I have been watching my 2 1/2 yr old barred rock hen get more and more lethargic over the past couple of weeks. Sunday she would hardly stand up before she sat back down. She was still eating if I put the food close enough for her to reach. I removed her from the coop so I could watch her more closely. Her poop was watery and all colors, yellow, brown with some yellow and white. Monday she hardly ate at all, even previously enjoyed treats. This am I got her to eat some yogurt and blueberries. She seemed to be drinking water OK. I took her to the vet this afternoon. He felt she may have a calcium deficiency which was causing her general weakness. He could not find anything else wrong. He did say birds were not a large part of his practice.(No Kidding). His solution was to give her several injections of a liquid calcium sub-q. I took her home and with in less than an hr she died. This makes me very sad but worse is that I still don't know what was wrong with her. I have another hen starting down this same road. Any ideas anyone? Many Thanks
Sorry to hear about your bird(s). Parasites maybe? Mould? I can sympathize...our vet out here doesn't know much about birds either...I think I know more via my research on this site, and others, than she does about chickens, sadly..
Look under the wings for tiny blue specks. They are blue bugs and are small parasites. To get rid of them sprinkle 5% Sevin dust under the wings. It won't hurt the chicken. It sounds like what you might have. They are so small they might look like dirt but are closer to the size of seed ticks. These bugs will kill a chicken pretty quickly. Good luck!!
Yellow poop usually means there's some type of bacterial infection, could be E Coli. You would have to have a necropsy done to find out exactly what is going on. You could contact your county extension office or state agricultural office to find out where to send/take the carcass for necropsy. There may or may not be a fee incurred.
Lethargic birds that aren't eating will have all sorts of colored watery poops yellow/white/green. Lethargic bird often means worms/cocci. A fecal float test of your starting to go down hill hen should reveal if there are internal paracites. Cocci and worms are easy fixes from the feed store.
I know, I spent almost $200 for a vet to drain my hen and she immediately went down hill. After that, I figured I could have just as good luck treating her myself. I appreciate the guy for trying because no one else in the area that I know of treats chickens. I just thought I could learn something and I did. On your bird I tend to think internal/external parasites because there is a gradual weakening barring any other symptoms. I was trying to think about why calcium would do this. Maybe the injection wasn't done right. Did you watch him give the injection and where did he do it?
Thanks All, I wormed the lot about 4 months ago. Then had a mite infestation which I treated with Ivermectin pour on and Seven dust. The last treatment was at the end of June. I will ck for parasites under the wing but the vet looked pretty closely for nits and things. I did watch him give the injections. He gave her 4 injections in the upper back and neck area. It seemed like a lot of liquid but what do I know. I plan to talk with him today to see if he has any new ideas. My call yesterday did not get me past the front desk.
Probably too late, but I'd suggest a necropsy to try to determine the real problem. It sounds like you waited long enough that there probably was little any one could do. With another following the same track, a necropsy may provide the opportunity to solve the problem. Clint
