Day 4 of no eating or drinking

[ske1806]

It's been four days that I brought in the silkie and started giving her gatorade and antibiotics by syringe and some scrambled egg forced down her throat. She still won't move or eat or drink. She seems alert, moves her head, but that' that. Her poop has been nearly all clear liquid with lots of white and some green. I can't decide if I'm forcing down enough nutrients and antibiotic or too much. Why is she not coming around?

 

[3goodeggs]

Is her crop swollen? I really can't tell from the picture.
Look up 'sour crop.'
I really do not have any other idea.
is she laying?

 

[BrattishTaz]

I'm sorry to hear you silkie is sick.

You may be able to get better advice if you provide more info.

Things like:
How old is your bird?
Has she been laying eggs?
What made you notice something was wrong?
Is/was she walking ok?
Did something happen to her? (trauma, previous illness)
Has any of your other birds been sick?

The more you can tell us the higher the chance someone will be able to help.

 

[ske1806]

It's this one https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=457119&p=3

She is under one year, laying eggs before this, left outside in the freezing rain one night and then two days later shut down.

 

[purpletree23]

Please don't force feed her. There is too much of a possibility of getting food in her lungs and she will get pneumonia. Right now getting water into her is the most important thing. Water down some Gatorade and using a dropper, gently drop the mixture onto the TOP of her beak and let the drops roll slowly into her mouth. This way she will swallow it on her own with out anymore stress. It's going to take a while to get a good amount in her but take your time and be gentle. Measure out a tablespoon and give that to her every 20 min.

She's a tiny little thing. Do you have a hot water bottle you can fill and wrap in a towel so she can snuggle with it. How about a heating pad turned on low, rolled up and leaned against the wall she is leaning against. I would also cover her with a washcloth after giving her fluids.

Have you tried other food besides scrambled egg? Try well cooked pasta chopped up very fine ( or tiny pasta like orzo or pastina) or finely chopped cooked chicken. Even the noodles from Campbells chicken noodle soup wouldn't hurt. Chop them up and she what she thinks. Have any frozen or canned corn. Warm it a little warmer than room temp and hold it out to her. Find something she likes and get back to us.

Have you looked over her WHOLE body. Does she have any injuries that she is hiding? Is she walking alright? Mites or lice?

She's in a mild state of shock and you just have to bring her out of it gently and the first thing is fluids.

 

[ske1806]

She looks fine. No injury I can tell. No sour smell, or crop bulge. Her eyes are alert, and when I fed her the eggs she fought hard against it. I did also offer her mashed up feed, lettuce pieces, tomato pieces, yogurt, cheese and oatmeal. So far nothing gets her to eat. Water, warm gatorade -- nothing gets her to drink.

She just seems stubborn. Part of me wonders if I should just put her back in the run with the others. Maybe she's freaked out to be alone in my bathroom. But it is still cold out (40 degrees) and so I haven't yet tried it. She won't walk around, but she looks around. She closes her eyes lots and her head drifts upward looking toward the light. If I pick her up she holds on tight to my fingers, so she's not really weak seeming.

Here she is with DH on Day 2 as we give her the warm gatorade/antibiotic mixture

 

[purpletree23]

Big sigh!!!!! I'm stumped. You can try putting her back with the others or maybe bring one of them in? I do know that the temp fluctuation for a chicken living in the cold weather to a warm house is not good. Try returning her to her buddies.

 

[ske1806]

Day Five and still no voluntary movement or eating or drinking. She fights being fed anything but will swallow tiny amounts of the gatorade/antibiotic if dropped on her beak. When she swallows sometimes her stomach gurgles -- like it's empty/churning.
I brought her out to the others and she totally just sat there, lifeless, so I brought her back in. She will sit whereever you put her down, not even move an inch. I have placed her on a heating pad some, but she doesn't really respond to anything. She seems alert with her eyes open and jerking her head around some. That's it.

How much antibiotic should I be getting into her? I have Duramycin -10 and am diluting about a half teaspoon in a little cup of gatorade and try to give her two to three syringes worth of it. Most of it doesn't end inside her...

 

[HHandbasket]

Some friends and I all went through this recently, and it turned out the chickens had cocci. Regular antibiotics won't treat it (I had one bird on Duramycin off and on for almost 5 months, and she never did get better & we finally culled her in December). Some friends who also had it in their flock had several of their birds die from it. We had to go to the feed store and get some Corid V and treat our flocks, and everyone's fine now.

The liquidy green poo was the tell-tale, especially if there's any white or red streaks in it.

Hope your silkie gets better soon. Keep us posted!

 

[ske1806]

Thanks for your help! I'll try that. She has however not pooped at all for today and yesterday. Wierd.