Buff Brahma sick, Vet not sure

[Speechleslie]

My 2 year old Buff Brahma is on day 3 of lethargy, both eyes closed, loose stool. Vet put her on antibiotics, ruled out parasites / mites. Vent is normal. She only drinks / eats by syringe (organic baby food). Help! She’s on 2nd day of antibiotics. Vet didn’t suggest more Nutrí Drench.

Rest of flock are healthy - but - weirdly, all have stopped laying this week.
It’s summer in Maine.There have been visible predators (hawks, coyotes, raccoons), but that isn’t unusual. (They have a fully hardware cloth protected pen, surrounded by fenced yard protected by hawk net).

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@Eggcessive might be able to help. They might have stopped laying because of the weather. If they get too hot they will sometimes slow down in production.

 

[Eggcessive]

What do you normally feed them including treats? Do they have both grit and crushed oyster shell in separate containers from feed? What has her crop felt like first thing in the morning before she has eaten? What do her droppings look like? Pictures are welcome. Is her lower belly protruding more than the others, or has she lost weight. Is she having trouble walking? I would get her on some wet chicken feed with a little egg, or some KayTee Exact baby bird feed instead of baby foo. You can tube feed the latter every 8 hours.

 

[Speechleslie]

Thank you so much. I now have a duck acting lethargic! The duck laid an egg this morning, ate, swam then later in the day got very quiet.

Back to Brahma girl:
The vet said her crop was normsl. I honestly don’t know what her crop feels like before she eats?
Her poo is liquidy with whitish yellow.
She is underweight, which is horrifying to me as she looks fluffy.
They self feed and their all flock organic crumble is mixed with red pepper flakes, brewers yeast and supplemented with fresh produce & mealworms
I put unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in their water
They do have oyster shell and grit in separate containers.
I am careful to take up leftover produce so nothing can rot.
She is walking alright - but - with her eyes closed, she is now turning her head side to side, like Ray Charles.

What do you mean by tube feed? I will get some of the baby bird feed you suggested!
I will give her the 3rd dose of antibiotic tomorrow.
A number of chickens (no ducks) have dirty vents. I’m not confident all of them are eating the food with the dewormer powder.
I haven’t gone back to vet as he didn’t seem to know what might be wrong?

I’ve attached a video. The Maine Coon kitten (5 months old) snuck in & was removed after video!

 

[Eggcessive]

Crops should be empty and flat first thinng in the morning after not eating or drinking all night. Check and feel them early monring. If they are full and mushy, hard or doughy, they may be impacted or sour.

Tube feeding is done using a crop feeding tube. A 16 french tube found online or obtained from the vet can be attached to a syringe, and used for feeding.

 

[Eggcessive]

Feel your other chickens’ crops in early morning before eating or drinking, and then again when they go to roost at night to get familiar with wheat is normal. It should be flat and empty early morning, and gradually fill up with food and water by time they go to roost in evening. Here is a good link about crops and their location:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

Here are some links and videos about tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/