Help - Listless Hen, Comb Color changed, and beak open?

[Rutus]

Well, she is doing a little better, it seems - a bit perkier, and I have been able to do a couple more eye dropper sessions to make sure she is getting enough water and medication (I think I now know what it sounds like when a chicken burps!

) I am wondering if she is able/interested in eating, though, since her breathing is so wheezy and labored. I will do some research and see if there is something we can fix - oatmeal, some mashed up fruit, who knows? - that would be easier for her to swallow that the usual layer mash we feed them.

I am hoping no cardiac issues; I don't hear any clicking or cardiac sounds that I know of. So here's hoping it is just a respiratory infection and that we have caught it in time. The wheezy breathing sounds just like a kid with a bad croup or something similar. Maybe she just needs a few days off school and lots of ice cream . . .

 

[chkn]

Give her some catfood!

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I dont recommend catfood. Catfood is high in protein, in conjunction with 16-18% protein in layer feed adds up to way too much protein which can cause gout when they get older. I temporarily use gamebird feed only during molt to help with feather regrowth. Gamebird feed is about 22-26% protein.

 

[Rutus]

Dawg, thank you for your advice - I know you are well regarded on this site when it comes to chicken disease/treatment issues!

Here is today's update: This morning, the bird was more active, and now tries to escape when I come after her to try to pick her up (she and the other 3 hens have always been very skittish about being picked up, and one reason we knew she was sick yesterday was that she did not resist being approached or picked up, and was even pretty docile when I examined her throat, etc.) Her comb is a more normal red color compared to the purplish color yesterday morning.

She did not want to eat any of the apple, scrambled egg, or layer mash I offered her yesterday, and so far as I can tell, still is not interested. I cannot tell whether she has been drinking on her own, but my sense from checking the water bowl is that she has not. Of course, I gave her a pretty good amount of water with Sulmet and vitamin/electrolyte supplement during the day yesterday, so maybe she was filled up.

By later yesterday she was pooping a few times, very watery and mostly clear; this morning they are still watery but with some darker material also. I checked her vent yesterday and it looked fine. She did seem to be making frequent efforts to expel something - just judging by the muscle movements going on - but did not appear to be in any distress in that regard.

Last night, one of my daughters said that she made a more normal cluck-like noise, not just the wheezing. But this morning the wheezing is still there, with the mouth open much of the time. I assume the Sulmet would take at least a couple days to show noticeable improvements, right?

My main concern now is: how to get her Sulmet solution to her? I guess we will have to chase her around the garage, grab her, and do the dropper routine again. Or maybe keep her in a big cardboard box rather than letting her roam under the boat and the old 911....