ADDITIONAL INFO: Ugh. My Margo. Again.

[micstrachan]

Thanks. Margo’s laying down in a carrier in the house. Turned the heating pad off, as she was open mouth breathing like she was hot. Or it could be from pain. Hard to tell. While I was holding her in my lap (she loves cuddles, always has), I did think her belly might be slightly fluidy. Will check again in the morning.
She’s doing some sort of strange behavior in her crate, as follows:
• perk up and peck at food
• collapse and seem to fall asleep
• repeat
It’s almost like she’s hungry, but then gets too tired (or sore?) to eat. It’s almost her normal bed time, so I’m hopeful she’ll feel a little better after some rest in the warm house after the Enro has been at work for a few hours. Will dose her again in the morning and decide where she’s going to be once I see her body language in the morning.

 

[micstrachan]

It’s not looking good for sweet Margo this morning. She either can’t or won’t stand and barely holds her head up. She feels HOT, but I did not take her temp. There was one normally formed turd that fell off her feathers, but it was hard, so it may have been from yesterday. With lack of clear signs of poop, I checked for an egg and felt none. I was able to dose her again with enrofloxacin, ibuprofen, nutridrench and calcium, but had to crush the calcium into water. When I put her back in the carrier, she momentarily, but excitedly pecked at some sunflower seeds. She seemed to peck and drop, not eat, and then laid her head on top of them. Poor baby. Since she seems hungry and was still swallowing as of this morning, I’ll go home after a work meeting and see if she’ll take a little baby bird formula. It just seems meds would be tolerated better with something in her system. If there’s still no poop, maybe not. Since Margo seems to have a low pain threshold, I’m not in full freak out mode yet, but I am definitely very concerned. My poor girl.

 

[micstrachan]

Margo is in bad shape. I fed her some baby bird formula a couple times today, but not sure it will help. I moved her carrier out into the hospital pen so she can hear her flock and get fresh air. She crawled out, but isn’t very mobile. Her comb is very red. Maybe a dark red. There was coconut oil in the meal replacement, but she doesn’t seem to be pooping, so I’ll stop that (the feeding). Would stool softener be a good or bad thought?

 

[micstrachan]

Hi friends @Wyorp Rock @Shadrach @Eggcessive @staceyj @rebrascora @azygous @casportpony
I could really use some advice with Margo. Sorry once again I am focused on my own flock, but we took on three chicks this year, I've been sick this week, I'm still working over summer, and I received some bad (family) news this week, so I only have so much bandwidth.
Margo is really struggling. You may recall last summer that Margo has a low threshold for pain. But this time seems worse; she seems pretty immobile. I wouldn't say paralyzed, as she managed to hobble a few inches, but she's either so weak or in so much pain that she is sitting in one spot and hangs her head.
In case she has a reproductive infection (penguin stance, lots of pain, feels hot, dark red face), I am treating her with enrofloxacin, ibuprofen and calcium (just in case she has something in the oviduct that needs expelling). She laid the last two days, but not today. She's a three year old leghorn and my most prolific layer. She is also top hen. Today she can barely move.

I'm not sure if I should try anything else or just wait the antibiotic out another day or two (if she makes it that long). I think she stopped pooping, which is a huge concern. There was no egg that I could feel in her vent this morning. I fed her a couple times with baby bird formula (10mL once and about 6mL a couple hours later), but thinking that should stop, since she isn't pooping. She acts hungry, but seems too tired (or something) to eat. She has had a couple periods of shallow breathing, so I'm not sure if I should continue giving her small amounts of fluid. As long as she can swallow on her own, is this still OK to do? She is not voluntarily drinking from a water dish, but will swallow if I put a little in her beak.

She stayed in a carrier in the house last night and will again tonight. Today she is in the hospital pen. I dug a shallow ditch to help prop her up, since the rolled up towel was making her warm. Heat seems to make her breathe with her mouth open, so I stopped that last night.

I will try to get a video of her shortly for an update. When I drove up (coop and run are out front), she was alert, but still in her shallow ditch. I suspect she had her head hanging before all the commotion of my arrival (birds expect to be let out to free range when I come home... even the chicks have learned this).

Do you have any advice/words of wisdom to share? Anything else I should be doing? Have I done anything drastically wrong? Margo is a huge cuddler and normally tolerates handling just fine, so I don't think I'm stressing her out. Wondering what I should try to make her poop. Coconut oil? She consumed about half a tsp or so in the feedings. Stool softener? Worm her with Valbazen? Lift her up in a sling so her vent is more free? Do nothing about the poop yet?

You all know I am a worrier, but this is definitely real. Thanks in advance for your help. I will tell you this: I will definitely NOT be bathing her. Learned that the hard way. But I would do the damp towel over heating pad if it seemed she was egg bound.

 

[micstrachan]

 

[micstrachan]

I don’t think she’s going to make it. Her breathing is shallow and labored. Will check again for an egg. She just tried to get up, but could not. I felt for an egg again. No egg, and she didn’t poop. A tiny bit of slime came out. How quickly does stool softener work, in case she’s plugged up?

 

[HeyHo]

So sorry you are going through this, poor Margo! I followed along last year and am watching hopefully now. Sending hugs your way

 

[micstrachan]

Thank you. We know Margo’s tolerance for pain is low, so not all hope is lost, but the not pooping is scary. Went ahead and did stool softener. I don’t think it can hurt at this point since I’m pretty sure it’s been over 24 hours since a poop.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Michelle, I'm so sorry, I'm just now seeing this.
I so wish there were answers for you, I think you are doing all you can for her.
Let us know how she's doing.