Have been treating for almost a month but chicken not getting better. Any suggestions?

[JJw]

I have been a chicken owner for the last 10 yrs. I have had up to 15 chicken but am currently down to 3. I read somewhere that having chickens tends to make you a small animal vet. That is how I have felt lately. I have a 7 year old buff orpington. She hasn't layed in a while but she has been a mother hen to the other two chickens. When I cam back from vaca in early July, I noticed she was beginning to ail. (she free ranges most of the time and is only in the coop at night or when we are away.) Her breathing was a little labored and I found she had mites and lice so I treated her and she seemed to do better. But after a while she became more lethargic, checked again and not mites or lice, so I assumed respiratory infection. I treated with 5 injections of Tylan 50 for 5 days plus fluids sub Q. Again she seemed a little better but wasn't eating or drinking much. The next thing I assumed was worms so I de wormed with Wazine. I had to force feed her the water to make sure she had consumed it. (mind you I did all of this over the course of almost a month, not back to back. Anyway, it seems to me she should have either died or gotten better by this point but she is still ticking! When she does eat, (water melon, crickets, some pellets, wheat grain,egg) she eats hungrily but then stops after a short while... Her crop keeps emptying every morning though there isn't a lot in there for her to digest. Apart from hand feeding her for the rest of her life ....I'm at a loss of what to do for her. She is still very slow, with droopy waddle, wings and tale. She isn't egg bound and defecates appropriate to the amount she eats. Does anyone have any other suggestions?? Thanks!

JJ

 

[snow5164]

Maybe she’s just old ? Did you make her scrambled eggs? You’ve done so much , I’ve got nothing to suggest .... she’s a tough old bird

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she still lay eggs? At her age, she could be suffering from arthritis or a reproductive disorder. Internal laying or salpingitis are common in older hens, and can cause an enlarged lower belly between the legs. They can walk a bit like a penguin, have labored breathing, and have a poor appetite. Ascites or fluid in the lower belly is common in these hens. I would just try and keep her eating and drinking, and make her relatively comfortable until she lets you know she is suffering, then put her down.

 

[JJw]

Thanks for the encouragement... I gave her scrambled eggs with olive oil, ground egg shells, and garlic tonight in addition to about 15 small crickets. she is super skinny so no water retention, I did notice a dry scab on her crop and when I was scraping it off it was connected to a "plug" of I'm guessing infection. not sure how the that happened, maybe a thorn??? Anyway, nothing else came out when I squeezed (sorry, gross I know) and I cleaned it with peroxide and then sprayed blue Kote on it.... Maybe this was the cause....I'll just wait and see... She is a tough girl. use to attack my Aussie if she was too close to her girls... like a roster! she is so funny. I do hate to see her suffer so if she doesn't show any signs of improvement and gets worse I will put her down. Thanks all!