Hen is sick,fluffed up and can't stand up

[marandam5]

I found my 3 yr old buff orp puffed up,tail down, moving very slow and off balance yesterday morning.I brought her inside and wormed her since her comb and face has been pale.I thought the paleness was from molting,she has just grown back her pretty new feathers.She seems alert,she eats but will not drink and shows no signs of respiratory issues and she can't really stand.She does feel underweight to me but she has never been a "fat" hen.I wormed her yesterday and have been feeding her cooked brown rice and bread soaked in water.I'm not sure if I should give her antibiotics our local feed stores do not carry any for chickens.I do have some old terramycin but I'm not sure it is even good and from my understanding it is only good for respiratory problems.I'm so afraid we are going to loose her she is my daughters pet,she will come over and look up at her wanting her to pick her up.

I do have some penicillin tablets for humans could I give her that if needed?I really don't know if antibiotics would even be beneficial.I just wish I knew what was going on with her.

 

[J-Sanders]

Try to start her on poly-vi-sol without iron. Are her legs and shanks swollen? She may just have a deficiency and will pop back up.

Jim

 

[seminolewind]

With what you're describing, she does sound sick. You could probably give pen tablets, but I wouldn't know how to give the right amount. I use injectable penicillin and keep it in the fridge. It works faster. Have you checked her for an impacted egg? Impacted crop?

 

[marandam5]

I don't think our feed store or TSC had poly-vi-sol but they did have some kind of liquid nutritional supplement.Would that be the same thing just a different name?You said without iron could she possibly need iron since her comb and face is pale?I have just started giving her some baby rice cereal so she would get extra vitamins and stuff.The cereal has iron,is that bad?I really don't know which way to go with this.I need lots of advice.

 

[marandam5]

I don't think she is egg bound I didn't feel anything.At first her crop seemed kind of hard and it was about the size of a golf ball,I'm really not sure
what it should feel like and my other chickens wouldn't let me catch them to compare.She didn't poop any until sometime this morning
and it was a dark green color,if that means anything.I did find a thread about giving penicillin pills but I don't want to give it unless necessary.She is still eating
but not drinking so I soak some bread in water for her.

 

[marandam5]

I just found some type of lice on her and also a few mites.I found one of these things that was huge.Not sure if you can tell anything in the pic.Anyway,I dipped her in Permectrin.I'm going to
get her a nutritional supplement today.She wasn't eating this morning so I was holding her and one of those bugs crawled out of the feathers on her head.

 

[casportpony]

I just found some type of lice on her and also a few mites.I found one of these things that was huge.Not sure if you can tell anything in the pic.Anyway,I dipped her in Permectrin.I'm going to
get her a nutritional supplement today.She wasn't eating this morning so I was holding her and one of those bugs crawled out of the feathers on her head.

Is that a tick?

 

[casportpony]

If you decide to give antibiotics, this link might have some useful info for you: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart

 

[marandam5]

No,it is some type of lice. It doesn't look like the lice I see in pictures on the web but some of the pics are hard to see.
She is still not eating I'm really worried about her.

 

[casportpony]

No,it is some type of lice. It doesn't look like the lice I see in pictures on the web but some of the pics are hard to see.
She is still not eating I'm really worried about her.

Are all of the bugs off now?

Mites can make them anemic and very sick, the same way fleas will make puppies and kittens sick and pale. Is she drinking? Personally, I worry more about dehydration than not eating. If she is drinking, and you have the time, you can force feed her stuff like crickets, meal worms, scrambled eggs, fruit.

Do you have a postage scale or food scale? I always take daily weights on my sick ones. It serves two purposes... Any weight loss is a cause for concern and when medicating you can adjust the meds.

Have you ever tube fed a bird or given sub-q fluids to an animal? Can you take her to a vet? There are many things you can do for her, but it all falls into what I would call "advanced, supportive care".