EMERGENCY!! SICK HEN

[Georgia Dream]

Believe me tubing a chicken is not a big deal it is very simple.

i just checked on her and shes laying right against the food and water as if she has been eating and drinking so im hoping she is going to be ok and get some rest and be back to normal in the morning...

 

[Urban Flock]

You need to get some fluids in her asap. Slowly with a syringe a little bit at a time so she can swallow. Hold her firmly but not so tight that she can't breathe. Insert your finger nail between the lower and upper beak and it will open. You may have to move your fingers towards the back of the beak on the sides to keep it open. This may take a few times. She won't like it and will try to move her head away. Just keep trying. When I have had to do this the hen will fight me at first but calm down after a few tries. Make sure you go SLOWLY with the syringe. After a bit of liquid let her beak go so she swallow and then repeat. You want her to swallow the liquid and not get it in her lungs. Hoping for the best.

 

[Georgia Dream]

You need to get some fluids in her asap. Slowly with a syringe a little bit at a time so she can swallow. Hold her firmly but not so tight that she can't breathe. Insert your finger nail between the lower and upper beak and it will open. You may have to move your fingers towards the back of the beak on the sides to keep it open. This may take a few times. She won't like it and will try to move her head away. Just keep trying. When I have had to do this the hen will fight me at first but calm down after a few tries. Make sure you go SLOWLY with the syringe. After a bit of liquid let her beak go so she swallow and then repeat. You want her to swallow the liquid and not get it in her lungs. Hoping for the best.

Ok thank you so much for the information and for all the helpful tips! I appreciate all the help

 

[Georgia Dream]

UPDATE:

She is still in her crate, i went to check on her a bit ago and found that she is doing...alright...not much change that i can tell, she will open her eyes and occasionally stand up to sleep or lay down (not moving from the same place) she hasnt moved all night, i saw she has went to the bathroom, the poop looked slightly runny, still had a bit of firm mixed with the wet i couldnt get a great look because of all the bedding i had in there, and i didnt want to open the crate to bother her. she will occasionally move her mouth and shake her head, so im still hopeful she will pull through, im planning on leaving her in the crate today completely because i dont want a repeat of yesterday where she ran off and hid someplace.

Suggestions still happily taken!

P.S. Thank you to ALL the people that gave me advice yesterday the help and information is greatly appreciated. This is my first sick hen so im very timid and scared about this, but i appreciate all the support!

 

[mg15]

Hi,
She may take Exact Bird Food it is in a powdered form at PetCo or Petsmart. You can put in a syringe and she may drink it for energy and it has electrolytes. Or make your own to give her energy

 

[JJSS89]

QuikChick works well too. Make sure she gets some good clean fluids and then let her make her decision.

Keeping her isolated is important too, the others might push her around and weaken her. You'll learn that the tough thing with sick chickens is that they usually don't show obvious signs until it's too late. Their incredible pain tolerance and simple lifestyle makes it difficult to detect illnesses until they are beyond helping.

 

[Georgia Dream]

Well shes been eating lately i felt her crop and felt food in there not much but a good bit, i saw her drink some water aswell, she is still having runny poops and im not sure what to do, they arnt like completely liquid or to that extreme point people start tube feeding, they are just white and kinda a dark forest green...not sure if color has anything to do with it, shes been moving around alot more, and i was going to let her out today, but she just runs back into the cage, so everyone is saying "she feels safe and likes it there" but im not sure thats true or not or if she is just not wanting to go back to the coop? shes still letting me pick her up and everything which isnt "odd" but she used to squawk a bit now nothing really except a little bit of peeping, still sleeping but definitively not as much as before.. I think shes getting better (more praying and hoping she is) but i dont think im out of the woods just yet, should i still be trying to give her the syringe food/liquids as mentioned or should i just let her do her own thing (no matter how slow and how often it may be)

Thanks for the help

Amber

 

[BayBay Peepers]

When is the last time you wormed her? What kind of bird is it? How much does she weigh? You may need to get a tube and syringe to get enough nourishment in her. And you may need an antibiotic if there's an infection in there. Can you post a picture of her poop?

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Also, what kind of wormer do you use? And have you checked to see if she has an egg stuck? How old is she? Sorry for the 20 questions, but it's important to know to start ruling things out.

 

[birdman55]

yes I would say she might be overly crowded with worms....here is some good wormers....and ofcourse corid....is there any mucus/bubbles in her poo....do you notice any worms in there as well....valbazen 1/2cc orally (just get the liquid around her airway and it will go down the right tube) if she starts like gargling you know you got it down the wrong tube...1.2ml/cc of safeguard wormer....those are your two best options for wormers I would also give her....1/2ml/cc of corid...you bird sounds like the one I just treated....but I had to tube feed her...here are some pics and a link with plenty of pics...hope this helps....please get the syringe and tube ready for just in casers.....

syringe for dosing is a 3ml syringe...I would recommend getting one that is more narrow so you can put it down farther in the birds mouth

tube feeding a chicken
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/946493/need-help-with-sick-chicken
biggest thing is to keep her away from everyone (birds) and keep warm...warmer the better....hope this helps