EMERGENCY!!! Chicken acting listless, green watery poo, need help!

[The Chickens' Maid]

Well, she made it through the night. She's more perky now; not as much as yesterday morning, she isn't standing, but she opens her eyes and looks around. She is MUCH better now than she was yesterday afternoon. She is still tired, and she sleeps most of the time. I'm giving her water, milk, yogurt, flour, sugar, salt, and chicken feed all blended together. It's even flavored now because I used the fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, and I just got to the bottom of the container. I've been feeding her every half-hour.

 

[Wynette]

Okay, cut out the salt and sugar; is she eating on her own, or are you syringing into her mouth, or tube feeding? Her poop was green because she wasn't eating enough...it's a good sign that it's not green any more, but watery isn't good, either.

I think you need to get more nutrition into this girl. The very best thing right now, IMO, would be to get some baby bird handfeeding formula at your local pet store. It's made for hand feeding baby birds (like parrots), and it's packed with nutrition. It's a powder that you mix with water into whatever consistency you want. If she's eating on her own, you could even mix it quite thick, sort of into chunks. If she's not eating on her own, make it soupier and blend it really well, adding yogurt (not flavored, it has too much sugar - just plain, low-fat) and maybe just a PINCH of electrolytes. Then, squirt it in SMALL amounts with a syringe. Don't go too much at once or she could aspirate it.

Water, also. WHen I've had sick ones, I do 2-3 syringe fulls of formula, then one of water, etc. Also, they need to be fed every 3-4 hours during the day.

If she's eating on her own, there are really good, nutritious veggies that might tempt her to eat more, like tomatoes and cucumbers. Dice in small pieces, then sprinkle with the baby bird handfeeding formula so she gets some nutrition via that, as well. Often, they're attracted to eating tomatoes because they are red.

IMO, the most important thing right now is getting nutrition into her.

 

[Kittymomma]

The Chickens' Maid :

Well, she made it through the night. She's more perky now; not as much as yesterday morning, she isn't standing, but she opens her eyes and looks around. She is MUCH better now than she was yesterday afternoon. She is still tired, and she sleeps most of the time. I'm giving her water, milk, yogurt, flour, sugar, salt, and chicken feed all blended together. It's even flavored now because I used the fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, and I just got to the bottom of the container. I've been feeding her every half-hour.

Oh good! How is she doing now? Have you been able to get any of the baby bird formula that Wynette suggested? I was thinking that maybe you should repost with a different title. This one was great, descriptive, but not crazy long--but things have changed a bit the last couple of days so maybe a new title/thread would get some fresh ideas?

I just feel bad because you haven't gotten very many responses. I've done lots of reading but have very little practicle experience with sick birds, and you've been trying sooo hard. Wynette's advice is very sensible, but I always think the more people that are involved the better the chance of somebody having dealt with the same problem before.

Anyhow, keep the updates coming. My thoughts are with you and your girl.​

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

The hen has passed away. It was natural and quick; she was not in any pain. Thank you for your responses and help, we all appreciate it.

 

[Wynette]

So sorry.

 

[CynthiaM]

Quote:
I don't think I have ever read information, such as the graphic pictures on that poop site, that has assisted me more with my understanding of what the feces of chickens should look like. It has given me masses of relief.

I have seen that poop sometimes, which looks exactly like the ones that said it is the shedding of the intestinal lining, in several pictures which are quite similar. It is the picture with the reddish stuff amongst the feces. I never realized that this was normal excrement from the birds, very normal and thought for surely that it was that coccidiosis that I have heard and read about. Clearly, the bloody poop of cocci is what is seen in the picture there that describes that health problem.

Also, that yellowish fluffy looking poop I see is normal too, that is the poop from the caecum, which is shed every 8-10 droppings. I also thought that I may have a sick bird or two, but see it is quite normal. I need to get a good book this winter for studying, always on a quest for knowledge. Great post of the pictures of chicken poop (whooda thunk).

 

[LauraT]

I just lost my rooster today. He has been listeless and very uninterested in food for quite some time. Has lost weight, too. But I did notice that he drank a lot of water, and thought was kind of odd. His poop was watery, whitish/greenish for the past week. I too, kept him in the house and the sunroom during the day. Poor soul just withered away. About a month ago I noticed he was not being himself. Stopped crowing altogether, was making some noises, moved slowly. I knew something was wrong with him. In looking at pictures of poop I'm thinking it was kidney failure???? Not sure. It's a sad day.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your rooster; I know how hard that is. I never thought about kidney failure. That's a good idea. How old was your rooster? I don't know exactly how old our hen was, but I think she must have been fairly old.

 

[gallusdomesticus]

I had a similar situation with a six year old barred rock hen that passed away yesterday from what appeared to be a viral respiratory illness. The vet said her yellow/green poop with little solid material in it was due to a metabolic problem and the coloration was due to an overproduction of bile that was passing through her system with insufficient food to process it. We treated her with two different types of antibiotics, vitamins, and milk thistle extract but she still passed away. Sometimes, despite your best efforts you lose them. Don't be hard on yourself, I'm sure she led a comfortable life. I'm sorry about your loss.

 

[M Brennen]

The hen has passed away. It was natural and quick; she was not in any pain. Thank you for your responses and help, we all appreciate it.

Did you ever figure out why your bird was sick? I’m dealing with the same issue.