Experienced Help Needed

[windhillmom]

12 week old Orpington Pullet
Vaccinated for Mareks
Purchased from Murray McMurry
Never been outside
Feed organic starter Crumble non corn/soy
Treated for Preventative Cocci-no symptoms ever
Administered oral Baytril 10% for 7 days
Administered 1 cc poultry cell apx 4 times
Currently feeding crumble mash via syringe 15cc 2x per day.
pullet will eat ONLY scrambled egg yolk, fed 2x per day. she will not eat anything else offered.
Weight 1 pound 8 oz



symptoms:

alert, somewhat chatty and moving when awake, but mostly sleeping.

very cold, tucks her head and sleeps directly on top of upside down heat plate under a ceramic heater.

Lack of appetite, as noted above refuses all foods except scrambled egg yolk.

extremely pale and a little unsteady/weak on her feet.

she is not getting better and not getting worse, treatments are keeping her maintained. In two weeks she has only gained 3 ounces.

Two other flock mates maturing and doing well

Covid is making it virtually impossible to see vet.

looking for

 

[windhillmom]

This is little Etta.
I should add that she is drinking fine and her poo is normal

 

[black_cat]

@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock , @azygous , or @HeatherKellyB could probably help you. Good luck with your sweet girl!

 

[Eggcessive]

Why has she never been outside? Do you have other chickens? What was the Baytril used to treat? Have you tried treating with Corid for possible coccidiosis? How long has she been sick? Did she eat well before recently? Can you try getting her to eat some chickenfeed made wet with water, some tuna or canned cat food, alternated with bits of scrambled egg? What are her poops like?

 

[RainbowHen]

I would strongly consider tube feeding her. She needs more nutrition than what she is eating on her own.

 

[azygous]

One thing almost everyone with chickens indoors for whatever reason forget is grit. The consequences don't show up for a few weeks and not all chickens experience trouble at the same time. Impacted or sour crop and blocked gizzard are the consequences.

Chickens allowed outside will hunt and find grit to swallow, but indoor chickens don't have this source. We need to supply it. Even if you don't feed extras such as fruit and veggies, chickens need grit for efficient digestion.

You haven't mentioned grit. Are you supplying it?

 

[windhillmom]

Why has she never been outside? Do you have other chickens? What was the Baytril used to treat? Have you tried treating with Corid for possible coccidiosis? How long has she been sick? Did she eat well before recently? Can you try getting her to eat some chickenfeed made wet with water, some tuna or canned cat food, alternated with bits of scrambled egg? What are her poops like?

Most of these questions I answered in my initial post. I have tried all kinds of food, from baby food to berries to tuna. Wet feed moist feed crumble and whole grain, no go.

no other chickens in the home except the two flock mates that came from the hatchery with her.

she has never been outside because she was too young and then became ill within the last 4-5 weeks.

I took her from the newbie chicken keeper because I had a lot more experience.

as far as I know she was normal until about age 6 weeks, that’s about when the owner started to see her spending more and more time under the heater and not coming out to eat like the others.

 

[windhillmom]

One thing almost everyone with chickens indoors for whatever reason forget is grit. The consequences don't show up for a few weeks and not all chickens experience trouble at the same time. Impacted or sour crop and blocked gizzard are the consequences.

Chickens allowed outside will hunt and find grit to swallow, but indoor chickens don't have this source. We need to supply it. Even if you don't feed extras such as fruit and veggies, chickens need grit for efficient digestion.

You haven't mentioned grit. Are you supplying it?

Yes grit was peppered on the feed and is available to eat. The digestive system appears to be in working order, crop fills, crop empties, poops are normal.

 

[windhillmom]

I would strongly consider tube feeding her. She needs more nutrition than what she is eating on her own.

she’s eating two scrambled egg yolks on her own and I’m feeding 30cc via syringe, how many cc of tube feeding would you recommend?

 

[RainbowHen]

At her age she should be eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of feed per day (dry). You can give her Ultra Kibble also. I'm sorry I missed that you were syringe feeding her. You can also add a bit of Bragg's apple cider vinegar to assist with digestion and absorption but it is absolutely not the cure all that many believe it to be. Do you know the mill date of your organic feed? Unfortunately with the higher cost of organic feed it tends to sit on the shelf longer and the quality of the feed suffers. Vitamin content is the first thing to start breaking down. What is their water source? I am wishing you all the best