Help with Sick Hen, Please!

[CHickychikchik]

Hi! Yes, separate infected hen for sure. That way you can minimize exposure to other chickens, protect the hen from others pecking her and monitor intake of food and water. It sounds like she may need treatment from a vet in order to get her some medication by injection if she is refusing to eat and drink. You could try giving her meds and water with a syringe. I’ve done that before and it’s fairly easy. However you just have to go slow as to not get it in her lungs. If the coccidia travel outside her GI tract and into other organs then she will probably not make it. It just depends on how badly she’s infected and how quickly you get treatment.

 

[CHickychikchik]

Everyone, thanks for all the replies. I took a stool sample to the vet and it tested positive for coccidiosis. I bought some corid to treat the flock so they don’t get sick also, but I’m looking for advice on treating my sick hen that is no longer eating or drinking. Also, since I’m treating the whole flock in their water do I still need to separate the infected hen?

 

[CHickychikchik]

Brad,
How is your Buff Orpington?

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, please share. If she is still not drinking or eating, you may need to tube feed while waiting for the virus to work. I think it’s unusual for a 5-year-old hen to get coccidiosis unless she’s been moved or you’ve introduced new birds. Or I think it can happen if you’ve visited someone else’s chicken yard in the same shoes you wear in your own. If she has a compromised immune sumystem from something else, I think that can be a factor in becoming g overrun by coccidiosis, as well. Please let us know how she’s doing.

 

[Chad Brantly]

Unfortunately she didn't make it. We took the stool sample in and had it tested. The vet said it was positive for coccidiosis, but there weren't THAT many coccidia present. I held her and gently opened her beak while my wife put some of the Corid solution in using a syringe, and she instantly died. I'm not sure what really happened, but we called my brother (a veterinarian in another state) and he said that is pretty common when you restrain and try to treat a sick bird. He also said that the coccidiosis was likely secondary to her primary infection. He said that they often get coccidiosis when they are sick with another problem. Otherwise, I'm not sure how she would have got it. I got her last June and she has been healthy up to this point. I haven't visited any other birds. I do have 13 new chicks that I have brooded inside my coop (I got them all from a local feed store), but they are a month old now and none of them appear sick. We have continued treating the rest of the flock, and there are no signs of any other birds being sick.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sorry for your loss You could get a necropsy done to find out cause of death, and hopefully your preventative measure keeps the rest healthy.