Bird Lethargic, Not Wanting to Eat

[derbygirl1961]

I am new to raising chickens; I received 25 in late April, and the were vaccinated against Mareks, and coccidosis. They get 16% layer pellets, along with a few handfuls of scratch daily.

1) Apache Girl is a 6 month old chicken --unknown breed, she hasn't started laying yet. She is perhaps 2 - 2.5 pounds

2) I noted that she wasn't interested in food on Sunday night, and again on Monday, staying by herself in the yard with a drooping tail. She is usually incredibly lively, but I was able to easily catch her to quarantine her. Her comb appears pale. Her respiratory rate is gone up from 28/min yesterday to 36/minute. Her eyes are clear, no discharge from her ears. She looks like she has some pin feathers on her head, but no bald spots, I checked her for mites and found none.

3) When I checked her over, I found no signs of bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

4) I have 24 other girls who all appear fine, weather has been cooler in the evenings, but still in the 80s during the day. No rain over the past several days.

5) She doesn't want much food. I mixed some yogurt and her pellets and she took some of that along with some water, but really not much. I offered it again every 2 hours or so yesterday. Today, she is even less interested in taking in food/water.

6) She had an initial poop after I feed her yesterday, which was quite watery and green with some mucous. She had two more stools yesterday each a little more firm than the last, but still green. Today, she sounded a little congested--wheezing, but that seems to have cleared.

7) I brought her into the kitchen yesterday, and besides offereing yogurt mixed with pellets and yogurt mixed with rice along with some water, I have just been watching her. She is very calm -- normally would be pacing the cage, but she just lays there.

8 ) I would like to treat her myself , but I also don't want to infect my other birds if she is contagious. I can go into the next town to a Tractor Supply for supplies--I think they carry antibiotics if that is what you suggest.

9) She is in a coop at night and is in 20x60 pen during the day. I initally wanted them to free range, but they started roosting in trees so I had to pen them.

Suggestions?

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

what does her poo look like?

 

[derbygirl1961]

6) She had an initial poop after I feed her yesterday, which was quite watery and green with some mucous. She had two more stools yesterday each a little more firm than the last, but still green.


**update she just had another poop--green and white--very watery.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

green means that she is not digesting her food she needs grit and very digestible food now.
to put it bluntly she is basically starving while eating

 

[Judy]

I would start by checking for lice or mites; do this at night. Have you ever wormed them? If you do not find a load of lice or mites then I would try worming. Is she laying? On her weight, does she feel noticeably thinner or lighter than the others? Does her keep bone stick out more than the others'?

Here is a good thread on worming:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2525157#p2525157

For lice/mites, best is permethrin, perhaps available as poultry dust at a feed store, or in the garden section, or you can use Adams flea and tick spray or dust. You can also use 5% Sevin.

Either way, you will want to treat all the birds, and for lice/mites, spray the coop as well.

 

[purpletree23]

Do your chickens have access to chicken grit and crushed oyster shells 24/7? If not get them and offer free choice. Any bowls will do. I have mine in cottage cheese containers.

Offer her a couple of pieces of grit and see if she will eat them. Right now give her scrambled egg. Is she drinking? Hokywood chickens is correct....for some reason she is starving to death. What does her crop feel like?

 

[derbygirl1961]

Her crop is flat/soft. I boiled an egg and she ate perhaps 1/4, taking some unflavored pedialyte with a couple of extra grains of sugar in it. She is resting. I put some grit near her. Should I throw a couple of grains down her gullet?

 

[purpletree23]

Let her eat the grit on her own. Has she always had grit available. If so then that's good. try to get her to eat something else. Watermelon, cooked pasta anything that the chickens usually go nuts over.

 

[derbygirl1961]

I give them a little grit in with their pellets every week. Guess I will need to change that. I will tried some pasta. Thanks so much, I will update you on her condition.

 

[derbygirl1961]

She's ate a bit more hard boiled egg (mostly whites--her choice) and I embedded some grit in the whites so she would get that too. I made some pasta, but she only had two little macaronis. I am having to wave spoon with food on it in front of her, otherwise she really would not be eating. The same with her fluids. She seems alert, awakens when I walk in, but couldn't be bothered to eat if I wasn't presenting it to her every hour or so. Her comb is still pale. She's had three poops today--the first very watery and green; the next ones still green but more formed with some white fluid. She seems warm, but even if she had a temperature what could I do--give her advil or tylenol?