chicken weak, wobbling, diarrhea, lethargic & wont eat

[lorieholden1]

Hello i am new to byc! I have a rhode island red hen who is about 6 years old and no longer laying. about two weeks ago i noticed that she was starting to not cluck anymore, was leaving the flock & would often just stand in one spot and stare off into space. i assumed that she was just getting old but eventually she started wobbling & having diarrhea, i also noticed she was barely eating or drinking. i brought her in last weekend 3/10 because i was worried she had a pesticide from rummaging around in my compost bin, i gave her and the rest of the flock cord liquid solution but i have not noticed a difference in her. im not sure if it is because she isn't drinking or because she just doesn't have a pesticide as i had assumed. this morning when i woke up i noticed her shaking a bit and i was worried she was having seizures but as the day went on she is still with us. i thought she was going to pass away last weekend and i am very surprised she has lasted this long but i hate seeing her this way, so any insight as to what may be wrong with her or any treatment options right now would be amazing! thank you in advance

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hello i am new to byc! I have a rhode island red hen who is about 6 years old and no longer laying. about two weeks ago i noticed that she was starting to not cluck anymore, was leaving the flock & would often just stand in one spot and stare off into space. i assumed that she was just getting old but eventually she started wobbling & having diarrhea, i also noticed she was barely eating or drinking. i brought her in last weekend 3/10 because i was worried she had a pesticide from rummaging around in my compost bin, i gave her and the rest of the flock cord liquid solution but i have not noticed a difference in her. im not sure if it is because she isn't drinking or because she just doesn't have a pesticide as i had assumed. this morning when i woke up i noticed her shaking a bit and i was worried she was having seizures but as the day went on she is still with us. i thought she was going to pass away last weekend and i am very surprised she has lasted this long but i hate seeing her this way, so any insight as to what may be wrong with her or any treatment options right now would be amazing! thank you in advance

Did you give her some Antibiotics? If not start her on some tylan50 1ml oral is fine---I usually do that once a day, some say twice. I would do it for 3 to 5 days. What Color is her comb---if its real dark red---she might be got serious problems. Good Luck

 

[lorieholden1]

thanks for your response! her comb greyish red and it is leaning over. would you happen to know how i could give that to her if she isnt willing to drink anything?

 

[PD-Riverman]

thanks for your response! her comb greyish red and it is leaning over. would you happen to know how i could give that to her if she isnt willing to drink anything?

Yes, draw it out the bottle with a needle and a syringe---then take the needle off, tilt her head back wards some where her neck is straight up-----stick the end of the syringe to the corner of her mouth---opening her mouth---squeeze it in----hold her head up like that till she swallows it.

Keep in mine 6 years old is getting up there pretty good for a chicken. Hopefully this will help and get her feeling good again. Because of having had more than 1200 chickens at one time--I keep the tylan50 close by and the wormer. If a chicken is not eating, I make a gravy by mixing chick feed or layer feed with some warm water---only just a small amount---I draw the gravy out of the mix with a bigger shringe and do it the same way as described for the medicine. If she feels cold---I place a older heating pad(stays on all the time) in the bottom of a plastic tote---turn the pad on low----either use a old towel or some hay on top---so the pad does not get to hot----I place her in it and 1/2 cover the top with the lid. Leave her there over night. More gravy and tylan the next morning---when she seems to be perking up I then offer her some moist warm feed---if she will eat it good---no more having to do the gravy. I have saved several in the last couple years doing that, sure I loose one at times too. Good Luck

 

[lorieholden1]

ok thank u so much for your help i will definitely be doing these things!