Hen has been sickly for 2 weeks

[pitsandchicks]

Hello, all!

My copper marans hen has been off for about 2 weeks (maybe a little longer). Here are her symptoms:

- VERY thin
- Unable to use ramp to enter and exit raised coop and to hop up into things over a couple inches off the ground
- Loses balance and sticks a wing out, but rarely flaps wings
- Is still eating and drinking
- Unsure if she’s laying eggs (but she is laying in nesting boxes). We plan to keep her inside for a few days, so can confirm if she’s laying
- Sleeping in nesting box instead of roost for at least one month
- Has poopy butt feathers
- Sleepy

Here’s what I’ve checked so far:
— Checked crop. I can’t tell if it’s sour or impacted. One day when she couldn’t get out to run (so hadn’t had food yet), it did seem full and squishy, despite her not having eaten yet. However, at other times, it’s fully deflated. Today she ate about 1/5 a cup of food and then her crop was very full (forgot to check before she came out of coop). Could this be a crop issue even if it does seem to empty at times?
— She doesn’t have obvious vent issues or maggots
— I looked through her poop for worms. At first I thought I found some, but i think they were actually maggots because she had pooped in the nesting box overnight and so flies had laid eggs in poop (if it’s useful: what I think were maggots were almost clear colored and very rounded (not flat) and about 1/4 inch long or bigger — included a bad picture). Have checked poop since and it appears worm free

I brought her in today and did an epsom salt bath, gave her electrolytes and am going to feed her scrambled eggs and shells.

Any other thoughts?? The only vet that could come out this week would charge $500, and we’ve decided if she doesn’t improve soon, we will need to cull her

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Has she laid eggs recently? Make sure that she doesn’t have any maggots around her vent, or in any wounds. Offer chicken feed with water added, made fresh each day, along with the egg. Check her crop each morning to see if it has emptied. Has she been wormed recently? Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? The imbalance could be from dehydration or starvation if her crop is not working properly. How are her legs working, and does she have any curled under toes? Are the other chickens picking on her?

 

[pitsandchicks]

How old is she? Has she laid eggs recently? Make sure that she doesn’t have any maggots around her vent, or in any wounds. Offer chicken feed with water added, made fresh each day, along with the egg. Check her crop each morning to see if it has emptied. Has she been wormed recently? Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? The imbalance could be from dehydration or starvation if her crop is not working properly. How are her legs working, and does she have any curled under toes? Are the other chickens picking on her?

Hi! Thanks for your questions — I should have included most of this . I’ll try to answer them. I adopted these chickens from a neighbor who had to move suddenly in march.

—she is between 1 - 2 years old. My neighbor started her flocks as chicks in summer 2020, and she was not part of original flock, so was purchased as a chick between fall 2020-fall2021

—I don’t think she has laid eggs recently, but I’m not 100% sure. What I thought was her egg color has been laid in coop since she’s been unable to access it, but I have taken her out of coop early in the morning and she didn’t lay any eggs in run my nightfall. Will be monitoring her for eggs because she will be inside for a couple days

— not sure if vaccinated, but she hasn’t been progressing quickly which I assume rules out mareks?

— hasn’t been wormed in lifetime (I know neighbor didn’t do this). Am considering worming all chickens in case that’s what’s been going on

- her legs seem to work fine, although she can’t jump. But she can walk and she can run at a slow pace. No curled under toes (unless I flip her upside down)

— other chickens not picking on her to my knowledge. I’ve observed them and they seem to ignore her, but she has also always been the loner chicken. She will wander far from flock when free ranging

 

[Eggcessive]

She might have been injured. Do you have a rooster? Hens who sleep in nest boxes can be sick, cannot jump to the roost, or just keeping herself separated from others because of who knows what. Mareks usually shows up within the first 6-8 months, but I would watch for any new symptoms. Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally once and again in 10 days is a good wormer. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer dosage is 1/4 ml per pound given orally for 5 consecutive days. Check her crop in morning before she eats or drinks, to see if it may not be working.

 

[pitsandchicks]

She might have been injured. Do you have a rooster? Hens who sleep in nest boxes can be sick, cannot jump to the roost, or just keeping herself separated from others because of who knows what. Mareks usually shows up within the first 6-8 months, but I would watch for any new symptoms. Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally once and again in 10 days is a good wormer. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer dosage is 1/4 ml per pound given orally for 5 consecutive days. Check her crop in morning before she eats or drinks, to see if it may not be working.

Yes, a big roo— a light Brahma

I’m thinking about trying a dewormer, even though her newest poop doesn’t have any worms or maggots. It does have a lot of the white sticky urine cap, though. Should I deworm the whole flock? It’s 9 chickens total

I’ll keep checking her crop too.

Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

You usually won’t see worm eggs in poop, since they are microscopic. When there is an overload, you might see some large roundworms, but most other worms are too small to see. Valbazen or SafeGuard are both good wormers. If one has worms usually the others will too. Increased urates can be a sign of dehydration.

 

[pitsandchicks]

You usually won’t see worm eggs in poop, since they are microscopic. When there is an overload, you might see some large roundworms, but most other worms are too small to see. Valbazen or SafeGuard are both good wormers. If one has worms usually the others will too. Increased urates can be a sign of dehydration.

She may be dehydrated — she drinks water when she’s initially given it, but she doesn’t drink much. Same with food — she will ravenously eat it at first, but a couple hours later I notice she didn’t eat much in total.

I checked her crop first thing this morning. She’s in a bath tub and had access to food and water all night, but the light was off and I put her in a “nesting box” (a small plastic bin with an old towel for bedding) last night and she was still in it when I checked on her this morning. So, I don’t think she ate or drank overnight but her crop was pretty firm and round. I applied pressure (in and upward motion) and the crop deflated. She didn’t make any gurgling noises.

This is the second time I’ve noticed her crop is full in the morning, but other times within her sick period, it hasn’t been. I haven’t checked every day.

Could this be causing all her weight and weakness issues? What can I do?

 

[Mayalys]

I saw 4 cases of poopy butt at various times, and they were all fixed with a dewormer. None got so ill though, perhaps because the first one that that got this issue eventually pooped a dead roundworm on my doorstep and clued me in. The next times I didn't see anything in their poop, but the problem went away with Safeguard.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, if she has an impacted or sour crop, she could lose weight and become weak. If the crop was firm and round, it sounds more like an impacted crop. Many massage the crop for that several times a day, and give 1-2 tsp of coconut oil daily. If you chill it, you can cut it into small pieces they will usually peck if they are hungry. Here is a handy link about crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/