Help! My chicken stopped eating and has had a fever since 4/23 - a week ago Saturday!

[amyduck]

I took her to the vet on Thursday after she stopped eating. He said to force feed her and he gave us a week's worth of Enrofloxacin... but it doesn't seem to have touched it. Any ideas out there as to what it could be and what I can do to help her? I was giving her just a bit of powdered aspirin which seems to help a little, but I don't want to give her too much.
More about her:
- a week ago Saturday she started with diarrhea and that evening had very labored breathing and a click with each breathe, and she was practically limp. I thought she wouldn't make it through the night but she seemed better the next couple of days.
- She still breathes a lot with her mouth open due to the fever, not quite as much after it cools down, but still a little labored. I keep thinking she's getting worse and that we'll have to euthanize her, but then she starts to look better. It's been a difficult roller coaster ride... because we've gotten quite fond of her.
- 3 years old
- She hasn't walked in about 2 years, so she sits in my house on a neck pillow and when she was better she went outside regularly.
- One vet said it was Mareks the other disagreed...
- She stopped laying over a year ago, even though, (edit: at the time) the vet said an ultrasound showed eggs in her oviduct. Her abdomen is not swollen or fluid-filled at all.
- We don't feed birds in my back yard, so there are few and while she could have caught this from a wildbird, it seems unlikely since she sits in one place.
- My one other chicken seems fine.
- Even though I haven't taken her temp, she is burning up... and much hotter than my other chicken. Edit: I just took it at 5:30am it's 109.3! I'm giving her some aspirin and taking her outside where it’s cooler.
Thanks in advance.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If he told you to force feed her that's what you will have to do. Did he tell you how to go about that?

 

[pekin queen]

@MysteryChicken @FeatherFeetFarm

 

[amyduck]

If he told you to force feed her that's what you will have to do. Did he tell you how to go about that?

Hi - thanks for replying. I've been force feeding her for almost a week now, I have to admit, he wasn't very helpful. He had cat kibble which he broke into pieces and put them down her throat along with the first pills... He just said to fill her crop... I ended up making little balls out if mash, and then I cooked them a little bit to harden them so they wouldn't fall apart in her beak. I've been giving her those covered in yogurt, plus a few blueberries, egg, grape. Fortunately my chicken is getting somewhat used to it, so it's getting a little easier. She has been handled a lot due to her condition, so I think that helps. I also have diluted baby food (beef and veggies) with some water and have spoon feed her that. The same with yogurt.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I cant really help. Sorry! @Wyorp Rock @azygous

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He said to force feed her and he gave us a week's worth of Enrofloxacin... but it doesn't seem to have touched it.

She still breathes a lot with her mouth open due to the fever,

She hasn't walked in about 2 years, so she sits in my house on a neck pillow and when she was better she went outside regularly.

She stopped laying over a year ago, even though the vet said an ultrasound showed eggs in her oviduct

It may be better to tube feed her. Instructions are in the link below.
How do you know she has a fever? What's her temperature?

Eggs showed in her oviduct? Does she have any bloat, swelling or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

If she's been unable to walk for a couple of years and hasn't laid an egg in over a year, but shows eggs in the oviduct, then I would suspect she may be finally succumbing to whatever reproductive disorder that she's had going on this whole time.

I would work on hydration, getting nutrition into her and see how it goes. Hopefully she will improve. I'm very sorry about your hen.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

 

[azygous]

I had a very special hen some years back that had lost the use of her legs. My flock carries the lymphoid leucosis virus, so she likely had tumors om her joints. I would bring Flo inside to sleep in a basket by the kitchen door to the garage. Each morning, I would give her a baby aspirin for pain, and carry her out to her special pen in the run so she could be with her flock. One day, she could not longer hold her head up, or move herself to poop or lay an egg. She became frozen in place. I knew it was over, and I euthanized her.

I don't believe there is anything you can do to fix your hen, just keep giving her the special care until the two of you can no longer keep on with it.

 

[amyduck]

It may be better to tube feed her. Instructions are in the link below.
How do you know she has a fever? What's her temperature?

Eggs showed in her oviduct? Does she have any bloat, swelling or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

If she's been unable to walk for a couple of years and hasn't laid an egg in over a year, but shows eggs in the oviduct, then I would suspect she may be finally succumbing to whatever reproductive disorder that she's had going on this whole time.

I would work on hydration, getting nutrition into her and see how it goes. Hopefully she will improve. I'm very sorry about your hen.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

HI! Sorry, some of my post wasn't clear! I will edit it...

Thanks for the tubing instructions, I've wondered about that, and why he didn't suggest it... is the idea that it is less stressful?

I'm editing this, I just took her temp.at 5:50am.... it's 109.3! (all my old mercury thermometers only go to 106! I used an electric one instead...

Thanks too for commenting on the egg situation - because it spurred me to look up the letter from the vet, and I'd completely forgotten much of what she wrote - and she wrote a lot! It turns out it was 2 years ago that she had the ultrasound. and the vet did warn of the possibility of infection if she never resumed egg laying.... So perhaps she does have an infection in there, and that's why she's so hot... That said, her abdomen seems fine to me, and I've had a hen I used to drain so I definitely know what that feels like!

I do shudder at the notion that she might have an infection due to that, and without surgery it sounds like it would be hard to beat... and painful... In addition, if it is an internal infection, it would explain why my other hen seems fine.

For you or anyone else interested, below is what the vet wrote to me at the time. Definitely long...

Thanks again,
Amy

"Hi Amy, there are a few possibilities to consider:

1) one is that she just hasn't ovulated yet, but may still do so and produce an egg (just on a timeline of her own)
2) instead of ovulating, the follicles could regress (shrink down)
3) she has (or will) ovulate and the yolk fails to enter the oviduct, instead falling free within the abdominal cavity. This is called an internal ovulation, and when this happens, the yolk can stay whole or break and coat the other organs with yolk. This may cause no symptoms or may cause lethargy and abdominal discomfort for a period of time (usually patients respond well to antiinflammatories). Internal ovulation can happen spontaneously, even in hens with a normal oviduct. However, it's more likely to be an issue in a hen with an abnormal oviduct.
4) there is a problem with the oviduct that prevents normal passage of a yolk and normal packaging of the egg. This can be a functional problem (the oviduct doesn't work quite right) or a mechanical problem (there is a physical obstruction of the oviduct). Disease of the oviduct can take many forms--some of the most common are cancer, impaction, and infection. In most cases, surgery is needed to collect diagnostic samples and remove diseased tissue. Oviductal infections are rarely resolved completely with antibiotics.

The ultrasound showed not only a cluster of maturing ovarian follicles, but also a fluid-filled structure further back in the abdomen (closer to her tail). This was most consistent in appearance with a cystic structure (at least 1 bilobed cyst, possibly 2 small cysts right next to each other). It could be a cystic right oviduct (which probably doesn't have much pathologic significance at this time), but it's also possible that it represents cysts on the oviduct or a fluid-filled loop of the oviduct. The difficulty is, it's not possible to know for sure without exploratory surgery, which allows you to visually inspect these organs, biopsy, culture, and (if appropriate) remove diseased tissue. Of course, we have to have solid justification for a surgery like that -- we have to be as certain as possible that there is a clear surgical target and that surgical intervention is required to help the patient.

In Blondie's case, I don't feel that there is indication for a step like that at present time. The ultrasound did not reveal a stuck egg or any evidence of oviductal impaction or of tumors (unless there is a partial impaction that is too small to be visible or early cancerous changes that are also too small to be visible). The ultrasound cannot rule out oviductal infection. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is with surgery to collect cultures from inside the oviduct (this cannot be done non-invasively). The ultrasound did not show any "lost" or internally ovulated whole yolks, but if there had been some internal ovulation and the yolk broke, you would not be able to see that on an ultrasound. So in order for us to understand more about what's going on in her body, excluding surgery, we need to observe for changes in the coming weeks to months both in terms of symptoms, whether eggs are produced (and if so, what they are like), and follow-up examination and ultrasound. If she resumes normal egg production, the likelihood of serious oviductal disease goes down considerably. If she does not, or if the eggs are abnormal, this increases suspicion of oviductal disease. Such disease is likely to progress and become more readily recognizable by physical exam and/or ultrasound.

If Blondie does not produce any eggs in the next few weeks, we have the option of repeating the ultrasound to see if the ovarian follicles are still present or have regressed. We would also be looking to see if any new abnormalities of the oviduct have developed or if an egg has formed somewhere along the way. We would also be looking for any change in the appearance of the cystic structure seen the other day.

Please let me know if you have any questions about all this. Needless to say, I am hoping that she will resume normal egg laying and not have further problems. But we need to be prepared for the possibility of progressive reproductive disease, which in some instances can be treated (or at least palliated) medically, but has the potential to require surgical intervention."

 

[amyduck]

I had a very special hen some years back that had lost the use of her legs. My flock carries the lymphoid leucosis virus, so she likely had tumors om her joints. I would bring Flo inside to sleep in a basket by the kitchen door to the garage. Each morning, I would give her a baby aspirin for pain, and carry her out to her special pen in the run so she could be with her flock. One day, she could not longer hold her head up, or move herself to poop or lay an egg. She became frozen in place. I knew it was over, and I euthanized her.

I don't believe there is anything you can do to fix your hen, just keep giving her the special care until the two of you can no longer keep on with it.

Thanks for sharing Flo's story, it's heartening to read and I can definitely relate. RIP Flo...
How long did you give her a baby aspirin? I didn't think I could give her that much...

My partner is especially fond of her, and has often told her she is the "luckiest, unlucky little chicken"... but it has not been easy as you well know...

 

[azygous]

Flo got one 81 grain aspirin per day for a year.

Some chickens are so smart and affectionate that I will do practically anything for them to help them live and enjoy life a bit longer. But when the end of all that comes, I don't hesitate to end it.