxes
• Food and water are inside of run

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[Wyorp Rock]

• lethargy, can not walk much at all. Very shaky
• Last laid an egg was probably October before molt
  • Brought into isolation 2 weeks ago
  • Was treating her for Scaly Leg Mites – soak in warm Epsom salt water, oil and brush legs and added Vaseline to legs and feet.

• Was treating her for possible vitamin deficiency with E and B complex diluted in water – have since stopped
• Marigold is eating and drinking, I’d say with fairly normal frequency.

How is she doing?

Photos of her legs?
Any lice or mites on her body?

Feel her abdomen below the vent between her legs for bloat or fluid. I would make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
The vet looked for worms and Coccidia? Nothing?

I would give her direct vitamin support. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet daily B-Complex. Just post the pills into her beak and let her swallow them.

Hard to know what's going on with her. She's not laid eggs in a while, so may be having some reproductive difficulties which can be common in laying hens. EYP, Cancer, Salpingitis, etc.

 

[dawg53]

I recommend that you take her off the sand, stop the apple cider vinegar, stop the scratch, and stop the vitamins. Continue to feed her the layer feed and clean fresh water to drink.
I also recommend that you get her started on SMZ-TMP. Use a pill cutter to quarter the tablet and give her 1/4 tablet orally twice a day for no more than 5 days.
I suspect a possible ecoli infection. Also make sure she is mite/lice free.
Here's where you can order it:
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=91F10ACA-FB33-44F4-9A6C-40FCD628F49B

 

[Suzanne Dunn]

How is she doing?

Photos of her legs?
Any lice or mites on her body?

Feel her abdomen below the vent between her legs for bloat or fluid. I would make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
The vet looked for worms and Coccidia? Nothing?

I would give her direct vitamin support. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet daily B-Complex. Just post the pills into her beak and let her swallow them.

Hard to know what's going on with her. She's not laid eggs in a while, so may be having some reproductive difficulties which can be common in laying hens. EYP, Cancer, Salpingitis, etc.

Thank you for responding! Marigold is doing the same. Still very watery poop. She is eating and drinking but I think she is in pain. She was treated for the mites and they seem to be gone. We have dusted her since as well. The vet tested her for worms and that came back negative. Correct, she is not laying and hasn't for months. I am just about to make her a bra to see if that helps. My husband felt her crop this morning and said he could hardly find it. The vet said her crop was squishy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If her crop is emptying overnight, then a bra may not be necessary. A bra is used for Pendulous Crop.

Did you read Post#3 from @dawg53 ?