BBR Bantam becoming very sick

[S&S]

Hello, I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for my 2 year old female bantam. She has started to become very quiet & slow & loosing a lot of weight, though she is still eating some. I have her on antibiotics but it doesn't seem to be helping enough. I was told to deworm her but I am afraid it might be to much & push her over the edge. Also her breathing has become labored as well. Has anyone gone through anything like this & would have some helpful suggestions? Thank you so much. S&S

 

[Renee]

I wouldn't deworm until you know you need to. Can you get a fecal done at a local vet? They will tell you if there are worms.

Antibiotics won't help if she does not have a bacterial infection. It could be a fungal infection.

How is her crop? Is it hard and impacted, or does her breath smell sour?

Is she laying properly?

What does her poop look like?

Have you isolated her from the other chickens and is she in a warm place?

Sorry, wish I could tell you more...

 

[S&S]

Hi, thank you so much for replying.

Her crop seems fine, it gets a bit larger when she eats more but it has been smaller then usual because she probably isn't eating as much.

Here breath seems fine, no smell to notice at all.

She hasn't laid for a while now. Her & her sister quit laying this fall & her sister just started about a month ago but she hasn't.

Her poop looks normal too but much less & maybe just a little runny now & then depending on what I get her to eat.

I didn't take her away from her sister but her sister seems stronger & healthier then ever before, they have never been apart so I fear she would be stressed that way.

I let them out if it is warm enough outside but if not I bring them both into the garage & have them in a medium kennel with hay & I leave the door open to the basement which helps give them more heat. I just covered the cage with a blanket & put a heating pad in there. We have her in the living room right now wrapped in a blanket & being held.

 

[Renee]

You could give her scrambled egg. That might get her appetite going-- have you tried vitamins? Sometimes they just have a vitamin deficiency. Most people use Avia Charge 2000, or if you can't get it, you can use liquid baby vitamins (PolyViSol) three drops a day on beak for a few days then taper off.

What kind of food do you normally give her? It appears that nutrutional deficiencies can result from too much scratch, corn and other treats. Free feeding layer pellets is usually recommended.

Since you have put her on antibiotics, when you are done with the week's treatment, you should consider getting her some plain yogurt to reestablish some good bacteria in her crop etc.

It does not sound like an impacted or sour crop.

 

[S&S]

Scrambled egg, the yolk & the white, right?

I have not tried to give her vitamins but I definitely will. I think I will be able to find the baby vitamins faster then the Avia Charge 2000, I have had a hard time finding chicken friendly items around here.

They have been getting the normal layered, crumbled chicken feed. I did mix it with cracked corn, shells & grit. She does definitely pick out the corn though.

I was wondering what the yogurt was for, reestablishing her good bacteria makes perfect sense. She has been on the antibiotics for a while now so it might be best to just stop & get some yogurt & vitamins right away?

Again thank you so much.