Do very sick chickens ever recover and live for long?

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry you have a sick chicken.
Answering the following questions along with photos of you chicken, any wounds/injuries they may have and of the poop would be very helpful.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/have-an-emergency-disease-please-read-first.3569/

 

[Sneebsey]

I would suggest avoiding feeding her the treats you are currently giving her; as she's sick she really needs high protein foods. Unmedicated chick-crumbs may help with the protein, and you can feed her mashed up boiled egg too. Do you provide mixed grit? If her crop is not emptying, it may be that she does not have enough grit in there to grind up the food.

 

[basement chick]

Here she is today a little mad because i just dripped water on her beak for awhile because she doesnt seem to be drinking enough but still alive. More poo in the overnight crate this morning still watery but more solids than yesterday. Crop is almost empty! She went crazy for some grit on the bground so i let her have a little more. She did eat scrambled egg but not much else. Tonight i am going to retreat with ivermectin pour on. I know some say use something else but my vet is very sure it is capillary overload and ivermectin is the right choice. It has helped and certainly not hurt so i am going with the vet no disrespect to all your experiences just my gut feeling. I will have anothwr float done next wek by the vet. I do thank all for advice. Cutting out the treats may be what has kept her alive. I thought just get food in her which was wrong for a chicken. Still learning! I also keep leting her graze because she just seems to come alive outside. I did cut down all my tall grass around their favorite bushes and i watch her closely. Oh she seems to have stopped going for the pine shavings but will still keep her away for now. Thank you all again. I was ready to give up and at least have some hope now.

 

[Sneebsey]

I'd definitely try some egg or chick-crumb if she won't take pellets. I agree that you should perform a second float-test (you can do this at home, too) to ensure the worms have been taken care of, and re-medicate with a different medication if necessary. As @Wyorp Rock suggests, introducing some oil; coconut (or olive works too, though solid-form oil is easier to introduce into the crop) and gently massaging her crop may help; it could be that the feed is becoming impacted as she is having a lot of fibrous foods.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think she's done. Her abdomen is hard. Not swollen but hard. That's not normal? She iis not eating or drinking unless i let her out to peck for bugs. Just standing all hunched up. I do havethe acidified copper sulfate in the water.

I'm very sorry to hear she is not doing well

The hard abdomen and standing hunched up is likely reproductive/internal laying.


I do wish that I had better answers for you or could tell you how to fix this. The only thing I can say is to make her as comfortable as you can and give her some love.

On a person note - Sadly, I too have had a few hens with these symptoms. I have found that once they stop eating/drinking, then it's time for me to make a heartbreaking decision to let them go. I have opened up each of my girls to investigate what was going on. Every one of them had some form of reproductive problem-from cancer to egg masses in the abdomen. It's very sad, but seeing that, I knew there was nothing more I could have done. My girls are all buried in the backyard along the woods, each has a handpainted stone to mark their place.

 

[Birds of a Feather]

Some hens can recover from quite bad illnesses. If she's well enough to roost and walk, I wouldn't give up hope.

 

[Sneebsey]

If you're going to re-medicate, I would chose a different wormer; you don't want the parasites to become immune to Ivermectin, and retreating with an unsuccessful medication is just throwing good money after bad. @Wyorp Rock suggested some good choices earlier; I've used fenbendazole before. Just keep massaging that crop if it gets hard again; it does sound as though it's becoming impacted from all the fibre in her current diet; hopefully you'll be able to get her to start eating proper feed again soon.

 

[MROO]

She's SOOO pretty! Sending happy thoughts and strength your way ... Good Luck!

 

[Sneebsey]

Got them mixed up there. Thanks @Wyorp Rock

 

[basement chick]

She is such a fighter! I expect to find her gone in her nestbox every morning. But i peek in and she is looking at me with the others. Today she shocked me by joining tne others for their morning treat, a small handul of sunflower chips. This sweet girl can barely stand but she got in there and pecked a few, getting knocked over and pushed down, but still going. She has not done that for weeks. I did start the yeast infection treatment yesterday. I screwed up and got the suppositories but maybe that is easier than the cre cream. Just cut off a chunk and got it in her with several squirts of water. She drank lots of fresh water and lots of the water with the copper sulfate stuff. I won't give up til she does! Bless her little chicken heart!