I have five chickens and recently one of them started getting sick when she started a heavy molt. She couldn't walk straight and looked drunk while walking. We took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics in case it was an ear infection and I had found another thread about a chicken with the same symptoms and they were treating her with hypericum in case it was Marek's so I started giving that to my chicken. Currently we have her inside away from the other chickens and she is a whole lot better. She can walk straight now, she holds herself up, and has a lot more energy than before and fights us when giving her her meds. The problem is she is still not eating a lot. It seems like she wants to eat but she either can't or isn't comfortable eating. A few days ago when she first started getting better she started eating a lot but she kept stopping and stretching out her neck and opening her beak almost as if she was choking. Since then she barely eats. She had done it before getting sick but I didn't pay much attention as she did it once and kept eating and didn't do it anymore and seemed otherwise healthy. Now she has lost weight in this past week and barely eats. Could it possibly be Gapeworm? I gave her a dose of Safeguard (Fenbendazole) Equine Dewormer 25 gram Paste 10% incase it is and i'm planning on giving her another dose in ten days. Any advice?
Hi Welcome To BYC Did your vet perform a fecal float test? What type of food/treats are you feeding? Do you provide poultry grit (crushed granite)? Does her crop empty overnight? (full at night/empty a.m.) Molting can very hard on some birds. You may want to contact your vet since they saw her before. Check to make sure that her crop is functioning properly. If you are feeding her anything beside poultry feed, offer grit free choice since you have her indoors. Give her some poultry vitamin and extra protein (egg, tuna, meat). Try offering her food wet this may be more enticing. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
The grit was what came to mind also. She might also benefit from probiotic to help her assimilate. Often if they stop eating their body can kind of forget how to digest it ... also a little straight apple cider vinegar in a small dish... Just 2-3 TB. See if she is interested in drinking a sip or two. It will rev up her digestion fast in this straight form. It does not hurt them... in fact they love it! I hope she gets better
Hi and thanks you guys! She didn't get the fecal float test as this started after her visit to the vet. She's free range so we don't provide her with grit but you are right I forgot about the grit since we have her inside. I can't run to the store today as they are closed but I will get her some tomorrow. Her crop has been working fine too. The food she eats during the day is no longer there the next day. We feed her layer feed in crumble form but she has always been super picky about it and we have to blend it into a powder as she won't eat it any other way not even pellets or other brands. She doesn't like tuna which I have been offering her. She has only been eating boiled eggs and meal worms and some of her layer food. She does get the apple cider vinegar in her water when she is outside so I will offer it to her just like that. Thanks for the advice!
