BO has a soft down comb and doesnt want to move.

[ArekE]

One of my BO hens seems really sick. Her comb is folded down and she doesnt move to much. She is always wanting to lay down. I thought she might be egg bound but i cant feel an egg and it doesnt seem like shes trying. Uggghh im so worried.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Has she been laying regularly, or has she had any thin shelled eggs? More details would be helpful, such as is she eating, what does her poop look like, have you checked for lice and mites, and has she been wormed lately? Does she have any weakness in one or both legs?

 

[ArekE]

shes about 7 months old, she wont eat anything but yogurt and mealworms, she has some lice but nothing bad and she doesnt want to walk to much. Her poop is very runny the colors are any where from brown to just clear. Sometimes she poops clear stuff. After today she seems a little better but her comb is still flopped to the side.

 

[ArekE]

I dont think she has been wormed although we did just buy some de-worming stuff.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can she stand up and walk if you lift her up, and if so, is she stumbling or off-balance? Examine her foot pads for signs of bumblefoot, and look at her foot and leg joints for any swelling or redness. She may have sprained something, or be suffering from a disease such as Mareks or an infectious bone disease such as mycoplasma or viral arthritis. Any swelling of the joints would point to the latter 2 things. Did she have a Mareks vaccine?

 

[ArekE]

She was purchased from the feed store. I am not sure if they had been vaccinated or not. I notice that she is just slow to move, she will drink and eat some (just mealworms) her poop is runny ranging in color from brown to yellow to green.

 

[Eggcessive]

What worm medication did you get? Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or equine paste are very safe and get all or most chicken worms. Have you added any new birds recently? Coccidiosis can cause runny stools, lethargy, weakness, and puffing up. She should be immune to the coccidia in her soil unless a new strain has been brought in. Corid (amprollium) is the treatment for cocci.

 

[ArekE]

I cant remember the worme at the top of my head but i do think it was one of those. We havn't really added new birds except the chicks that on of the hens hatched. I did some research on coccidiosis and it said that droppings are bloody witch i didnt notice. All i have seen has been diarhia.

 

[dawg53]

Dust her with sevin dust to kill the lice, repeat dusting in 7-10 days. Like Eggcessive stated, worm her with one of the products mentioned.

 

[Eggcessive]

In coccidiosis, bloody stools occur in the worst 2 strains, but there are 2 other serious strains out of 9 or more strains where blood in stools does not occur, and those can be more of a chronic infection. Worms in a chicken this age would be the first thing to consider, as well as the lice. Here is a good thread to read about lice: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf