Hen has been lethargic for the past 4-5 days I've run through everything and no other symptoms

[duckduckgoose333]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster here. My 2 year old Black Star hen (sex-link) has been lethargic the last 4 days (started when I noticed her not wanting to come out of the coop) and I'm at a loss over here what else to do to make her feel better. I checked her crop, checked for egg binding/tumors, checked for mites/lice, and checked for worms. I've also given two Epsom salt baths.

She is inside the house in a wire dog crate with towels over the top. I put water(with nutridrench) and cooked egg yolk and meal worms (made fresh daily) in with her too. When I first brought her in (4 days ago) I didn't see her drink any water for 24hrs so I gave her nutridrench directly from the eyedropper and continued that a couple times a day. Yesterday evening she finally drank some water but still not eating, and today is hit or miss on drinking water and still doesn't want to eat. Her eyes are clear, comb is red, breathing sounds clear, feet look good (no bumblefoot or scaly mites), she just seems to be tired and keeps going to the back and laying down. in the corner. She looks a little ruffled and hunched, holding her tail down so I think either she doesn't feel well or is in pain or both. Other than offering food and making sure she's drinking water, and keeping her in a warm, dry, dark place, I don't know what else to do? I don't want to see her starve to death and I'd like to help her to feel better but I have no idea what's wrong.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would also offer both some wet chicken feed and a little dry. Is there a food that she especially likes? Scrambled egg, tuna, and canned cat food in small amounts are what I use to tempt a sick chicken to eat. The NutriDrench can be given orally 2 ml into the beak for a quick boost. That can help boost appetite.

When you pick her up, has she lost weight? Has she laid eggs recently? Is her tail up or down?

 

[duckduckgoose333]

Every other time I've had a sick chicken they've loved scrambled eggs, but she hasn't touched them at all. I've given her Nutridrench orally the first few days, but she's finally drinking water (with Nutridrench and probiotics in it) so I was letting her handle it because she hates the oral application. She hasn't laid eggs in a good while now, but she went through a bad molt and then winter so I wasn't really expecting her to lay any time soon (and that's fine).

Last night I took her out of the cage to check over her again and she got excited about shredded alfalfa crumbs that had fallen out of the bag. So I gave her some in a dish and it's the first time I've seen her eat in days! She feels a little thinner when I pick her up (she's a pretty fluffy girl), but not super super thin. I might try cat food today but she seems to prefer greens? so I'm happy if she's willing to eat, just trying to get enough nutrition and calories in her to get her feeling better as soon as possible.

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know what her poops look like. If you have not wormed her recently use Valbazen or SafeGuard, since worm eggs are only seen with a microscope. I can give dosages.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I would definitely try some different foodstuffs to get her to eat if you can… it’s odd what will tempt them sometimes! I’ve had success with little strips of omelette or liver (cut to be like little worms!) when they’ve decided they no longer like scrambled eggs. Just as a temporary choice to give them a boost. Good luck with your girl.

 

[duckduckgoose333]

Ok, I've learned today that she'll eat live mealworms and cold-pressed coconut oil, so at least there's something that I can feed her. Her poops have been mostly white and really watery. I bought Safe-guard equine 10% fenbendazole, @Eggcessive, how to I portion out and feed this paste to her and for how long? Also, side note, I bought Strike III for a general preventative for the rest of the flock; has anyone had success with this as a preventative?

 

[Eggcessive]

Strike 3 contains nothing that will kill worms. It used to, but they changed the ingredients. Valabazen dosage is 0.25 ml per pound given orally for 5 consecutive days for most chicken worms—round, cecal, capillary, and gapeworms. To treat only round worms give it once and again in 10 days.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Everything @Eggcessive said, I will second. Very solid advice!

 

[Xistina]

Poor baby. I have used Yogurt as a probiotic just be careful with coconut oil it's pretty strong and will cause that laxative effective. Even humans only need a 1/4 tsp so an chicken you can imagine is a tiny bit. One thing that has helped me with deworming my chickens has been DE (Diatomaceous earth) I also sprinkle it around the chicken coop, inside the nesting boxes for mites but I mix it into , monthly, into their food (handful) and they eat it. Buy the food grade kind but it will eradicate worms at the source inside your chicken stomach and bowels. Wonderful and safe treatment. Hope your chicken starts to feel betteer soon.