Chick not doing so well, could someone please help? I need some ideas.

[cassandra7022]

I have a white polish hen about 2 lbs and she is about 2 years old and she seems to be ill. I noticed a couple of days ago that she was laying over and not moving much. I thought she had a broken wing somehow. Thought the roosters were getting a little aggressive. I picked her up and moved her inside where it was warm. I didn't think she would make it through the night. Yesterday morning I saw that she was still alive, but in the same condition. I kept an eye on her, she had a lot of poo stuck in her feathers and was still not moving too much. I gave them their bread last night and she tried to eat some and also some grain/feed mix. But then she just went over to a dark small spot in the corner of the coop and laid down. I got a tool and opened her mouth and looked for anything out of the ordinary, but didn't see anything. She felt like she was losing weight because I could feel her breastbone through the skin. Once again I didn't think she would make it through the night. This morning, she was still alive. Now I'm getting concerned, she can stand, but is getting really weak. I brought her in the house so I could monitor the situation better. She is not eating or drinking. I made some mash and fed her some through a feed syringe. I cleaned off the poo and nothing looks swollen or discolored. She was in a house with about 30 chickens and all of the others seem fine. I have other white and silver polish hens, all gotten at the same time and this is the only one that seems to be in distress.
Could this be the symptom of being egg bound? And if so, is there anything I could/should do?
If anyone has any ideas could you please help me out. Thanks so much

 

[fiberart57]

You are doing the correct thing by isolating her in a warm area. Now you might try giving her some scrambled and and water mixed with polyvitamins (no iron) from the baby section of the grocery store. It's imperative that she drink. If you feel her keel bone, nutritional support is in order.

If she has runny poops that are clumping, this may be causing some blockage; trim off the feathers around her bum to facilitate this.

Feel her abdomen for lumps, sometimes if there's an egg it's there, if there is go above and do a search for egg-binding. There are some great ideas about it here.

Check her crop, she may have sour crop. I have heard that some bread products can cause problems. If her crop is squishy and feels full this is a real possibility. There's currently a good thread on sour crop.

You seem to be doing well so far, but I wouldn' put back with the others as sick as she is because they may target her and make her worse. A box or cage in the house is a good idea at times like this.

Good luck and I hope she gets better.
Mary

 

[cassandra7022]

Thanks Mary, for your advice. She doesn't seem to have anything in her crop, because I can't feel anything. I will check in the egg binding section and see if there is anything on there that I can use. This is a very helpful site for and about the love of chickens! I have been raising them for 2 years now and, if I ever have any troubles, this is the first place I go. Thanks goodness I haven't had too many problems. Thanks for all your help

 

[cobrien]

I'd do what Mary said, focus on getting her nutrition. Beyond that, if you feel comfortable giving injections I'm sure she would benefit from an intramuscular injection of fluids (lactated ringers), but it's a bit tricky in skinny birds, probably not something to learn online. tube feeding is another thing that would help, but also not something to learn online. do you have any farmer/vet tech friends who could help?

 

[cassandra7022]

Thanks cobrien, I'm almost thinking she is egg bound. her abdomen feels hard. I gave her a warm bath and she did drink some water before it got too dirty. I felt around in her vent, but couldn't find anything. This is the first time I've had to do anything like this. I've never had any real problems since I got the chickens. I got her in a box in a dark place for the night and if she survives the night then I'll try again. At least she will be safe from the others tonight. thanks for the advice

 

[coopstudent]

I don't have a lot of good advice, but i just wanted to let you know i know how you feel..i am going through something similar with one of my hens right now.. I hope she feels better. Sounds like you are doing everything you can.

I just wanted to add that a few years back I had a hen that seemed to routinely get eggbound (rhode island red). We would let her soak for a bit in a warm bath and this relaxed her a lot and seemed to unclinch her muscles a little. After we would wrap her and then dry her carefully and completely with a warm hairdryer so she wouldn't become chilled. It seemed to help.

GOOD LUCK!!! I hope shes going to be ok!!

 

[cassandra7022]

Ok, I found she made it through the night. I gave her a warm bath again and tried to feed her with the syringe. she drank some water on her own. I mixed up an egg and gave her some of that too. I tried to feel in the vent last night, but i'm not sure what i'm feeling in there. I will try again a little later to get some more food and water in her and hope for the best. Thanks again to all who replied back to my issue

 

[cassandra7022]

well, my hen is still hanging in there. she has been standing most of the day. she is drinking and eating a little and she is pooping, but it isn't firm. but it looks like the usual stuff I normally see. her face has been wet most of the day. maybe she just got wet from drinking. I will keep an eye on her again tonight and hope for the best.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Have you checked her for mites and lice? When was the last time you wormed your chickens. You may want to take a poo sample into a vet to have them do a fecal. That should be relatively inexpensive and might provide some information.

 

[cassandra7022]

Well, her condition still hasn't changed. I tried again with the warm soak and vent probe. Still seems to have a mass in her abdomen. Tried again with the warm oatmeal and egg. Her poo is runny, last night it looked like there was some yolk and whites in the poo. Today after the soak, there was more poo and almost seemed like a little blood and a solid poo. She is just standing again today, not moving around much. There is clear leakage from the vent. Doesn't want me to feed her, but takes the food when I get it in her mouth. I know this is terrible, but she seems to be suffering. Should I just put her out of her misery? I feel so bad for her. I've never killed a chicken before and this is freaking me out. You know about the growing attached to things...
If anyone can help?