Feeling Yuckie, not sure what's wrong

[jhat]

That is another question I have. The sick hen is not molting...her feathers look fine...not even puffed out or ruffled or anything. There is another hen who looks SO ragged...all her feathers are crazy looking, sparse...short tail...i thought it was molting but someone here said 1.5 years of age is too young to molt! is that true? she seems perfectly healthy otherwise.

 

[Eggcessive]

The first big molt takes place around 16-18 months, then yearly thereafter. Every chicken does it in their own time.
edited for spelling

 

[BantamLover21]

That is another question I have. The sick hen is not molting...her feathers look fine...not even puffed out or ruffled or anything. There is another hen who looks SO ragged...all her feathers are crazy looking, sparse...short tail...i thought it was molting but someone here said 1.5 years of age is too young to molt! is that true? she seems perfectly healthy otherwise.

Well, at least in my experience, 1.5 years is almost always the age at which my birds molt. But some molt sooner, others later. It just depends on the individual bird, its care, and any stresses in its life.

 

[jhat]

thanks for all the answers! my main concern is still my sick hen though...should i repost the questions somewhere else?

 

[ten chicks]

thanks for all the answers! my main concern is still my sick hen though...should i repost the questions somewhere else?

Is her comb still purple? This can indicate several things,can be hormonal or circulatory issues specifically heart related. What exactly are her symptoms,how is her poop,is she eating/drinking? Have you checked her crop for either an impact or sour crop? have you checked her over for lice/mites? I read that you have already wormed her.

 

[Eggcessive]

hi! i'm having the same problem with my 1.5 year old blue andalusian. she has been acting listless just moping around, not her usual self. i don't think she has diarrhea but her big floppy comb is turning dark purple almost black...not frostbite. she only picks a little and drinks a little water. i isolated her in her own cage with fresh hay and food and water yesterday. i put wazine in the water for her and all of the chickens...there are 19. today she is just sitting in the cage a little dopey but head up...eyes clear. all the other guys are acting normal. the coop got pretty dirty this summer so i'm doing a big clean out tomorrow. last week she was craning and twisting her neck and opening her mouth really wide. i heard that is a symptom of worms but she stopped doing it. we also have two goats and 4 kittens and they all mix it up.

i would like to know about some things i have read on BYC...could someone tell me how to give, in what quantity, how often and the reason for feeding the chickens: garlic, apple cider vinegar, probiotics, cayenne pepper...and are there any other magic helpful healthy things i can feed them regularly?

also, a vet told me that if i give antibiotics i can't ever eat the eggs again because there is no withdrawal time...what about that?

i'm mortified that our hen may be suffering because of something i did or did not do and i feel helpless.

thanks for any advise i can get!!!

another Jen

Sometimes it is best to start your own new thread since many people read the name of the thread and respond mostly to that person. A dark comb turinng black seems to me to be a bad heart. Opening her mouth wide adjusting her neck may be that she is trying to get her breath or is having trouble breathing. Certain things like garlic and cayenne pepper are used by some to control worms, but there is no research proving this helps. Vinegar "mother" contains probiotics and vitamins helpful to the digestive tract, while vinegar itself is an old timey remedy for health--it also acidifies the GI tract. Many believe this is good for controlling coccidiosis. Some antibiotics, not all, are not meant for egg layers. The companies caution using them because certain ones can cause allergic reactions in people eating those eggswho happen to be allergic to those drugs. Many people just wait until a reasonable amount of time, and eat the eggs anyway, but those eggs should not be sold to the public.

 

[jpelton]

I am back... My Orpington for whom I started this thread, is doing fairly well. I determined she had a fever but after 2 doses of the Tylon 50 she is feeling better, but she is still not eating very well. She is however drinking water like it's going out of style, which I'm sure is a symptom of something, but it is getting the Tylon 50 in her because I gave up on trying to force it down her mouth as she was feeling better this got harder to do. I did take the suggestion to give her a scrambled egg which I was glad she ate this morning.I let her out in the porch this morning and although she has lost some waight she was very active and her tail was up as apposed to a few days ago she was tail down and very lethargic. I did give her the Valbazin and OUT CAME THE WORMS!!

4 days of Tylon 50
Lots of Water
1 day of eating O.K. but not like a chicken
still has water (Urine) for poop with a little substance to it

Tomorrow will I will switch to Penicillin ( need to look up how much and how often)
Still keep her separate so I can monitor her poop and eating

I feel like the best guess for what happened to her is an intestinal infection due to worms. I hope the damage is not irreparable.
I went to Tractor Supply and bought Penicillin, electrolytes and ; Duramycin 72-200 and some more Nutra Drench

I am hoping she is in the clear and will make a full recovery but I am still very concerned about the watery poop and lack of apatite.
Thank for the advice and any more is always welcome.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm glad that she is drinking and passed the worms. I still worry that she might have coccidiosis since she and the others still have diarrhea. I would question using penicillin on her, and Duramycin is another respiratory drug. If she did have an intestinal problem from worms, which I tend to doubt, an antibiotic such as streptomycin or others might be a better choice. I would probably treat her with Corid for 5 days. One thing I would do is to eliminate the oregano oil right now. I have used oregano on my chickens and dogs, and the oregano made my dog very ill (nausea, would not eat) until it was out of his system. Garlic is good.

 

[seminolewind]

I am back... My Orpington for whom I started this thread, is doing fairly well. I determined she had a fever but after 2 doses of the Tylon 50 she is feeling better, but she is still not eating very well. She is however drinking water like it's going out of style, which I'm sure is a symptom of something, but it is getting the Tylon 50 in her because I gave up on trying to force it down her mouth as she was feeling better this got harder to do. I did take the suggestion to give her a scrambled egg which I was glad she ate this morning.I let her out in the porch this morning and although she has lost some waight she was very active and her tail was up as apposed to a few days ago she was tail down and very lethargic. I did give her the Valbazin and OUT CAME THE WORMS!!

4 days of Tylon 50
Lots of Water
1 day of eating O.K. but not like a chicken
still has water (Urine) for poop with a little substance to it

Tomorrow will I will switch to Penicillin ( need to look up how much and how often)
Still keep her separate so I can monitor her poop and eating

I feel like the best guess for what happened to her is an intestinal infection due to worms. I hope the damage is not irreparable.
I went to Tractor Supply and bought Penicillin, electrolytes and ; Duramycin 72-200 and some more Nutra Drench

I am hoping she is in the clear and will make a full recovery but I am still very concerned about the watery poop and lack of apatite.
Thank for the advice and any more is always welcome.

Sounds like a plan. Hopefully Pen will do the trick.

 

[seminolewind]

I've gotten 2 good doses of Tylon 50 in her, she is picking at her food but she is drinking water. I noticed today that she is VERY worm when I put my hand on her belly by her legs. I checked one of the other chickens in the same place and my Orpington definitely is Hot. I'm going to De worm her with the Valbazine and get some penicillin tomorrow.

When I give her meds by mouth or force feed her (not done that yet) are their any concerns about aspirating the lungs?

I don't force feed, and usually drip water one the side of their beak or put the tip of the beak in the water. I've only tube fed once.