Drunken chicken

[sloth]

Help, our chicken 'Tofu' has not been laying for a few weeks now. As of a few days ago, I noticed she is loosing feathers, now she can't stand upright, falls to one side when walking. She also boobs her tail when squating, as if she is trying to lay an egg or something. I have her cooped up now, and per advice from some threads I read earlier on this site, have begun feeding her her a mash of yogurt, egg yolk, water and medicated feed. Any suggestions what she might have? I hope it isn 't mareks? One more thing, I noticed she had worms awhile back, so I have been putting Cayenne pepper in her feed and the one other chicken I have to kill the worms.

Appreciate any and all advice

 

[obe10]

cayenne pepper?!?!?! where did you hear that? i would use wazine to worm her.

sorry don't know what else to tell you

 

[sloth]

I was told cayenne pepper by the owner of the local feed store.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sounds like she might be egg bound on top of worms. You need to find a wormer that can treat the type of worms she has. Furthermore, pepper isn't going to do anything and the medicated feed is likly the chick type that is ONLY for the prevention of cocci which will also do nothing at this stage. Keep her hydrated, ideally take a sample of her poo to a vet for a fecal float to determine the type of worms (or treat with a broad spectrum wormer), then work at getting her back into shape.

 

[DianeB]

Loose feathers and acting drunk. It sounds like botulism. Do you know if she got into anything?

DB

 

[sloth]

botulism? Yikes! I just tried to hydrate her with a syringe thingy I got. So, you think deworming her now is the call? If she has an egg stuck in there, how do you get it out?

 

[DianeB]

I'm sorry! I just read over you orginal post. If it came on slowly, it probably is not botulism. It sounds more like what happened to my Lucy. She never layed and just slowly wasted away. She had severe seizures toward the end and could barely move or walk around. She ended up having giant tumors in her ovaries. I was told by the vet that did her autopsy that it is pretty rare. So, it may not be what is wrong with your chicken. It is just a possiblity.

If she is egg bound or if she has tumors, you need to take her to a vet ASAP. I know it is hard to find a vet that see chickens. Try ones that specialize in avians and exotics.

When you do take her to the vet, don't make the mistake I did. Insist on an x-ray that show her side and underneath. They are somewhat expensive (about $100 each), but you will know exactly what you are dealing with. Most vets will do a payment plans if you can't afford it right now.

Please, try to take her to a vet. I regret not taking in my chicken in sooner and sparing her a lot of pain.

Good Luck
DB

 

[sloth]

Wow, sorry to hear about your chicken DianeB. 100 dollars is a little much for this particular chicken. If I can't cure them with over the counter remedies, I usually just let em go or at the very least keep them from suffering. Thanks.