Help!! New to the raising chickens have a sick one

[bdessinger]

One of my 5 girls is sick.

I noticed her about 3 days ago. Thought she was just being anti social but now she doesn't leave the box. She doesn't stay in the usual nesting box that all 5 use. Here are the symptoms.

Not eating or drinking.
Lathargic
Usually just sits
Now she has one eye closed and one open. She can open the other one but try's to keep it closed.
I tried to pick her up and she pecked me. but now she let's me pick her up.
she has the diarha mostly white and liquid.
I have been force feeding her liquids with electrolyts.


I have tried to keep my chick organic so trying not to use drugs but if it's necessary I will.

Things have have happened lately we had a pretty serious thunder storm and was windy.

all my other chicks are fine but I have taken my sick one out of the coop.

Any ideas would be great.


thanks.

Brian

 

[sammi]

the eye problem could be a symptom, or it could be that as she was sitting, she's been pecked..

try and check the eye and area well...for any sign of injury..

does she have drainage, or swelling of eyes, head, wattles..
or mucus or drainage from nostrils or beak?
any breath sounds? (wheezing/gurgling/rattling)
shaking head

I'd get some vitamins into her..
if you don't have any poultry vitamins, you can use Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins..Enfamil brand, no iron..3 drops once a day on beak..for a week or so, then taper off.
she will need some electrolytes...
until you can get some poultry vitamins and electrolytes, you can give her diluted Pedialyte..

has the hen been wormed?
treated for cocci?
is it possible to have a fecal test done at a vet for worms and protozoa (cocci)?

my thought is that she most likely needs an antibiotic..such as Tylan50 or 200 injectible..
or erythromycin..

it's also possible she's broody and is not eating..
broody hens vary from being aggressive to very docile..
remove her from the nest box..take her to feed and water, and see how she does.
if she carries on...and tries to get back to the nest..
she could be broody..
have some extra protein for her, such as a cooked egg..

but if possible..try and get that fecal test done.
sometimes called a fecal float.

another possibility is that she has a soft shelled egg that has broken inside..
check the vent for drainage..clean well with saline..and she'll need an antibiotic, such as penicillin..(Pen-G procaine)
these meds are available at farm feed stores in the livestock meds section.

others might have ideas for you.

 

[tiki244]

It would be good to keep her warm

she doesnt sound good

maybe make an egg for her to eat

 

[bdessinger]

she is in the house with straw right now with some watered down pedalyte. She has not eaten at all that I can tell in the last 6 hours.

No injury to the eye.

her comb seems to be less red than normal

Her breathing did seam normal

but watched her for about 5 minutes she seemed like she was having a hard time breathing. Like she wanted to go to sleep watching her eyes but she would open her beak to breath.

So you guys think penicillian? or antibotics? were can I take her stool for the test? vet or feed store?

would the pencllian or antibotics take care of worms? or no?

Thanks


Brian

 

[bdessinger]

Ok one more thing. It just seems wrong to feed them egg cooked or not.

 

[dlhunicorn]

take the poo sample (fresh) to the vet (make an appt before hand) not the feed store.
Worms can weaken them and allow other naturally occurring intestinal organisms such as salmonella and e.coli to become pathogenic so there might be a combination of things going on (if you have never wormed your birds I would highly suspect worms to be a part of what is going on with her)
I would use shavings to put her on instead of the straw (especially if it has been stored in the barn or such as it is hollow and gives mites and other irritants a place to "hide")
you can give Polyvisol enfamil formulation (a childrens liquid A-B-D supplement) to her as a support measure ( vit A deficiency often goes hand-in-hand with respiratory ailments) > three drops a day for a week then taper off the next.

 

[sammi]

antibiotics will not get rid of worms..
you'll need a wormer for that..
Wazine 17 (piperazine) gets rid of round worms..anf should be repeated in 10-14 days.
for a broader wormer:

http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

 

[s6bee]

This sounds like Ming Ming. I'm stumped as to what is going on with her and it's now day 3.
Ok, if I have to run out to find a wormer I will but I thought that I read someone used a wormer med. that was for dogs/cats. It has Piperazine as the active ingredient ( same as Wayzine ), so can I use it, how much? Do I follow the measurements according to the back by weight?

Also if it were not worms and I decide to treat with antibiotics, is Terramyacin OK?

 

[ruth]

Quote:
It's the best thing for them - rich in every vitamin and protein and nutrients. It's the yolk that they absorb last when hatching that enables them to go three days without food and water - it's that nutricious for them. I feed mine the extra eggs almost daily. They produce more than we can eat and after a couple of weeks I just boil up a dozen then mash them shell and all and feed them to the chickens. It's their favorite meal. Also, if one ever trys them raw they will break and eat them themselves and you will have what is known as an "egg eater" on your hands. They taste so good to them that the habit is impossible to break once started. I start every new hatchling on scrambled egg within hours of hatch and it's the first thing I feed any chick, chicken, duck or duckling that even looks like it might be getting lethargic. Eggs and PolyViSol (liquid baby vitamins) are my life savers. I would give both to that sick hen if I were you.