Buff Orpington weight lost - little pellet intake

[Perlsgirls]

Hi, does anyone have any advice for our Buff Orpington, Nellie. Here's whats happeng: Nellie molted starting ~Nov 1, 2025 at ~9 lb. Since molt she has had progressive weight loss despite feather regrowth; now ~4 lb (~50% loss). Bright, alert, active (can fly out of crate), but for the past month eats very little layer pellets, prefers leafy kale/arugula with small amounts of scratch and blueberries only to keep something in her crop. Stool intermittently abnormal: very dark/tarry, mucousy with occasional red material rather than normal formed brown/green with white urate cap (photos provided). Fecal smear negative for worms/parasites, but no full fecal flotation yet. Treated empirically with amprolium (Corid) ~2.5 weeks ago (no clinical response) and metronidazole for 3 days starting 5 days ago (no response). Concern for chronic underlying disease (intestinal, parasitic despite smear, neoplastic, or organ/reproductive) causing severe wasting and pellet refusal; seeking diagnostics (fecal flotation, bloodwork, imaging) and treatment options. Please let me know if anyone hase any suggestions. Ty!

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? I would stop anything but the balanced chicken feed and some scrambled egg 1/4 egg daily. Mix a bit of water with some of the pellets to make it mushy. I would definitely start some probiotics daily, then 2-3 times a week because of all of the meds. What type of scales were used to weigh her initially and lately? With that much weight loss I would consider this being cancer or a crop disorder. It doesn’t hurt to go ahead and worm with a safe wormer like fenbendazole or albendazole. Fecal floats may not always be that accurate. If you should lose her at some point, I would get a necropsy from the state vet or do one at home and take pictures of organs to post here.