Ok guys, my local veterinarian is unable to see my chicken until Monday, which will for sure be too late, I think. She is a 4.5 month old blue ameraucana from Meyer, I had her vaccinated by the hatchery. I have about 60 chickens total and they all appear healthy, they're all super spoiled so I don't think that this has to do with improper husbandry, but I don't know.
Last night when I put the chickens away (they free range on an acre with a year-round stream on it during the day) and my blue girl was the last chicken in the coop--on her way she walked into 2 objects which I thought was super weird, but I thought maybe it was because it was getting dark and she couldn't see well. This morning she was just laying in a nest box, not moving at all and super limp all over.
I'm going to list her symptoms: not moving, eyes closed most of the time, feet are limp but she can kind of stand if made to do so, she has white runny poop as of this morning, she has a little intermittent trembling all over.
Here is what's not wrong with her: She did not stagger around, she will drink water from a feeding syringe but not on her own, she isn't fluffed or puffy looking in her feathers, her wings aren't drooping (her neck and feet are droopy), she will open her eyes if I pick her up but that's about it, she has clear eyes and a clean vent and no mites, I dewormed using safe guard (fenbendazole) pellets which were rx'd by my vet about 3 weeks ago.
I've been searching all day and I think she might have botulism poisoning ? I really have no idea. I examined her vent and I don't feel an egg bound up, and her lungs sound clear/eyes and nose are healthy looking and clear. Her crop is full but appears normal (pink skin, no yellow or white pockets showing) and isn't hard (I can easily massage the grain around in there).
Here is what I've done so far: I crushed a 1.5 gram activated charcoal tab and made a slurry with water and fed her about half of it hoping maybe it would absorb potential toxins, and then I dissolved 1 teaspoon of plain epsom salt in one ounce of water and fed her that. She has also been given plain water. I'm a vet tech and although I don't know a lot about birds, I'm just going to say that she does not look good, she doesn't seem like an animal that is going to survive and I really hope I'm wrong and she can bounce back. Please help if you can, any ideas or advice are more than welcome. Thank you
Last night when I put the chickens away (they free range on an acre with a year-round stream on it during the day) and my blue girl was the last chicken in the coop--on her way she walked into 2 objects which I thought was super weird, but I thought maybe it was because it was getting dark and she couldn't see well. This morning she was just laying in a nest box, not moving at all and super limp all over.
I'm going to list her symptoms: not moving, eyes closed most of the time, feet are limp but she can kind of stand if made to do so, she has white runny poop as of this morning, she has a little intermittent trembling all over.
Here is what's not wrong with her: She did not stagger around, she will drink water from a feeding syringe but not on her own, she isn't fluffed or puffy looking in her feathers, her wings aren't drooping (her neck and feet are droopy), she will open her eyes if I pick her up but that's about it, she has clear eyes and a clean vent and no mites, I dewormed using safe guard (fenbendazole) pellets which were rx'd by my vet about 3 weeks ago.
I've been searching all day and I think she might have botulism poisoning ? I really have no idea. I examined her vent and I don't feel an egg bound up, and her lungs sound clear/eyes and nose are healthy looking and clear. Her crop is full but appears normal (pink skin, no yellow or white pockets showing) and isn't hard (I can easily massage the grain around in there).
Here is what I've done so far: I crushed a 1.5 gram activated charcoal tab and made a slurry with water and fed her about half of it hoping maybe it would absorb potential toxins, and then I dissolved 1 teaspoon of plain epsom salt in one ounce of water and fed her that. She has also been given plain water. I'm a vet tech and although I don't know a lot about birds, I'm just going to say that she does not look good, she doesn't seem like an animal that is going to survive and I really hope I'm wrong and she can bounce back. Please help if you can, any ideas or advice are more than welcome. Thank you
I will keep a close eye on her tonight, she is currently in the house in a laundry basket with towels for cushion and then I have one draped over the basket just to try and reduce any further stress. If she does have food in her crop tomorrow morning I'll be back here asking how to best flush a crop (I have an idea but have never attempted). She definitely did not eat anything today. She is about 4.5 months old and is quite a bit younger than my other hens who just started laying (they're about 6 months old). I checked her vent by using Vaseline on my pinky and inserting about an inch into her vent (poor girl). Everything felt normal, no hard masses. She is sitting up on her own now and will open her eyes when I pull the towel back to check on her. I consider this an improvement in her behavior, but she is still super lethargic and limp overall.
