Diarrhea and lethargy

[Jonessa]

Hi everyone,
I have a one year old hen who has come up sick today. I noticed when I let them out this morning that she was looking a little lethargic, standing apart from the others with her eyes closed. I set her up in a crate to keep an eye on her. I offered her some leftover oatmeal from breakfast, which she ate readily. I just went out to check on her - she's up and moving around some, and was keen to come out onto the lawn. But then I noticed that the little bit of poop in the crate is diarrhea, and she has yellowish, pasty diarrhea on her bum feathers. Her abdomen and crop feel totally normal, no sign of prolapse, and she laid a normal egg the day before yesterday. No sign of any kind of respiratory symptoms.
Any ideas what I may be dealing with, and what I should do for her?
Thank you!
Jonessa

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi everyone,
I have a one year old hen who has come up sick today. I noticed when I let them out this morning that she was looking a little lethargic, standing apart from the others with her eyes closed. I set her up in a crate to keep an eye on her. I offered her some leftover oatmeal from breakfast, which she ate readily. I just went out to check on her - she's up and moving around some, and was keen to come out onto the lawn. But then I noticed that the little bit of poop in the crate is diarrhea, and she has yellowish, pasty diarrhea on her bum feathers. Her abdomen and crop feel totally normal, no sign of prolapse, and she laid a normal egg the day before yesterday. No sign of any kind of respiratory symptoms.
Any ideas what I may be dealing with, and what I should do for her?
Thank you!
Jonessa

I'd work on hydration and keep her eating.

If she's not laid an egg and should have, give her 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet once daily for 3-5days to see if that helps.

Look her over for lice/mites and make sure her crop is emptying overnight. Getting a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem is always a good idea.

 

[Saaniya]

Hi everyone,
I have a one year old hen who has come up sick today. I noticed when I let them out this morning that she was looking a little lethargic, standing apart from the others with her eyes closed. I set her up in a crate to keep an eye on her. I offered her some leftover oatmeal from breakfast, which she ate readily. I just went out to check on her - she's up and moving around some, and was keen to come out onto the lawn. But then I noticed that the little bit of poop in the crate is diarrhea, and she has yellowish, pasty diarrhea on her bum feathers. Her abdomen and crop feel totally normal, no sign of prolapse, and she laid a normal egg the day before yesterday. No sign of any kind of respiratory symptoms.
Any ideas what I may be dealing with, and what I should do for her?
Thank you!
Jonessa

can u share a picture pls

 

[Jonessa]

I'd work on hydration and keep her eating.

If she's not laid an egg and should have, give her 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet once daily for 3-5days to see if that helps.

Look her over for lice/mites and make sure her crop is emptying overnight. Getting a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem is always a good idea.

Thank you. She's eating and drinking some. Regarding the calcium - how do I give it? Does it have to be calcium citrate? I have some calcium carbonate powder on hand.

 

[Jonessa]

can u share a picture pls

can u share a picture pls

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you. She's eating and drinking some. Regarding the calcium - how do I give it? Does it have to be calcium citrate? I have some calcium carbonate powder on hand.

You can give Calcium Carbonate if that's what you have on hand. Aim for 300-400mg Calcium Carbonate once daily for a week. If it's powder, stir it into a bit of yogurt or small treat that she may eat. If not, then mix with a small amount of water and syringe it into her.

She's not feeling well at all is she! Has she been dewormed?

 

[Jonessa]

You can give Calcium Carbonate if that's what you have on hand. Aim for 300-400mg Calcium Carbonate once daily for a week. If it's powder, stir it into a bit of yogurt or small treat that she may eat. If not, then mix with a small amount of water and syringe it into her.

She's not feeling well at all is she! Has she been dewormed?

I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath a few hours ago, and gave her a dose of calcium carbonate powder mixed with water via syringe. No egg yet, but she’s noticeably brighter. She has not been dewormed.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath a few hours ago, and gave her a dose of calcium carbonate powder mixed with water via syringe. No egg yet, but she’s noticeably brighter. She has not been dewormed.

Hopefully she will improve more. Encourage her to drink, if you have electrolytes those can be given.

Check her crop, is it emptying? Sometimes the crop can slow a bit when they are not well.

If she doesn't improve, then I'd consider deworming, just to see if that helps. Her poop is mucousy, but that could be reproductive as well. Hard to know.

To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm you can use Safeguard (Fenbendazole) or Valbazen (Albendazole). Both are given orally by weight; they do not mix well with water.

Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.
---OR---
Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days

Here's how to give oral medications:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Jonessa]

Hopefully she will improve more. Encourage her to drink, if you have electrolytes those can be given.

Check her crop, is it emptying? Sometimes the crop can slow a bit when they are not well.

If she doesn't improve, then I'd consider deworming, just to see if that helps. Her poop is mucousy, but that could be reproductive as well. Hard to know.

To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm you can use Safeguard (Fenbendazole) or Valbazen (Albendazole). Both are given orally by weight; they do not mix well with water.

Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.
---OR---
Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days

Here's how to give oral medications:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Okay, thank you very much for the advice!
She’s about the same this morning, brighter but not totally normal, resting, keeping her eyes open more, talking to me a bit, eating and drinking. Still no egg and no significant poop. I will check her crop, and repeat the calcium later today.