Hard molt in January with watery diarreah and lethargy

[exactlyzac]

Moving from another thread to here

Thanks @azygous

+ Green, watery diarreah for at least 5 days now
+ Hard molting (in the middle of January?! Is this normal??)

+ We're in Chicago, so it's been pretty cold these past couple weeks - down to single digits one night

All these symptoms have shown up in the last couple days:
Fluffed up, eyes dull, lethargic, self isolating off from the others, tail down low and flat

They don't have access to compost but SOMEBODY gave the flock too much pizza about 2 weeks ago (it was me). Nobody else got diarrhea (somehow) and I didn't notice this girl having problems till about a week later.

She's pretty flighty but I'll try to catch er n give her a physical and get some photos for you later.

For now I'm thinking I'll isolate her (sad to separate her from the others since it's cold and she's molting) and give the flock a round of Corid.

Any thoughts on what else I should do??

Quote

 

[azygous]

Yes, molt in January is not all that uncommon, bad timing for sure, though.

The greenish poop signifies very poor appetite. The poor appetite can be from molting or it could be an infection. Treating for the simplest most obvious condition first can rule out the more serious. So, first of all, offer some sugar water with a pinch of salt and baking soda to balance her electrolytes and boost her glucose. Warm Gatoraid, if you have it, will work. Then offer her a soft boiled egg, nice and runny. If she refuses to eat that, then perhaps she is suffering from an infection if it appears these measures aren't causing improvement.

Rotting food in compost won't decompose in winter, but it can still harbor insects that are infected by bacteria. I've had such illnesses in my flock in winter. These can be very serious. I had one death before I was able to recognize the symptoms early and treat with amoxicillin. It would be wise to locate an antibiotic in case you need to treat your chicken. Ordering by mail will take time you may not have the luxury of being able to wait.

Worms and/or coccidia can infest chickens' intestines in winter and cause these symptoms. Worming and treating with Corid cannot hurt a bit. If you are able, I suggest you do both as soon as possible.

 

[exactlyzac]

Thank you so much for the advice.

I'll get right on it and let you know how it all turns out.

 

[exactlyzac]

Okayyy, Dr. Dad reporting for duty, @azygous !!

I took your advice and mixed up electrolyte water, added Corid and got some antibiotics just in case.

I'll get de-wormer once the chicken store opens tomorrow morning.

I gave our little Willow a physical, and did a bunch of research and here is what I found:

CROP
Willow's crop was full and hard (like a golf ball) first thing this morning, so we're definitely looking at an impacted crop, which would explain all of her symptoms except for the diarrhea... my first thought is sour crop, but that usually has a soft mass, not a hard one, right?

DIET
Some people recommend taking food away entirely at this point, but since she's molting, I have Willow isolated with her normal food mixed with water to make a mash, and will give her the soft boiled egg here in a bit.

I don't want to overfeed her, but do want her to get that proteins for her molt, right??

TREATMENT
+ WATER: I added electrolytes, Corid, and Ropa Poultry complete to her water and for the rest of the flock (natural water supplement with vitamins, antioxidants and essential oils to boost immune system)
+ MINERAL OIL: The plan is to give 1 ml under the tongue with a syringe in the morning and again before roost
+ I'm considering adding water to her crop and massaging it to try to break up the mass, but haven't heard of anyone doing this at the same time as mineral oil.

Okay! So that's pretty much where I'm at.

I'm still confused about the diarrhea, but glad to have at least identified one problem, and would definitely welcome any recommendations or course correction you have here.

Oh! And would you recommend keeping her isolated at night (due to mystery diarrhea) or would you let her sleep with the girls again? I have a good pen for her that has a little roost and blocks the wind, but we have a big snow storm coming, and I feel bad keeping her alone at night while she's molting, ya know?

 

[exactlyzac]

Oh, and here are some pics of our sick Willow, the natural water additive and her (very wet) droppings

 

[azygous]

Nice work, Dr Dad! The mystery of diarrhea with an impacted crop really isn't. A blockage such as impaction causes the chicken to comsume more water than normal, so wet poop results. An impaction farther down causes the cecum to be blocked and that causes fluids to be expelled rather than distributed into the tissues as they normally are. If you see no cecal poop amidst the diarrhea, the cecum is blocked.

Offering grit helps clear an impacted crop and gizzard. You will need to get at least a teaspoon of oil into the patient. I use slightly chilled coconut oil and slip the pieces into the beak as I would a pill.

Here's my article on crop disorders. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[exactlyzac]

Wow, thank you @azygous !

I don't know whether I'm more grateful or impressed here, but sure is a lot of both... from me and Willow alike!

So we've been wondering, how do you know all this? At first I thought you were a vet, but we took a loot at the photos in your article and now Willow thinks that maybe you work in the field and just really know your stuff.

Not trying to be nosey, just curious!

Anyhow, I'll get to it on all your advice. Just a couple questions:

1 :: GRIT ::
Now or Later?

Our girls have sand + pea gravel in the run and plenty of little rocks to monch on in the yard, so I stopped putting grit out for them. Also because they ignored it. Anyhow, I can put some more out for Willow, or even sneak a little in with her egg dinner

BUT!

Do you think I should get straight to the grit, or see if I can make some progress on the crop first? I'm just concerned about creating further blockage.

2. If the diarrhea is no longer a mystery, should this give me the confidence to let Willow roost with the rest of the girls tonight?

Thanks a million whoever you are!

- Z