diagnosis request: lethargic, won't eat or drink, runny poops, etc.

[cicene mete]

Hi everybody,

My favorite little 19-week-old pullet, Butchie, got very ill. She seemed fine the night before, but when I went to let everybody out, she was lethargic and kept trying to find a place that was quiet. She would not eat or drink, she had runny poops (no blood; clear and mucusy

), and she would only open her left eye and only for a short time. We took her to the vet who gave us some Baytril and told us to use a syringe and shoot small amounts of water and mash into her throat. It seemed touch and go for a while, but it's now been 36 hours and she has responded well. She will now eat, but only after we use a syringe to give her a bit of it. It seems like it stimulates her appetite and then she eats for a while. She's also regained a lot of her energy and is complaining loudly about being kept in a pet carrier inside the house.

We got a call from the vet, who said the fecal sample was negative.

So my questions are first, what do you think it could be? It seems pretty clear it was an infection, but she did not have a runny nose or a labored breathing. It had such a quick onset, that I am worried about my other five chickens. They seemed fine, and I don't want to randomly give my chickens antibiotics if they don't need them, but I also don't want to get sick because Butchie got sick so quickly and so severely. My second question is how long before I reintroduce her to the flock? She's clearly still too weak now, but if all goes well she will be strong enough for a couple of days. However, I don't know she's contagious and I don't want her to get everyone else sick. It was my first experience with the vet, and he was nice but not too knowledgeable about chickens.

Thanks as always for any responses!

 

[cicene mete]

PS, we're in Massachusetts and it gets into the teens and twenties at night. They have heat lamps, but she did get sick after the first major cold front moved through.

 

[cicene mete]

No ideas?

I'm especially confused about the length of quarantine.

 

[ivan3]

I'd probably keep her inside until she'd completed her medication regimen (easier to keep an eye on). Since she became ill while in the presence of the remainder of your flock, I'd be very observant of the others. Some scrambled eggs and plain live culture yogurt wouldn't hurt (sometimes they won't eat yogurt by itself so tear up grapes in small chunks and stir some in with them). Try this after weaning her off the dropper. She'll be calmer in a rm. with low light. When she's well enough to transition back outside, wait for reasonably `warm' day.

Hope she continues to improve!