begging for help... pullet dying - update: she is gone :-(((((

[technodoll]

I don't know what to do, I've never seen anything like this before!!

Please, can anyone help?

My 5 month old silkie pullet Sookie has been panting from a rapid heartbeat the past 4-5 days, she has slowly lost leg function and has NO body balance, she is not eating nor drinking - her head is stuffed back tightly against her body, neck making an "S" - all she can do is lay on her side.

She is alert and seems to want to live, but how can I help?

She was FINE a week ago, then a few days ago I noticed her acting slow and "sick", empty crop, so I isolated her and put her on meds... one day later she was weaker, empty crop, so I have had her in the house the past 3 days, syringing food and medicated water down her throat every few hours to no avail.

Poops are greenish and look like undigested food in a pool of water.

She was dewormed recently and has no lice, mites or parasites.

I have given her Tylan as I believed she was gasping for air, but tonight I realised she is panting from a very fast heart beat - could this be making her so weak that she has completely lost the use of her legs as well as bodily balance? she seems quasi-paralyzed, her body stiff, one foot colder than the other, one eye not as open as the other - no eye bubbles, no nasal discharges or anything.

All other flock mates are super fine, nothing has changed in their food or routine lately. They are penned inside for the winter and it's been very cold and damp but so far she was fine.

This chatty happy girl has gone completely silent and my heart is breaking.

Has anyone seen this before? WHAT CAN I DO TO SAVE HER??

 

[cackleberrycoop]

I am so sorry - it just hurts when our girls are not well. It might really be a good idea to look up Mareks disease. And be very careful to change clothes and wash hands after handling your sick hen before you go back to the rest of your flock.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

Ohh Dang! I'm sorry... sounds like you've done all that u can do... From what you've described, sounds like she could be in heart failure... soooo sorry...

 

[technodoll]

Quote:
I've looked up the symptoms and it doesn't fit, so I doubt it's Mareks.

She came from a hobby breeder with very little chickens, I have had her since she was a week old with no problems.

Her 4 brothers are all fine, she was fine too up until a week ago when she mysteriously started to get ill.

She is declining by the day, no matter what I do.

No vet around here will treat any chicken -

I'm desperate

 

[technodoll]

Quote:
what would cause heart failure in an otherwise healthy bird?

and is this slow progression typical?

getting weaker by the day despite getting food and water fed to her?

if she's in pain and there is no hope, I will release her... i cannot stand to see her suffer.

i've been crying all evening

 

[kathyinmo]

I wonder if it could be a vitamin deficiency. I know I have read somewhere that some chickens (I believe Silkies were mentioned) just require more than the amount given in commercial feed. You could try giving PolyViSol infant drops. I would also add Vitamin B (a B-complex human vitamin).

 

[Fred's Hens]

Putting down the terminal ill or injured animal is one of the hardest things for the keeper to do, but sometimes the most humane.
It might just be time.

 

[ipana]

Peter Brown may be a great resource for you. He owns First State Veterinary Supply and is a "chicken doctor." If you call him, you may need to leave your number for him to return your call. Explain your hen's symptoms to him and he may very well know what to do. He was a tremendous help when I needed him for sour crop.

410-546-6137

Please keep us posted. We share your pain.

 

[technodoll]

She's still the same this morning... in good spirits, tired but fighting it - whatever "it" is.

Her body, however, isn't getting any stronger and she's lost weight. I can feel her bones everywhere.

She either sits like this:

But then will flap her wings to try and right herself and end up on her side, panting and exhausted.

She has zero balance, coordination or leg strength:

I'm giving her Poly-vi-sol drops down her throat twice a day and hand-feeding her fortified scrambled eggs, the past two days I fed her chick crumbles with yogurt and honey and she doesn't seem to digest that very well. Am syringing water down her throat as she is not eating nor drinking on her own. She does seem to be hungry though, I put bits of cooked egg in her beak and she gobbles it up. Her crop isn't emptying very fast at all.

I don't know what to do.

She is not improving yet how can I put this bright-eyed sweetheart down?

She wants to live, I know she does.

But I cannot keep her in the house forever, hand-feeding her every couple of hours.

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH HER??

She was fine a week ago, I don't understand

 

[easttxchick]

Quote:
I agree-if you have some available, I would try upping her B Vitamins.
Poor Silkies seem so prone to vitamin deficiencies.