Buff Orpington Not Eating, Wasting Away. already treated for cocci & antibiotics.

[Treats4Days]

Hello Hen Friends!
Our sweetest lady, Pom Pom, hasn't been doing so well.

A few notes about Pom Pom & our flock:
- Buff Orpington
- 2 years old
- Favorite Treats: weeds & greens, corn, watermelon, grubs (of course)
- Named by our eldest niece, Pom Pom is a family & fan favorite
- Has been sleeping in a nesting box instead of roosting on one of the roosting bars
- Hasn't laid an egg in at least 2 weeks
- 5 hens in flock (including Pom Pom)
- Coop sits in a large 8'x16' dirt run
Nutrition:
- Typically only eats organic layer feed with the occasional treat (see favorite treats listed above)
- Feed mash with water is also a favorite alternative to the pellets
- Since she's been sick we've been giving her everything and anything she'll eat
- We've had her on the Omnivore Nutritional powder mix. For a few days we were giving it to her in a syringe but it's an unpleasant process

Timeline of symptoms, Today is Sept 21st.
- She's been losing weight for 2-3 months now, she started sitting on the side of the run and seemed weak.
- Sept 2nd or 3rd: separated her from the flock for the day, noticed bloody poops
- Sept 5th: started coccidiosis treatment, finished treatment Sept 12th - The entire flock was treated for cocciodiosis during these dates. The rest of them appear healthy and are laying regularly
- Sept 6th: (2wks ago) separated her from the flock, brought her inside
- Sept 8th: Vet visit, X-Ray inconculsive (thought she may have had an impacted crop or an egg issue)
- Sept 12th: received results from stool sample taken on the 8th. 1+ Coccidiosis, 3+ bacterial infection.
- Sept 13th-20th: started antibiotic treatment with nutritional food mixture, treats galore
- Sept 21st: (Today) Tried to re-introduce her to flock but she was bullied mercilessly. She huddled in the corner while the other girls gathered around her and peck her feathers out. She has one friend, Charlotte, who was happy to have her back.
--> Before we re-introduced her to the flock yesterday, we treated the entire flock for coccidiosis. We cleaned out all the bedding and replaced fresh wood shavings in the coop, scrubbed the poopy walls. We turned the dirt in their run over. The waterer has been cleaned. All the other hens are healthy and fine.
--> the color is returning to her crown and she definitely has more pep in her step than she did 2 weeks ago. She had trouble jumping/flying up on the roost in the run today, seems unbalanced, so she's clearly still very weak.
--> appetite is still very low, will turn her beak to grubs even!

Our Plan:
- Keep her apart from the flock for a bit longer while she rebuilds her strength and eats more
- Feed her Nutrition feed and electrolyte mixture
- As many treats as she can eat to help her gain weight
- Purchase chicken vest for when she is eventually integrated with the flock
We're in Southern California. It's pretty warm here, though we've had some cooler wet days this week. We're worried about keeping her outside if she's cold and we don't want her to be bullied if she's too weak to handle it.

Questions & Issues:
- We've noticed her having these weird copper excretions since we separated her from the flock two weeks ago. Any idea what these are? We've also sent a photo to the vet to see if they can provide some guidance. Her water feeder started to rust so wondering if that color is what's coming through, we purchased a new water dispenser for her.
--> worried if not from the rust, that it's a sign of a more severe issue
--> see attached photos of her poops from last night, one solid poop (yay!) Is it bad if her poops are always green?
- We put her in the coop at night last night, hoping it would eliminate the bullying but they were so nasty today, we've separated her again.

We can't keep her separated like this forever. We'd love any suggestions!

Thank you for reading!
-Concerned Hen Mommy & Daddy

 

[MarlaMac]

Sorry your hen is not well.

Do you have a large dog crate that she can be in and be among the flock. Perhaps in the middle of the run where the others can see her but not touch her? May need hardward cloth reinforcement up the sides as far as the hens can peck through. This was she is close all day. Also, if Charlotte is nice to her you can add her to the crate too.

If we have this situation, we usually will "fence off" a section of the pen for the gal(s) we want to isolate. This gives them more of a "with the flock" experience.

If she is not eating, you may have to feed her until she starts. Search this sight for "torpedo feeding". That looks a lot easier than tube feedin (imo). The green in her poo could be b/c she is not eating well (bile). As for drinking, try some sugar or honey water to see if that will entice her (bring it to her beak and see if she will take it - if she doesn't try putting some on your finger and bring that to her beak and drop it between the upper and lower beak and allow it to drip into her mouth).

I hope she starts eating soon.

 

[MarlaMac]

Also, the is a great article by @azygous about reintegration.



https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Sorry about Pom Pom.

Your vet thought impacted crop or egg issue. Does her crop empty at night?

Green poop usually means emaciation from lack of eating.

Some things I would try are:

* Give her 300-400mg Calcium Citrate +D3 for a few days, once a day. Just open her beak and pop a pill in. We got liquid so syringe the human dose with the eye dropper.

* Put her on probiotics either by a powder additive in her/their water every other day, or a tablespoon or so of Greek yogurt daily. That helps balance her flora after the antibiotics and could help other issues.

* As an option to syringing, I've made pea-sized balls out of a raw egg yolk mixed with some Kaytee Exact Plus Fat baby bird feed, (you could sub in your Omnivore powder) chick crumbles, and a little water. Open her beak and give her one, then another after she swallows. Keep going like this for several of the balls. Try again in a few hours. I feed these to an ill/handicapped bird about 4-5 times per day.

 

[Treats4Days]

Sorry your hen is not well.

Do you have a large dog crate that she can be in and be among the flock. Perhaps in the middle of the run where the others can see her but not touch her? May need hardward cloth reinforcement up the sides as far as the hens can peck through. This was she is close all day. Also, if Charlotte is nice to her you can add her to the crate too.

If we have this situation, we usually will "fence off" a section of the pen for the gal(s) we want to isolate. This gives them more of a "with the flock" experience.

If she is not eating, you may have to feed her until she starts. Search this sight for "torpedo feeding". That looks a lot easier than tube feedin (imo). The green in her poo could be b/c she is not eating well (bile). As for drinking, try some sugar or honey water to see if that will entice her (bring it to her beak and see if she will take it - if she doesn't try putting some on your finger and bring that to her beak and drop it between the upper and lower beak and allow it to drip into her mouth).

I hope she starts eating soon.

thank you!! will try this!

 

[Treats4Days]

Hi,

Sorry about Pom Pom.

Your vet thought impacted crop or egg issue. Does her crop empty at night?

Green poop usually means emaciation from lack of eating.

Some things I would try are:

* Give her 300-400mg Calcium Citrate +D3 for a few days, once a day. Just open her beak and pop a pill in. We got liquid so syringe the human dose with the eye dropper.

* Put her on probiotics either by a powder additive in her/their water every other day, or a tablespoon or so of Greek yogurt daily. That helps balance her flora after the antibiotics and could help other issues.

* As an option to syringing, I've made pea-sized balls out of a raw egg yolk mixed with some Kaytee Exact Plus Fat baby bird feed, (you could sub in your Omnivore powder) chick crumbles, and a little water. Open her beak and give her one, then another after she swallows. Keep going like this for several of the balls. Try again in a few hours. I feed these to an ill/handicapped bird about 4-5 times per day.

Thank you! We had worried about the impacted crop, but she was eating so little at that point the vet said it was hard to tell. Really appreciate these feeding tips- will start them today.

 

[coach723]

She's likely being bullied because the birds know that something is wrong, they recognize illness much easier than we do. Reproductive problems are not uncommon in hens over the age of two. Since her fecal did not show internal parasites, that seems to be ruled out as a possible cause for weight loss. Does her abdomen, below the vent, between the legs feel bloated at all? Is she showing any signs of molt?