HELP-sick hen

[schuey]

I hope someone can help me with my hen; she has been very lethargic, hasn't eaten much, but has been drinking some water. She free ranges during the day and will leave the coop fine in the morning and come back at night, but during the day she just sits there for the most part. She puts her head in her wing and sits in the bushes. I saw some clear liquid coming from her nostrils and it seems she has a hard time keeping her eyes open. She is not easy to catch so I don't get a great look at her though. Today is the fourth day this has been going on...does anyone have any insights to this?

Thanks

 

[MuranoFarms]

What does her poop look like? What's the weather like there......is it really cold? Are her eyes watery at all?

 

[schuey]

Thanks for getting back to me. I live in Florida, so no it's not very cold. I haven't got a good look at her eyes or poop yet, I am about to put her in her own cage before she goes out to free range for the day. She is otherwise very hard to catch unless I sneak up on her while she is sleeping. I will follow up...thank you.

 

[schuey]

I have her now with me, she was easier to catch this morning in the coop so she must be losing energy. She was still on the perch when I went to check on her so I checked the poop below and it seemed normal-solid, brown, and smelled normal. But I haven't seen her eating much in the last few days, so I don't know for sure if the poop matches up with her. I will watch for it in her own cage now. Her eyes are a bit crusty but seem clear when she keeps them open; she will usually shut them and sleep. Her nostrils are clogged with the clear liquid that has seemed to solidify now.

I do have a poultry vet I can try to get an appt. with today, but what are your thoughts?

 

[tammye]

sounds like it may be a respiratory problem. look up respiratory disease in the search engine, lot of info there. At least isolate her from the others, keep her warm, give her some electrolyte solution in her water from the feed store, make sure she drinks, even if you need to ues an eye dropper to get the fluid into her.

 

[schuey]

Thanks for your suggestions Tammye, I will get an eyedropper and give her some water. Will gatorade work the same for electrolytes? If not is there something at the drug store that will work since my feed store is a long way off. I have an appt. with a poultry vet this afternoon so hopefully it won't be too late for cinnamon my hen.

 

[tammye]

not sure about the gaterade but have read here that some folks ues polysol without iron, I believe it is a kids electrotye solution, but get the one with out iron. let us know what the vets says, helps everyone to learm more about symptoms and treatments. I wish you luck with her, she is lucky to have you to take care of her. I hope she gets better

 

[schuey]

Update everyone: The vet thinks she has a 50/50 chance of living (notice I didn't day of dying, trying to optimistic here). Cinnamon is very dehydrated and hasn't eaten in a few days, so she was given some sub-cutaneous (under the skin) fluid and hand fed directly into her crop (a hand feeding formula) via a tube I have to give to her every 8 hours. She also was given an amoxicillin anti-biotic given directly into the mouth (I give it to her every 12 hours). I may have to come back into the vet to get another round of fluids if she hasn't started to perk up by tomorrow. I am keeping her inside so she can be nice and warm, until she is feeling better. So far none of my other birds have shown any sign of being sick; I will keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for your concern everybody.

 

[3goodeggs]

Did the vet mention what it might be? If you find out, please post back so we can perhaps be of help to anyone else with a chicken with those symptoms. Thanks.

 

[schuey]

Unfortunately the only way to find out what exactly she has is to do a bunch of blood work that would have cost about another $175. I decided against it, but I would really like to know myself what she is sick with. I'm sorry, if I find anything else out that can be helpful I will post it. I will also give you updates on how Cinnamon is recovering.