5 year old hen, thin, eating active, but slowing down.. diarhrea with yellow white slime

[Bocktobery 10]

There was one gal that had a 3 year old peahen that had both capillary worms and coccidia, for her it took weeks of intensive supportive care before she could put he back outside.

-Kathy

I'm kind of expecting that with my Maple here. She's been like this without any change for about three months. Skinny as can be, hungry, walking around ok. It was when the weather turned that she started to look quite fatigued, so I brought her in. She has a sleepy look to her all day. She doesn't seem weak, although she is weaker than a normal bird. I figure this is going to be a somewhat long recovery if she does. I'm still not sure on her condition yet.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

x2 when my hens look depressed from worms and I medicate them they spring back within a couple of days I would say. But if terribly sick from it the process may be longer. They can so easily die from worms.

Don't forget to retreat at 10 days, at least that is what I do - to break the life cycle of the worms.

Thanks ChickensAreSweet! Oh you bet I'll treat her after 10 days.. have it marked on my calendar already. I hope not to make that mistake again!

Should I treat the rest of my flock with the Valbazen? I have two other girls who seem too thin to me but are otherwise acting fine. Everyone else looks healthy and happy, albeit they hate the cold and snow covering the grass.

So far I've not seen any improvement in Maple although its not been 24 hours since her dose of Valbazen. She still has times in which her feathers are not so ruffled though. She has color in her face now.

The last two poops she passed I've been inspecting for worms. I see things that look like they could be worms. When I poke around at it though it seems they are not. Are worms fairly consistent in body and hard to rip apart? What I'm seeing is maybe about 3 to 4 mm in length, white-ish. When I try and wipe the poo and goo away from it they more look like stiff hairs. After a while of poking at it some look black? She is a Barred Rock, so i don't know if she is ingesting some of her feather fronds or not. I don't' really know what I'm looking for, so I could just be imagining things here. (Easy for me to do!)

Here is one thing that I'm finding that IS strange... STONES. Little stones- found three in her last dropping. I am also finding something that looks like undigested corn and its blue in color- I think the green poo is kind of coloring it green. I don't find that so strange as the stones though. I am also finding something that looks strangely like what is called lash, but its not so gel like but stringy in composition. It is the color of lash. That brownish wheaten yellow which is not a pretty color. A natural off looking yellow with a tinge of brown. I have not seen a cecal dropping yet today, or what looks like a cecal dropping. I have to note also that her droppings have a sickly smell to it.

Anyway, I'm not sure this is simply just a case of worms.

Her crop seemed tight again today. I will check on that crop in an hour or so.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

1/2 cc of Valbazen *will* treat cecal worms in birds that weigh less than 6 pounds.

-Kathy

Oh I did want to note also that I put her on our scale and she is between 4 and 5 pounds, however our scale is very old and not exactly the most accurate.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Here are some cecal worms:











Possible damage due to cecal worms

-Kathy
These are really great photos and I thank you immensely Kathy for sharing them. I'm not sure though of the scale. Its kind of hard to tell. I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the two photos with mostly white background. I see the blobs and little bits of things- I assume the hair like barely seen squiggles are the worms? Are the globs something else or ? And what is the body organ or part in which the possible damage is done? Is that something other than the cecal region? Or do cecal worms mainly stay in one place?

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Her crop seemed tight again today. ...

I need to add that the crop was small and not enlarged but felt full and tight.

 

[enola]

I don't have much to add except it is a good sign that she is active!

 

[enola]

Oh! And yes, you definitely need to worm ALL of your hens. Chickens share everything.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Thanks enola. I'll be getting to the other hens shortly! That's for certain!

Yeah, the little patient was doing well yesterday but is not doing so well today. She is refusing food. She seems interested in it, looks to eat, then shakes her head.. *sigh* I've seen this before too and its not good. She seems to have days where she eats and days where she does not. I'll be giving her another shot of nutri-drench, I guess. She had few droppings since last night and most of it has been pure water, no brown or green poo. No slime either. Just water.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Well, she is eating a bit again this morning.

I found three more stones in her poop from last night. I also found a little bit of something that looks a bit like lash too, but upon further inspection, not sure- the consistency is much looser than lash. It is the same color as lash.

She seems to be gaining weight again, however, only in her lower abdominal region. Because of this I'm concerned she is internally laying. Her abdomen was not full before. Her keel bone is still quite prominent. Do chickens gain weight all over at once, or does it start in one area and move to the next?

I've been inspecting her droppings for worms passing through. I've not really seen any that i can say as a positive. I did find something that was green and stringy last night- I think it was a worm. I think it was green because her poop is so green it seems to be dying everything that comes out of her that color. Her poop has been dark green and gel-like yesterday. I'm finding a lot of strange stuff I can't identify.

Just an update.

 

[enola]

The first place you should notice her gaining weight should be her breast-keel area. Most worms that are killed by worming, get digested after dying. Sometimes shed intestinal lining can look similar to egg lash.

I am trying not to be negative in my following statements.....

The fact that you are noticing her abdomen swelling does not sound good. I am also stumped by her manure being a bright green with a gel consistency....

Finding the stones in her poop has me stumped. I am hoping someone who knows more than me can comment. I am hoping everything turns out well for you and your hen.