Baffled!

[Adey65]

I apologize for the length of this post. I own four hybrid hens and unfortunately lost one a month ago. Initially, I suspected Gapeworm as the cause of death but I am now uncertain. Although I thought I observed worms on her trachea when I examined her, and there were other indications like head shaking, difficulty breathing, and throat noises. It's possible that she had a respiratory infection or a reproductive problem since she hadn't laid eggs for several months.

One of my hens hasn't laid eggs in two months and appears to be unhappy, often standing around with a puffed-up appearance. She recently experienced severe white and foamy diarrhea, which led me to suspect she may have contracted a bacterial infection. I administered Amoxicillin 10% powder for five days, which ended yesterday. Although the diarrhea cleared up after a few days of treatment, it reappeared today, albeit to a less severe degree. I have started giving her a probiotic solution in her drinking water, which I will continue for a week. Though she doesn't eat as much as the others, she is still consuming food and liquids.

Some other things to mention. She was very close to the hen I lost. She has also been losing feathers for a while, around two months now. Nothing severe, there are no bald spots or anything, but it seems odd. She molted in autumn, as did the others. There is no sign whatsoever of mites, and all the other hens are absolutely fine, and all laying. She is two years and 4 months old. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, I know they hide it well, but there's no sign of closed eyes while she's standing around, not that I've noticed, and I am here all day. I suppose because I lost one of my girls, I can now overthink things a little bit, but it's the return of diarrhea that puzzles me. They were all treated with Flubendazole recently, and lab tests showed no sign of any worms. Any ideas?

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

I apologize for the length of this post. I own four hybrid hens and unfortunately lost one a month ago. Initially, I suspected Gapeworm as the cause of death but I am now uncertain. Although I thought I observed worms on her trachea when I examined her, and there were other indications like head shaking, difficulty breathing, and throat noises. It's possible that she had a respiratory infection or a reproductive problem since she hadn't laid eggs for several months.

One of my hens hasn't laid eggs in two months and appears to be unhappy, often standing around with a puffed-up appearance. She recently experienced severe white and foamy diarrhea, which led me to suspect she may have contracted a bacterial infection. I administered Amoxicillin 10% powder for five days, which ended yesterday. Although the diarrhea cleared up after a few days of treatment, it reappeared today, albeit to a less severe degree. I have started giving her a probiotic solution in her drinking water, which I will continue for a week. Though she doesn't eat as much as the others, she is still consuming food and liquids.

Some other things to mention. She was very close to the hen I lost. She has also been losing feathers for a while, around two months now. Nothing severe, there are no bald spots or anything, but it seems odd. She molted in autumn, as did the others. There is no sign whatsoever of mites, and all the other hens are absolutely fine, and all laying. She is two years and 4 months old. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, I know they hide it well, but there's no sign of closed eyes while she's standing around, not that I've noticed, and I am here all day. I suppose because I lost one of my girls, I can now overthink things a little bit, but it's the return of diarrhea that puzzles me. They were all treated with Flubendazole recently, and lab tests showed no sign of any worms. Any ideas?

So no worms? All the other hens are fine? The hen that passed, what were the circumstances? Temperature and weather conditions were u live? Do u have roosters? Was the hen that passed in the coop with the others?

 

[Adey65]

So no worms? All the other hens are fine? The hen that passed, what were the circumstances? Temperature and weather conditions were u live? Do u have roosters? Was the hen that passed in the coop with the others?

No worms, all the others are absolutely fine. The one that died was lethargic and had diarrhea. My initial thought of a bacterial infection led me to give antibiotics orally, but they proved ineffective after 5 days. She progressively got worse. Her breathing was terrible. She was gaping and shaking her head vigorously, and her throat was crackling. Due to the indications pointing towards gapeworm, she was treated with ivermectin. In the end, she died before my eyes, struggling to breathe. It was an awful experience. During the day, she stayed with me while she was with the other birds at night. Besides the diarrhea, there are no other similarities with this one that's ill. I don't have any roosters and as for the weather, it's been cool this summer in the UK, and we have had loads of rain. What's new, eh? I'm miffed because diarrhea cleared up using the Amoxocilin 10% powder. It says on the packet to treat for 5-10 days, I only did it for 5, and a day later it returned. I don't know what to do next. Do I return to the amoxicillin, for a longer period, or another 5 days? She is moving around this morning, albeit slowly, and she rests a lot after a while. She has been eating this morning fairly well, but her diarrhea is worse. When I say worse, I mean more of it. The last thing I want to do is stress her, so I'd like to avoid giving her Amoxocilin orally. I've attached an image of her poop from this morning,

which she did while roaming around the garden. Thank you for your reply.

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

No worms, all the others are absolutely fine. The one that died was lethargic and had diarrhea. My initial thought of a bacterial infection led me to give antibiotics orally, but they proved ineffective after 5 days. She progressively got worse. Her breathing was terrible. She was gaping and shaking her head vigorously, and her throat was crackling. Due to the indications pointing towards gapeworm, she was treated with ivermectin. In the end, she died before my eyes, struggling to breathe. It was an awful experience. During the day, she stayed with me while she was with the other birds at night. Besides the diarrhea, there are no other similarities with this one that's ill. I don't have any roosters and as for the weather, it's been cool this summer in the UK, and we have had loads of rain. What's new, eh? I'm miffed because diarrhea cleared up using the Amoxocilin 10% powder. It says on the packet to treat for 5-10 days, I only did it for 5, and a day later it returned. I don't know what to do next. Do I return to the amoxicillin, for a longer period, or another 5 days? She is moving around this morning, albeit slowly, and she rests a lot after a while. She has been eating this morning fairly well, but her diarrhea is worse. When I say worse, I mean more of it. The last thing I want to do is stress her, so I'd like to avoid giving her Amoxocilin orally. I've attached an image of her poop from this morning,View attachment 3597802 which she did while roaming around the garden. Thank you for your reply.

I have never given amoxicillin to my birds...whether it be quail, ducks, turks, or guineas. Although I'm sure fellow bird owners have. I feed my poultry medicated chick starter year round regardless of their age. It's medicated and so far no illness in flock. Some folks might disagree, but it works for me. She may be sad/depressed that her friend is gone. Chickens are social just like us. Maybe try lowering the dose of amoxicillin and get her a new friend. If she had a boyfriend she would prolly start laying better. Is there anything in the garden that might make her ill? Apparently the hen that passed did not have anything contagious? Is her crop enlarged?