Before it gets worse - Medical Advice Needed.. Marek's, cocci or ???

[PunkinPeep]

let us know what you find out. hope she's o.k.

 

[LovinMyPeeps]

Any luck with your peep? Mine is doing better trying like heck to walk around but sill wobbly as all get out. She falls over, but her poo has normalized and she is eating like a horse. I mixed organic yogurt with canned unsweetened pumpkin to supplement her to and she went nuts with it. (Then cleaned her beak on my shirt

) I've been cuddling her in a towel and keeping her warm. Have you given her any medication like sulmet or Corid yet??

 

[chick818]

No I didn't give her medicine because I am not sure exactly what is going on. I did start the poly vitamins and the apple cider vinegar in their water. She seems no better but no worse then yesterday, but on Sat. she was falling more to one side, now she just seems very unbalanced, even from front to back. But when she needs to run off she does so pretty well. But just casually out walking around she seems to be like "weak in the knees" so to speak. She has been keeping up with the others fine and even taking her dirt baths. I did have another hen (about the same age) lay her first egg this afternoon. I am wondering more and more if this hen is egg bound, since she would be the only one not laying eggs now. Do you know what the symptoms of that would be? My husband's friend said that if she were egg bound she wouldn't be pooping. Is that true?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Actually that doesn't sound at all like cholera to me. It sounds like worms because of the foaminess of it and lack of any respiratory issues - possibly - still some stuff to rule out. Cholera is a respiratory disease with secondary digestive tract effects. The yogurt is a great idea - very good thinking on that. I'd just use the polyvisol with her, not the others as much (with the exception of B12 which could keep her energy/appetite up) and consider using an electrolyte to combat any dehydration accompanying her bad droppings. I'd rather not get two threads going in one (because I get so involved that I get confused to which person I'm talking) but possibly you could PM me? If she's new to you, you don't have a worming history. So first thing I would do would be worm her with wazine. And remember since she's new to you, she's likely had a feed change,. What food are you feeding her exactly now? And how long have you had her?

 

[threehorses]

Hi there. I hope I can help you figure out what's going on with your girl.

First, I'd have her on a daily immune building diet that is appropriate for her age. The main diet will be free-choice laying feed, the feed you're offering. First question about that - is she eating the feed? Feel her weight - does she feel heavy or light to you? Does she feel heavier back between her legs and towards her vent? Feel very delicately there in case there's an egg. Does she feel full there? Hard? Mushy? Lumpy?

Check her very carefully for parasites. This will require one check during the day (at least) and at least three checks at night (for mites, which only come out, then only occassionally, and rarely in the daytime). Look very very carefully, every inch of feather, skin, etc - for the mites/lice themselves (they're nearly microscopic) and for eggs/nits of the lice around the feather shafts, the feathers themselves, around the vent, etc. Tipping is a sign of weakness, a vague symptom of nearly anything, but very common with mite infestations. If you see any bugs after these searches, let us know and I can tell you how to treat them thoroughly.

Also, she's nearly laying age. But you don't know if she's laying. While you're checking her for external parasites, look at her feathers. Do you see a lot of "pinfeathers", the new incoming feathers still in their casings? Do you see a lot of new feathers? Or no sign of them.

Also check her vent. Is it small and tight, like a tiny o, or is it dilated, moist, and open a bit more like this: _ ?

I am concerned that she's nearly of laying age but not passing a first egg. Does she seem to do a penquin walk at all? Squat? Lay down a bit? Hang around near the nest box? Look distracted? That weakness often accompanies the first eggs getting into the system. If you're using crushed oyster shell (which has a lot of powder, that I call 'flour') then mix that flour of the oyster shell into her feed every other day for 3 days. Also - give her polyvisol (for its vitamin D) every day for a week, 3 drops directly in the beak. Also please do give her yogurt daily until this is resolved - both for the live bacteria probiotics as well as for the slight vitamin D activity and added calcium. For the 'flour', just get the floury bits and mix them with your pellets/crumbles. You can even mist vegetable oil on the top portion of feed and mix it in there to help it stick.

I'd also feel her carefully for any feel of fullness that might be an egg that is unwilling to come out. This is especially if her vent is more dilated and wide, rather than tight and small.

You can even try to feel there for one inside. Put on a glove, lube it with KY jelly or with oil. Using the index finger, enter the top portion of the vent like you're going to carefully run your finger along the top wall of the inside of the cloaca. Using your other hand, gently very very gently push her abdoment lightly up to 'sandwich' any potential egg in the system. Palpate her to see if perhaps there's a very large egg there.

A word of caution - if you ever know there's a broken egg inside, it's imperitive to remove all of the egg from the cloaca. You can pull out whatever shell you can. Then use a baby's ear syringe (every chicken owner benefits from having one around) and *cool* (not warm) water to flush out the remaining egg. The cool shrinks and cools the cloacal tissue to reduce changes of prolapse. Warm makes us feel better but doesn't help the bird unfortunately.

If there's an egg too large to pass, you can press it to the vent opening and puncture it where it's end it poking out of the vent - collapse the egg, making an effort to get all the inside of the egg to the outside that you can. Pull the shell out and flush for a good while with cool water. You can also mix a little nolvasan (another wonderful product both for man and beast) in the flushing water for a light antiseptic effect, great in case any egg shells hurt her lining but without hurting her good bacteria in her vent mucous lining.

Ideally you want to feed her up with calcium and vitamin D in case she is not forming good egg shells. Her first egg shell should be nice and firm so that it will pass more smoothly through her cloaca. I'd seriously suspect that she's working up to laying.

 

[PunkinPeep]

How's she doing, Tara?

 

[chick818]

Good Morning

Well I have checked on "Pebbels" this morning and she seems to be the same. But my other cochin "Betty Boop" has laid her first egg late yesterday afternoon. (yeah for BOOP) This however, leaves Pebbels as the only hen that has not laid her first egg.

I did try my best to examine her yesterday, but I will get out there and try again and maybe feel around a bit more cautiously.

I do notice that some of that imbalance is in the back end she kind of goes side to side and back. But is truly acting completely normal in every other way. Yes she seems to feel more heavy then light, and she is eating. Although yogurst is part of their diet (we give it to them about 3 times a week) She had some scrambled egg yesterday plus some yougurt mixed with the reg food. We also give them oatmeal (in the oat form as a treat)

The oyster shells are more of a crumble that I have mixed in with their food, is that bad?
I started the vitamins yesterday and just gave it to all of them, just in case. And the ACV is back in the water. She did seem to stay at the water dish longer then the others, yesterday when I was hand delivering some water to them in the back of the yard. (Wanted to make sure she was drinking)

Someone told me that if they are egg bound they cannot poop.... Is this true? I saw her poop yesterday and it looked normal white cap and all. But small maybe like a quarter.

I will look again for lice, I have dealt with human lice in the past and fleas on my dog, but what do they look like on a chicken, are they so small that I could have missed them?

Thanks for all your help, so nice to have this forum and people like you all..... : )

~ Tara

 

[PunkinPeep]

On the egg bound chicken and whether they can poop thing, i'm not sure if that's entirely accurate. But i'm not sure. I suppose that might be true if there is an egg actually blocking the opening, but if she is having a problem somewhere else along the egg route, then i don't see why the pooping would necessarily have to be affected. But again, i don't actually know.

As to mites, yes, my understanding is that they are very small. It is recommended that you look under the wing and under the feathers around the vent, since those are the warmest places on the chicken. A magnifying glass wouldn't hurt if you have one.

 

[chick818]

Well I did see her go to the area where they lay eggs, and sit there for a little bit. But then she got up and left. I didn't feel anything, but I am doubting my ability to actually know what I am feeling for.....

I am not sure if I mentioned that her tail feathers are not up like the other gals. Her are down.

The vent looked like it was moving, like opening and closing... Does that mean anything?

~ Tara

 

[chick818]

Well I am starting to be more and more convinced that she has the urge to lay, I just hope that there are not two issues going on here. I have seen her go in to the coop a couple of different times and sit in the "laying corner" I also saw her sitting in a little nook next to the house between by the A/C unit. So now I need to really figure out how to feel for it.

Wish you guys lived closer....lol