are these symptoms of worms?...

[BlixbabyFarm]

Ok Rosey is a Cinnamon Queen hen, about 8-9 months old that's always been a good layer even through the winter when everyone else stopped. Noticed her acting a bit off a couple days ago but still laying, still eating, just maybe moving a bit slower and not staying with the flock 24/7. One night she didn't go into the coop with everyone else either. Her butt is a bit dirty, not pasty butt just caked on her butt fluff. I soaked and removed the debris this past weekend.

Yesterday I went to check on her after work and everyone else was in the coop for the night but she was laying in the run. Brought her in the house checked her out, she ate some grapes and stood up fine. Her crop was full but no foul smell coming from her mouth. But she pooped on the counter and I noticed it was odd. It had a more solid component but then the rest was watery and yellow. Also, she seems to be losing some feathers at the base of her tail and others feathers look "ruffled". Nothing is down to the skin and they're not dropping off her constantly but definitely has some feather loss.

She's always been a top dog in the flock and I've not seen anyone pick on her. Not wounds anywhere, no sneeze/cough, no watery eyes and I didn't see any worms in her poop but I'm at a loss as to what may be the problem.....? I've been researching on here and I'm wondering if anyone thinks this is worms? I've never wormed any of them. I also wondered about molting but I read that a chicken should act normal during molt which she isn't so I kinda ruled that out?

They get Purina Layena feed, oyster shell, water, occasional treats and are free ranged a good 5+ hours a day. Any info or advice would be welcomed!!

 

[BlixbabyFarm]

NVMD.....rosey past away this evening

i did note she felt very thin around the breast bone, like it was protruding an insane amount. So perhaps she'd been sicker longer than i'd known....

 

[perthchickie]

That's awful. Sorry for your loss. I also have a Rosie with similar symptoms (but instead of feather loss she's consistently gasping for air) so I'm very worried.

You should still find out if it was worms as the rest of your birds may also have them.

 

[BlixbabyFarm]

thx....hope your Rosie gets better, i still have her body in the tack room, have any ideas on how to go about finding out if she had worms? is that a vet only question? I'm sure i could ID a tapeworm but can they have small worms that may got unnoticed by my untrained eye? just wondering..
good luck!

 

[perthchickie]

thx....hope your Rosie gets better, i still have her body in the tack room, have any ideas on how to go about finding out if she had worms? is that a vet only question? I'm sure i could ID a tapeworm but can they have small worms that may got unnoticed by my untrained eye? just wondering.. 
good luck!

fecal sample to the vet is probably the vest option. My understanding is that some worms are visible in stool samples but many require a microscope/other methods of testing. It may be worth worming them with a broad spectrum wormer just in case. Often birds hide their symptoms until theyre too far gone to recover, so best to be preemptive I think.

 

[BlixbabyFarm]

fecal sample to the vet is probably the vest option. My understanding is that some worms are visible in stool samples but many require a microscope/other methods of testing. It may be worth worming them with a broad spectrum wormer just in case. Often birds hide their symptoms until theyre too far gone to recover, so best to be preemptive I think.

thank you so much for the helpful info, i appreciate it very much! i've noticed they do absolutely hide symptoms until its too late so frustrating when you never find out the cause of the sudden deaths. i think i will try the fecal sample, thx again