Cocci, Mareks or something else?

[AwakeHen]

Hi, just wondered if anyone has come across this, please? My 2.5 year old ranger hasn't been her usual self (chief hen, laying like a trooper, always friendly and curious). A few days ago she stopped laying, slowed down and developed this awkward stance, with her torso and neck tensed in an upright position, her legs further apart and wings spread down her sides for balance. She's been struggling to walk but can move her legs and wings if needed. Her comb hasn't changed colour and her eyes seem clear, but she has been resting with her eyes closed a lot more. When the symptoms first started, she passed a fairly large long clot (intestinal lining?) and had a bout of diarrhea (mostly clear, almost gel-like, with hardly any solid bits), but no more blood in the last 2-3 days and the diarrhea is more brown and uniform in colour. Given the initial blood in poo, I thought it could be cocci, so she's been separated from the flock for 3 days, and has had harkers coxoid (1 day of medicated water, given by pipette and a first 'drench' today). Her appetite seems to be improving since starting the meds. What worries me though is her stance. Could it be Mareks or something else? From reading through the forum, the usual symptom is a clear paralysis/weakness, changes to the eyes etc. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Tookie]

She likely has a reproductive issue, ascites, or something along those lines, unfortunately. Her stance is a dead giveaway of that. Her abdomen is probably bloated and I can see it does look like that in the 2nd picture. That is also causing her trouble to move around.
Since it has been a few days since she last laid she probably isn't eggbound.
If you are up to it and she's hanging in there, you could drain her abdomen of fluid and that will offer temporary relief. There's not much else to do in this situation except making sure her crop is working properly, and making sure she's eating and drinking too.

 

[AwakeHen]

Thank you, that's very helpful. Her abdomen feels very soft and heavy, so it does look like ascites. I'll see if we can make her more comfortable.

 

[Tookie]

Thank you, that's very helpful. Her abdomen feels very soft and heavy, so it does look like ascites. I'll see if we can make her more comfortable.

Sounds good, I wish you the best!

 

[AwakeHen]

We've managed to drain 120ml of fluid from her abdomen to start with. The liquid was quite cloudy and dull yellow/orange in colour. She was calm during the treatment and was able to stand up more comfortably afterwards. I've covered the wound with a plaster but there's still some fluid seeping out.
We're continuing with amprolium in her water (she was much better after the drench dose so suspect there's a bit of an infection going on as well). She's also had some oregano oil to help with recovery.
Any recommendations on when to repeat the drain?

 

[Eggcessive]

I have had several hens with ascites, which in most cases was found after they died when I did a necropsy. The only one I drained was an 11 year old bantam who suddenly developed labored breathing and an enlarged bluish abdomen. I repeated draining a few days later when symptoms returned. She died less than 2 weeks later. The cloudy fluid may be from infection, white blood cells or protein. Ascites is a symptom of liver disease, usually from egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, fatty liver disease, or heart failure. Draining only temporarily helps. Sorry about your older hen.

 

[AwakeHen]

Thank you for the advice, really appreciate it, and completely understand the prognosis with ascites...

 

[triciayoung]

Do you have access to a vet? My guess would be peritonitis, an oviduct impaction, or ovarian cancer. I would start by getting a culture for the right antibiotic if you can get to a vet. If you do not have access, I would start her on Amoxicillin which is a broad spectrum penicillin antibiotic. With reproductive infections, treating with the right antibiotic early is directly tied to a better outcome.

 

[ChicNmom]

I have drained several hens to make them more comfortable. They mostly then died anywhere from 1 to 8 months later.

But I do have one that is 11. She has done well on Baytril. When she starts to fill up with fluid I do a 5 day course and she's been fine for almost a year now with no other symptoms or weight loss. I haven't even had to drain her as the fluid dissipates on it's own.

So antibiotics are worth a try IMO.

 

[Tookie]

We've managed to drain 120ml of fluid from her abdomen to start with. The liquid was quite cloudy and dull yellow/orange in colour. She was calm during the treatment and was able to stand up more comfortably afterwards. I've covered the wound with a plaster but there's still some fluid seeping out.
We're continuing with amprolium in her water (she was much better after the drench dose so suspect there's a bit of an infection going on as well). She's also had some oregano oil to help with recovery.
Any recommendations on when to repeat the drain?

Glad to hear draining went well and she's more comfortable.
Won't hurt to use amprolium! It is likely she has some sort of infections.
For when to repeat the drain, just keep an eye on the size of her abdomen and if she's uncomfortable or has labored breathing.

A couple years ago I had a hen with a bloated abdomen, and I found a recipe that used oregano and cinnamon. It did help her bloating go down and she lived for a few more months. So it could be worth a try!
Here's the recipe. ->
Boil about a tablespoon of dry oregano and half a cinnamon stick, in about a 3/4 small saucepan of water for about 15 minutes, then strain out the stick and the bulk of the leaves. Pour the mixture into about the same quantity of water and keep in the fridge.