Generally unhealthy looking bird... WITH PICTURES!

[aviatrix]

Newbie. Never had a sick bird before, but this guy obviously isn't happy. 6 month old EE/Polish. Kinda lethargic, limping, tail is in rough shape, his eyes seem kinda squinted and red. Won't let me anywhere near him, always been shy though. Doesn't seem hungry either. I tried temping him with some bread just now and he was completely uninterested.

Any ideas?

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Is it just the pictures, or is the bird upright and appear to be straining?

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Is it just the pictures, or is the bird upright and appear to be straining?

I noticed that too.

How old is she (yes, it's a she)? Has she started laying? Can you feel an egg in her abdomen? She might be eggbound.

 

[aviatrix]

it's LICE!! Thinking she may be egg bound (6 months old, pretty sure she's laying) I put her in a warm bath. When she was in the bath I pulled her feathers apart and the poor thing is CRAWLING in translucent little creepy crawlies. First thing tomorrow I'm off to the feed store to get some lice treatment to treat all 6 of my flock. Might be too late for her though I'm afraid

There seems to be a lot of discussion on treatments from what I've read, I've never heard of or seen sevin dust before. I've had DE in their litter since day one, which obviously didn't help. Frontline I think is the way I'll go if I can't find Sevin.

My poor girls, I hope they all make it

 

[casportpony]

I don't think lice is your only problem, she looks like she has ascites and/or a stuck egg.
For the lice, go to a feedstore and get poultry dust for them and get Sevin spray for their coop and perches.

-Kathy

 

[aviatrix]

She's not swollen or puffy though. She's actually really skinny. and I felt around for a lump under her vent but can't feel anything other than her bone there. She did perk up a little bit after her bath, when I put her back in the coop she ate, drank, and curled up in her nesting box (it is bedtime here though). I'll check her again when I delouse her and the others though.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Ah, yep, lice would do that. If a chicken is infested enough, they will become so irritated that they won't eat or trick and just sit there. As long as you don't feel anything inside her abdomen, then the lice are definitely the problem. Everything casportpony mentioned is good to use. But if you can't find any of that, you can also try some flea/tick shampoo for dogs and cats.

 

[ssbs]

If she doesn't want to eat you can tube feed her. It is actually quite simple. Look through my posts and you'll see a thread about a skinny pullet. A member on here posted info about tube feeding. I used aquarium air line rather than a catheter. You can feed her meat baby food until you are able to get bird formula

 

[aviatrix]

She's still eating and drinking (thank goodness) but if after the treatment she's still skinny I'll manually feed her. I'll post an update when there changes.

Thank all of you for helping a newb out!

 

[casportpony]

If she is standing like a penguin, you should do a cloacal exam... Get some gloves, KY Jelly and gently check her for an egg.