Difficult diagnosis...help? update :(

[chicknmania]

We have a hen about 3 or 4 y.o.. Today I noticed she is lethargic, puffed up, and moving verrrry slowwly..also when sunning with the others she did not seem to want to lie down. And her tail is down. I also noticed that she went to the waterer but when she got there she suddenly lost interest in getting a drink. I caught her easily (bad sign) but she did try to bite, peck, and get away from me, a good sign. She is eating. Could this be cocci? I noticed some blood on our front porch a week or so ago, and also THOUGHT I saw some blood in the barn one day, but just wasn't sure, but in both cases it did not seem to be bloody poo. Our flock is free range and the rest seem normal and healthy (knock on wood) but I did notice some unusually runny poo (from someone) outside the barn, but no blood in it. Weather has been very cool and rainy for weeks, finally has warmed up to moderate temperatures, with sun the past couple of days. Any help would be greatly appreciated, we have a lot of young chicks....

I have the sick one isolated from the flock, in a pet carrier, but obviously she has been with them before today.

 

[Willie647]

I am not the expert but I had some worm problems after a time of rainy weather here too. There was several hens sick and we lost some before I got injectable Ivermectin and saved a couple since then. Real sick,not eating,bloated a lot etc. saved 2 but about a month later I have another sick one,one of the "saved" birds is sick. I am treating for parasites. Seems like the best thing out of a lot of guesses. Good luck.

 

[tammye]

has she laid lately? I would try to rule out that if she is egg bound or not

 

[crtrlovr]

Coccidiosis does not always present with bloody stool. I'd start her on Sulmet right away. The reason I said Sulmet rather than Corid is that some strains do not respond to the Corid (which I discovered after I'd lost several chickens and a duck over a period of time while they were being treated with the Corid). The Corid (amprolium) is not as hard on their systems, but it does not kill all the strains of coccidia, and apparently right around where I live there is a BOATLOAD of it in the soil.

Also check for lice & mites, as the little bloodsuckers can and will kill a chicken. From what you described though, I'd really suspect coccidiosis. Try to keep her eating, and give her high protein treats like scrambled eggs. Keep us posted.

 

[chicknmania]

OK, I have some eggs cooling for her now. Don't they basically develop resistance to Cocci if they're free range though? We have never had a problem with it bf in the six years we've had chickens.

I don't think she's eggbound, though she could be. How would I tell for sure?

But she's older and I'm not sure she's even still laying that much..her comb is slightly pale, too...like they get when they're not laying and/ or when they're sick.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Her pale comb could be from anemia from being sucked dry from worms:
http://www.new-self-sufficient-living.com/worms-in-chickens.html

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disparas.htm
internal parasites

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html
mites and lice

Please note that there are "egg withdrawal" times associated with medications. If she does lay eggs, you will need to toss the eggs for a specified time (you can do a search on BYC for the withdrawal times if interested). I have read that Wazine is a good wormer to start with, but have never had to use it. I have used Eprinex pour on, but it is off label. There is ivermectin too- you can search BYC for it too. Also, drugs.com has info on wazine, sulmet, and ivermectin.

One thing to note is that shed intestinal lining can look like bloody poo:
http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

Hens can get coccidiosis if immunocompromised, but the underlying reason might be worms.
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/coccidiosis.html

I think I wasn't really clear in the above post- if it were me, I'd treat for worms. There are medications that kill all external and internal parasites, and then there are wormers that are good because they don't kill too many worms at once. I really don't have enough experience to tell you what to start with.

Dawg53 is really good at giving advice on worms. If you look him up, maybe he would have something to add.

If you DO think it is coccidosis after looking over the coccidiosis webpage I listed above, then I would indeed go with sulmet as cntrlover said, because it also treats other conditions, which she might or might not have. If you look it up on drugs.com, it will give you more information.

 

[chicknmania]

I have heard that Sulmet is very hard on them. I have Sulfadimethoxine, that's what I will use, but I want to check her for internal laying or eggbound, first, and I have to wait for someone to get home to help me hold her. I am going to treat her for worms, too, although we only have Safeguard and it is pretty old, over a year.

 

[tammye]

treatment for an egg bound hen would be a warm abth for 30 minutes and lube up her vent with olive oil , not sure if I would give both a wormer and an antibiotic at the same time frame, both are rather harsh on them. hope she does well

 

[chicknmania]

I also noticed that she drank half her small waterer yesterday, if unusual thirst means anything. I'm starting her on the sulfa today. I had to order more dewormer.

 

[chicknmania]

I just read that excessive thirst can be a symptom of Salmonella, along with arthritis, which might explain her reluctance to move. This is scaring me. Anyone had experience with Salmonella?

She doesn't have any conjunctivitis, though, which I read is another symptom.