Laineybug

Songster
5 Years
Nov 29, 2015
30
44
104
Hey everyone.
My family is currently taking care of a chicken that lives with a friend of ours with about 6 other chickens. We are chicken sitting while they are away. The other day we found a really cute polish who was very limp and lethargic. I wasn't home at the time and I assumed my brother checked her over and made sure there wasn't anything broken or externally wrong. Turns out when I held her and looked over her she was and is EXTREMELY malnourished and thin. I can see and feel the bones in her body. I also noticed mites and lice. I originally thought that this was the reason she was so underweight. Well we have fixed the big problem(we took her to our place for care and quarantine) and she is bug free now. We assumed that she would regain her strength and start feeling better. It is now day 3 of being bug free and nothing has changed.

When she came to us she wouldn't hold her feet under her and would rather stretch out. And she is unable to hold her head up. She is continuing to do so. I don't believe she is getting a lot of water unless I syringe it for her. She pecks at the food and watermelon we give her. Tonight I noticed that she gasps for air almost and sometimes doesn't swallow but still can't hold her head up or even stand. We are not quite sure of our next steps. So far she has electrolytes on her water and some Vet rx. And we have her propped up so her head can sit up in a way. Any ideas? Thank you.
 

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I would concentrate on getting fluids into her in case she is dehydrated. Poultry NutriDrench would be good. She could have neurological symptoms or signs of dehydration or even Mareks disease. Hard to know for sure. Vitamin E 400 IU and thiamine (B1) which is found in B complex can be given daily for treatment of neurological problems. Do you know if the chickens were vaccinated for Mareks disease? If she dies, you can keep the body refrigerated or cool in a cooler, and ship it to the state vet for a necropsy to look for what was wrong.
 

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