Cochin not acting normal :-/

[Shawnastar252]

Hi everyone,

I have 18 - 13 week old chicks, I got them from mypetchicken.com and all seems to be going well. At 8 weeks one of my Buff Orpingtons developed a twisted tibia and this site was the only place I found any helpful information about treating her rather than culling her. The treatment didn't actually work but she's still alive and acting as normal as she can while hoping around on 1 leg. Sorry, long intro, I'm just hoping you guys will be just as helpful about the new problem.

Every morning I throw a little scratch and they all come running. This morning one of my Partridge Cochins just stood there, kind of resting and seeming completely uninterested. I went out a few hours later and she still seemed lethargic. I picked her up (not something she's typically happy with) and brought her inside without her protesting. Her crop didn't feel full so I offered her some mash (pellets I've added water to) and she ate it up. She's been sitting on my lap or perching on the edge of her box since then. At one point I went outside with her and she pooped and it really doesn't look normal at all! It actually looks a lot like egg whites.

She looks normal other than seeming lethargic. Any thoughts on what might be wrong?


Thanks!

 

[ADchicks31]

There may be a problem in her digestive tract! Try adding some apple cider vinegar to her water and keep an eye on her for a while, one of my chicks had a similar problem and that fixed her right up! If she doesn't improve you may want to take her to a vet:/

 

[Shawnastar252]

Update:

I added ACV to all water supplies, as suggested. Yesterday she still only ate what I put right in front of her, and even then only took little nibbles, not enough to fill her crop.

Today she wouldn't even eat the mash I put in front of her. I have resorted to giving her water with a syringe. How much should I make sure she has, and how often?

Then I read in another thread that I should give her some electrolytes (I'll get some at the store tonight) and someone else said to mix up some egg. She LOVED it! So I'll keep offering the egg but what else do I need to make sure she has and I'm honestly still not sure what's wrong with her to begin with. She's too young to be egg bound right?


Please help :-(

 

[ADchicks31]

@Shawnastar252 have you added any new chickens to the flock recently? If so she might simply be stressed out. If this is the case try isolating her for a bit! There could be a number of other reasons for her being stressed, the symptoms she had seem to fit. Is she still acting lethargic? I hope she gets better!

 

[Donna R Raybon]

Rule of thumb for standard size poultry is to allow one quart of water for every four birds per day. So, it would be less for smaller sized birds.

That age I wonder about coccidia? Also, worms can cause a blockage. The stool looking like egg whites indicates liquid is being passed, but not solids.

 

[Shawnastar252]

Nope, no new anything. Same 18 chicks she arrived with. No new food before she stopped eating. I introduced fermented mash after I noticed she wasn't eating anything and she seemed to enjoy that Sat and Sun, although she still only ate a little. Today she ate about a 1/3 of a whisked up egg and then threw up a little bit of it. But she started preening a bit which I thought was a good sign.

After a nap she ate some more egg then had her first poop of the day. It was still watery but had a small bit of solids in it and it smelled something awful!

I brought her outside for a bit and she nibbled at the grass some and walked around for maybe 15 minutes before finding a spot to take another nap.

Brought her back inside, gave her some more egg and she threw up about half of what she took in again.

I just now got back from the store where I purchased Duramycin - 10 (an antibiotic), Poultry Nutri-Drench (nutrition supplement), and Vitamins & Electrolytes. They all say they are for poultry (among other things). I'm going to do the vitamins and the drench tonight. Does anyone think I SHOULDN'T do the antibiotic? I'm hesitant because you shouldn't give antibiotics if they aren't needed but something is clearly wrong and I can't figure out what it is.


Thanks

 

[Shawnastar252]

I wondered about Coccidia too but there has been no blood...

Should I treat them for it anyway?

 

[coach723]

I wondered about Coccidia too but there has been no blood...

Should I treat them for it anyway?

There are about nine strains of cocci that affect chickens and not all will present with blood in the droppings. Runny or mucousy droppings is also a symptom.
If you have a vet that will do a fecal test you can find out. In lieu of that, if you want to treat with Corid, it is very safe. It's not an antibiotic, it's very effective, and would be very unlikely to harm the bird if it isn't coccidiosis.

The correct dosing for Corid:
"The 9.6% Corid liquid dose I use is 10ml (2 teaspoons) per gallon for 5 days, then 2.5ml (1/2 teaspoon) per gallon for 7 days. Make fresh daily.

The 20% Corid powder dose I use is 1.5 teaspoons per gallon for 5 days, then 1/2 teaspoon for 7 days. Make fresh daily.

Medicated water must be their only source of water (no creeks, puddles ponds, etc.)"

You can also make a drench with the corid to give to an individual bird if it's very sick.
If you have liquid corid, just use a drop or two straight (0.02 ml per 100 grams of weight (one drop = ~0.02 ml)). For the powder you mix 1/2 tsp of powder in 10 ml of water. Dose the bird 0.07 ml of that mixture per 100 grams of weight of the bird, once a day for up to three days. The drench is used in addition to the treatment above, if neccessary.

Follow up treatment with vitamins (make sure it contains B1) and probiotics in the water. No vitamins until treatment is complete.

 

[Shawnastar252]

Update:

She seems to be getting better. Monday afternoon she had solids in her poo (photo 1), there were red stringy things (photo 2) but I looked that up and others here said that it was intestinal sloughing rather than worms.

Yesterday I started the day by hand feeding her water and a mixture of crumbles, water, egg, and the vitamin/electrolyte. She still slept a lot but by the end of the day was actually eating the mixture on her own (photo 3). She even had a decent poo (photo 4).

This morning I added the Corid powder to the water source and made up the drench mixture for her. She surprised me by actually drinking the mixture right from the container rather than me having to use an eye dropper! Then she started eating dry crumbles on her own. She's still not competing or rushing for food like all the others but she'll eat it when I put it in front of her.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

The Impacted, Slow and Sour Crops - Prevention and Treatments
By: TwoCrows

This is good article bout crop impaction, sour crop, and intestinal problems on BYC is full of good hands on help.
Do a search on learning center tab.