Emergency: Hen weak and apparently starving?

[rbaker0345]

I was going to say mareks also, but the bird started losing weight BEFORE she became wobbly. Seabrights do tend to get mareks more than other breeds (in my humble experience anyway).

I would also caution against tube feeding without the help of an experienced person. If you get the tube down into her lungs, she's toast. If she is still eating, why tube feed? It's got to be some sort of malabsorbtion.

 

[casportpony]

I'd be willing to bet that she's not eating/drinking enough and that's *part* of the reason she's getting thinner.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Fermented grains? Would she have eaten moldy corn or other moldy food then? If so, a fungal infection would be a strong possibility & the symptoms would make perfect sense.

I had 3 hens starve to death from this, & have put a Fungal Infections page on the site linked in my sig to help other people treat such problems.

Best wishes!

 

[cutechick2010]

Fermented grains? Would she have eaten moldy corn or other moldy food then? If so, a fungal infection would be a strong possibility & the symptoms would make perfect sense.

I had 3 hens starve to death from this, & have put a Fungal Infections page on the site linked in my sig to help other people treat such problems.

Best wishes!

No, we never feed anything with mold on/in it. Plus she only started getting the ff AFTER she got sick. If there was any mold it would have to be in the commercial feed. I don't think that is it though, because none of the rest of the flock is having any problems. I will check out your page on the fungal infections though, just in case.

 

[cutechick2010]

I was going to say mareks also, but the bird started losing weight BEFORE she became wobbly. Seabrights do tend to get mareks more than other breeds (in my humble experience anyway).

I would also caution against tube feeding without the help of an experienced person. If you get the tube down into her lungs, she's toast. If she is still eating, why tube feed? It's got to be some sort of malabsorbtion.

I am far from confident enough to try tube feeding myself. Honestly I don't think she needs it, she is still eating well. But SOMETHING is stopping her from getting the benefits of the food. I don't know as much as I should about marek's, how do they get it? This hen was hatched out here and has never left, and if remember correctly all the other birds in the flock were either hatched on the place or vaccinated from the hatchery. I have heard that Sebrights tend to be more delicate health-wise, but of course she is only half Sebright. Her mother the Porcelain is twice her age and is doing great. The Porcelain hen even survived a raccoon attack last summer.

 

[cutechick2010]

Check her for mites and lice. Also check her at night and the coop for them. It could still be worms. They don't always appear in the poop.

We haven't been able to find any signs of mites/lice on her, no visible bugs or nits. I am going to see about de-worming her today.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

We haven't been able to find any signs of mites/lice on her, no visible bugs or nits. I am going to see about de-worming her today.

Great!!

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I am far from confident enough to try tube feeding myself. Honestly I don't think she needs it, she is still eating well. But SOMETHING is stopping her from getting the benefits of the food. I don't know as much as I should about marek's, how do they get it? This hen was hatched out here and has never left, and if remember correctly all the other birds in the flock were either hatched on the place or vaccinated from the hatchery. I have heard that Sebrights tend to be more delicate health-wise, but of course she is only half Sebright. Her mother the Porcelain is twice her age and is doing great. The Porcelain hen even survived a raccoon attack last summer.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-disease-fact-site

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-information-and-links

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mareks-disease-how-to-prevent-mereks-disease-treat-your-chickens

Here are some links about Mareks Disease.

 

[cutechick2010]

Ok, I have read over a good chunk of the Marek's info posted by willowbranch (thanks for that!) and made some notes and compared the little hen with said notes. First marek's symptom, paralaysis: She does not look to me to have that problem. Her wings ARE drooping and her stance is hunched, but that looks to me like the same "sick stance" that every ill or injured chicken tends to get. There is no gasping, and her eyes are bright and pupils look normal. Her skin looks normal, there is no rough or raised areas like the Merck's page showed. Crop appears normal, other than it is almost completely empty? When I opened the cage, she attempted to jump out and lost her balance and fell. But she got right back up after, and when I set her on the floor she walks around and pecks at spilled feed, etc. It didn't look like she was actually swallowing much, but was mainly just pecking around. She moves very slowly, but doesn't seem to be having trouble walking.

I do feel she is dehydrated, her poops while normal size etc are quite dry looking. When I splashed my finger in her water bowl, she came over and took one drink but that's it. She is even more horribly emaciated than before, I can literally feel all her ribs and details of her keel bone. I am going to see if we can get any yoghurt down her in a little while.

 

[Eggsoteric]

I'm so sorry you're going thru this with this little hen. I would certainly try the worming, however, the symptoms you've described remind me of my own favorite 3-1/2 y.o. Red Star hen that I lost this past year. After Betty passed I had a necropsy performed. Sometimes with these older hens they develop cancers that, despite our best care, they succumb to. Betty's final diagnosis was liver cancer. I hope you find an answer soon.