eyes shut and not eating

[momofgoose]

One of our bantam Wyandottes has had her eyes closed and will not eat or drink. She is still very feisty. We are giving her water through a dropper and she is holding it down. I have also given her some yogurt. But she will not eat or drink on her own and will not open her eyes. Any clues what could be wrong?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. How old is she, and how long has this been going on? What do her poops look like?

 

[momofgoose]

She is about 2 yrs. It is the 3rd day and her poop looks like white toothpaste.
Just found what might be a mite crawling on her. Dipping her now. Could that cause this?

 

[Eggcessive]

Mites can cause anemia and lethargy. White poo sounds like there is some kidney problem. What type of feed has she been on? Has shehad much salt in her diet? Can she walk and move her legs?

 

[momofgoose]

She does get salt we mix it with layer feed. She is moving fine. Just eyes closed and not eating or drinking on her own.

 

[ten chicks]

She does get salt we mix it with layer feed. She is moving fine. Just eyes closed and not eating or drinking on her own.

No need to add salt to feed,too much is dangerous.

 

[momofgoose]

If anyone has info on the cause of this please get back to me. Our poor chicken has been this way for 7 days now. Can not figure this one out.

 

[ten chicks]

If your bird has not been eating/drinking for 7 days,she is very weak,and could die from starvation. She needs to be tube fed,often when birds are ill/injured they will not/cannot eat,after a couple of days of not eating they become lethargic(trying to conserve whatever energy they have left)and then die from starvation.

This is where in my opinion birds are fragile,they often will not/cannot eat after an injury/illness,their body starts to shut down and they slowly starve. Birds have a very high metabolism their bodies burn up food very fast,b/c of this they require a constant supply of food to fuel their body,not food,no energy,and they just perish.

Tube feeding kickstarts their body,snaps them out of this lethargic state they go into.

While i really do not know what is wrong with your girl,i have seen these symptoms before in a chicken that had a concussion due to a peck to the head. He was tube fed for approx 7 days,and is now perfectly fine.

 

[momofgoose]

We have been tube feeding her water with electrolytes and yogurt. She is however failing. I don't think she will make it through the night. She did open one eye, but is no longer fighting us when we tube feed. She is a county fair grand champion of the show. I really hate to loose her.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that no one can figure out what is wrong with her. Do you think your vet could help? Has she ever had symptoms of egg yolk peritonitis or internal laying? I would probably get a necropsy on her by your state vet if she dies to find out the cause of her illness.