Help! Hen can't stand and left side weak--here is her poop

[cfs]

I treated her for worms (what kind of worm is that in her poop?), and Coccidosis. She is on fish oil, vitamin e with selenium, Nutridrench and high nutrient baby bird formula I put in balls since she barely eats. I need to get her stronger to drink!! She does eat dried mealworms and scrambled egg on her own. Would she be weak from big die off of worms? That is the first worm I have seen in her poop though. How long do you treat for Coccidosis? Can you tell from her poop what is wrong?

 

[cfs]

Please help!

 

[BantamLover21]

What wormer did you use? I am not an expert on worms, but I don't see any worms in her poop. The green blobs are just feed; the green color is a sign of her not eating enough. Unless you think she's eating enough on her own, you need to find a way to get nutrition to her. Tube feeding would be what I would recommend. Here are two links: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...h-my-bird-pics-for-visuals-very-detailed-post
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/722041/how-to-t-feed-a-sick-chicken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid

How old is this bird? If older than 8-12 months, then I do not think its Coccidiosis. But even if it is, if you are using Corid (is that what you're using to treat for Coccidiosis?), the vitamins you're giving her may be neutralizing the Corid's effect. Certain vitamins do that ( believe the main one is Thiamin), which is why it is recommended not to give vitamins during Corid treatment.

To make an accurate diagnosis, I need more information. What is her crop like (hard, big and squishy, etc.)? Is her abdomen swollen at all? Do you see any mites/lice on her skin or feathers? Any sneezing, gurgling, etc.? Do her legs seem paralyzed, or does she just seem too week to stand? Do you know if she was she vaccinated for Marek's Disease as a chick? What feed has she been eating? How long has she been like this?

 

[dawg53]

(What kind of worm is that in her poop?) Mealworm.

 

[cfs]

To make an accurate diagnosis, I need more information. What is her crop like (hard, big and squishy, etc.)? Is her abdomen swollen at all? Do you see any mites/lice on her skin or feathers? Any sneezing, gurgling, etc.? Do her legs seem paralyzed, or does she just seem too week to stand? Do you know if she was she vaccinated for Marek's Disease as a chick? What feed has she been eating? How long has she been like this?

Her crop is now (after force feeding her high nutrition baby bird formula with nutridrench and made to a mash using very little chick starter probiotic), big and squishy. It was empty in the am. I haven't seen any lice or mites. She isn't molting, sneezing, gurgling. Her legs are just extremely weak I think but the left one might be paralyzed. She was not vaccinated for Marek's Disease I believe. She had worms really bad and was malnourished. Her neck was droopy. I treated her for Wry Neck while waiting for lab results of her poop and her neck went back to normal. Vet said poop had worms and coccidosis. I wormed her with Panacur for five days and she went downhill. She was standing and walking and head normal (but crooked now), then got weak and cant stand or walk and sleeps all day. So I put her back on vitamins and vitamin e with selenium (stopped for the worming). She was eating and drinking but stopped. I wonder if she needs more Corrid? I stopped giving her that when she started getting worse around day 3 of worming and read don't give vitamins when giving Corrid. HELP! I am trying everything and not sure if I should keep the vitamins since he isn't eating, or stop that and put her on Corrid? If she makes it through the weekend I will be so grateful but I really need her to eat and drink on her own. I don't know how to get her water in her but I am force feeding her. Today is day 8 after she first got sick. I also wonder if she fell from her perch and injured her head and should be on prednisone. Does that help with paralyzed feet? I know the right one is weak but not paralyzed. I heard a loud squawk the night before I found her on the floor and my suspicion is the worms got to her, she feel while sleeping, traumatized her head, got Wry Neck, and is struggling from being wormed and maybe coccidosis. I read sometimes a little remains in the chick so I am wondering if she really had it that bad because the other four chickens in the coop with her are fine. I did worm them when worming Sweety (my sick hen).

I just need to know the next step to treat her. I guess keep the nutrients in her for a few days and by Monday decide? Should I try prednisone or Metcam? One person mentioned giving her an injection of Thiamin at the vet. Help!

 

[cfs]

Thanks Dawg, must have ended up there somehow because I was feeding her mealworms.

 

[BantamLover21]

To make an accurate diagnosis, I need more information. What is her crop like (hard, big and squishy, etc.)? Is her abdomen swollen at all? Do you see any mites/lice on her skin or feathers? Any sneezing, gurgling, etc.? Do her legs seem paralyzed, or does she just seem too week to stand? Do you know if she was she vaccinated for Marek's Disease as a chick? What feed has she been eating? How long has she been like this?

Her crop is now (after force feeding her high nutrition baby bird formula with nutridrench and made to a mash using very little chick starter probiotic), big and squishy. It was empty in the am. I haven't seen any lice or mites. She isn't molting, sneezing, gurgling. Her legs are just extremely weak I think but the left one might be paralyzed. She was not vaccinated for Marek's Disease I believe. She had worms really bad and was malnourished. Her neck was droopy. I treated her for Wry Neck while waiting for lab results of her poop and her neck went back to normal. Vet said poop had worms and coccidosis. I wormed her with Panacur for five days and she went downhill. She was standing and walking and head normal (but crooked now), then got weak and cant stand or walk and sleeps all day. So I put her back on vitamins and vitamin e with selenium (stopped for the worming). She was eating and drinking but stopped. I wonder if she needs more Corrid? I stopped giving her that when she started getting worse around day 3 of worming and read don't give vitamins when giving Corrid. HELP! I am trying everything and not sure if I should keep the vitamins since he isn't eating, or stop that and put her on Corrid? If she makes it through the weekend I will be so grateful but I really need her to eat and drink on her own. I don't know how to get her water in her but I am force feeding her. Today is day 8 after she first got sick. I also wonder if she fell from her perch and injured her head and should be on prednisone. Does that help with paralyzed feet? I know the right one is weak but not paralyzed. I heard a loud squawk the night before I found her on the floor and my suspicion is the worms got to her, she feel while sleeping, traumatized her head, got Wry Neck, and is struggling from being wormed and maybe coccidosis. I read sometimes a little remains in the chick so I am wondering if she really had it that bad because the other four chickens in the coop with her are fine. I did worm them when worming Sweety (my sick hen).

I just need to know the next step to treat her. I guess keep the nutrients in her for a few days and by Monday decide? Should I try prednisone or Metcam? One person mentioned giving her an injection of Thiamin at the vet. Help!

If her weakness was just caused by parasite/coccidia overload, she should recover if given supportive care. Continue trying to make sure she eats enough; try to force her to drink water, too. I would also move her legs back and forth to exercise them--without use, they'll lose muscle tone and it will be even harder for her to begin standing/walking again. Its a difficult decision as to whether to continue Corid (which means stopping the vitamins) or continuing to give vitamins but not treat with Corid. I would personally start her on Corid again, treat for about 3 days, and then (if there has been no improvment) go back to vitamins. The vitamins should be helping with her wry neck, but the results may not be immediate: it can take up to a month of vitamin treatment to completely cure wry neck.

I wouldn't start her on prednisone or Metcam. As long as her neurological damage wasn't too severe (if indeed there was any), her body should be able to heal itself in time on its own. If you think one of her legs is paralyzed, then I would treat with Hypericum/St. Johns Wort. That is a natural substance commonly used for treating birds with Marek's Disease. I used St. John's Wort on one of my cockerels with nerve damage in an injured leg, and (knock on wood), he appears to be almost healed. Here is a thread on the use of hypericum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/135247/st-johns-wort

Good luck!