Hen, 1.5 years old, very lethargic

[MegsEggs1990]

Update: Nugget did not make it through the night.
I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can for my girl, Nugget.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) 1.5 years old, leghorn, thinner than others
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Lethargic!
First day I noticed she was slower than usual—added more electrolytes to their water.
Couple days—no improvement. Added B12 via syringe orally, daily. Saw some improvement over the next couple days.
Yesterday, very lethargic again.
Today, verrrrrrry lethargic. Spoke to my vet, said maybe molting, maybe something more serious. Gave me amoxicillin to give her for a week.
Her keel bone is very pronounced.
Felt for an egg — couldn’t feel anything.
She’s not laying eggs (going one a week or so). She doesn’t seem broody. Could it just be her molting?
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? One week
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? Nope!
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. No idea.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Layer crumbles and water with electrolytes. She drank A LOT today when I let the girls out to roam the yard.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? Normal, maybe a bit runny.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? See above.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Myself, but with help of my vet if need be. See above about getting meds today.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. Photo attached of her today, laying down, drinking fresh water out of a hose.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Medium grain sand in 10x10 run, shaving in coop, and spends bursts of time in grass/yard.

 

[Wezdin]

Welcome to BYC, sorry it had to be under these circumstances. If possible I would send a fecal sample to the vet for them to test, I am suspecting an internal parasite, especially because of the weight loss. Has she shown any feather loss indicating molting?

 

[MegsEggs1990]

No feather loss, so I feel like molting isn’t likely.

I’m sure a stool sample is in our future if no improvement this weekend. If it’s a parasite, would the amoxicillin the vet gave me take care of it?

 

[Eggcessive]

The amoxicillin may help if she has enteritis or an infection. It doesn’t treat every type of bacteria, but it might help. I would also treat for coccidiosis with Corid/amprollium in the water for 5-7 days, or take some fresher poop samples in a freezer bag to the vet for analysis. Worms would also be looked for. If worming, good drugs to use are Valbazen 1/2 ml orally once and repeat in 10-14 days. Or use SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 1/4 ml per pound given for 5 consecutive days to get all chicken worms.

 

[MegsEggs1990]

Unfortunately she didn’t make it through the night. Thank you for the advice though.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. You could try to get a necropsy by your state poulty lab to look for a cause of death. The body would need to be kept cold on ice in a cooler until taking it or shipping it overnight to the state lab. Or you could perform a home necropsy, and take pictures of the abdominal organs to post here for any opinions. Here is a list of state poultry vets to contact on Monday if you wish:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm