Hen is sick, not sure what's wrong

[kassandra09]

I have a sick hen but I don't know what's wrong.

Around August 10th my flock of 4 got a lice infestation and an upper respiratory infection. I treated lice with permethrin 0.5% and sulfur powder 3 times over 15 days. Completely cleaned out the coop each time and sprayed/dusted both coop and birds. They had 7 days of tetracycline antibiotics for the respiratory infection and all seemed better after a week. (All good since Aug 19 or so)

Today one my girls is refusing to eat, extremely lethargic and had some kind of weird black crust plug over the feathers on her ears and inside the ears. I removed a lot of it before being able to take photos but you can still sort of see it.

Her skin is very scaly/flaky but she is breathing very normally and there is no sign of lice on any of them. The other 3 are totally normal. Her crop is empty she won't eat anything even her favorite treats. She also has white stuff on the back of her neck feathers but I thought maybe it was just poop or something. Today I've caught her huddled in random corners with her eyes closed, she looks so sad. Her vent is clean and healthy looking.

What is this you think??

I've only had them 2 months they are my first chickens and are factory rescues. I'm so discouraged.

 

[alinas2010]

So sorry about your hen. Bless you for taking those sweet ladies in. Don’t feel discouraged, they have had rough lives, it is going to take time to get them back on track. You’re doing great.

I may be incorrect, but there seems to be a little swelling on her face right in front of her ear. Do you think she may have an ear infection from the mites that she had? Mites can cause ear infections. I’m unsure why the crust would be black in color, though. Did it seem like chicken pus - cheese like in texture? Do you think it could be droppings from mites? Is there any odor from the ears?

As for the flakey skin would you be able to post a picture of her skin while you’re spreading her feathers apart to reveal it?

Either way, just for good measure, I think I would flush her ears with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, rub it around and use a Q-Tip to try to clean the ears out. She will probably not like this, you may need a helping hand and to wrap her in a towel. After the ear flush, use something such as neosporin (without pain relief) on/in the ears.

Try to get her to drink some electrolytes if you have any. There are some simple recipes online to make homemade solutions if you don’t have some. That may perk her up a bit.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Looks like she may have or had an ear infection and I see lice nits on the ear feathers too.

Look inside the ear, is it clean and smooth inside?

Work on removing some of the nits from the feathers at the ears. Use a little coconut oil and work the nits off.

If the inside of her ear has infection, apply 1 (One) drop of Hydrogen Peroxide into the ear, let it bubble out whatever material it can, then wipe it clean. Pack the ear with triple antibiotic ointment.

Possible ear infection is causing her to be lethargic. But check her over for a few other things too. See if her crop is emptying overnight, get a good look at her poop (photos of you have them) and if she should have laid an egg, I'd get extra Calcium into her asap. 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 once daily for a few days.

You've had these hens for a little while, you may wish to treat for Coccidiosis as well since they are on new ground. Corid can be found at stores like TSC.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

 

[alinas2010]

Welcome To BYC

Looks like she may have or had an ear infection and I see lice nits on the ear feathers too.

Look inside the ear, is it clean and smooth inside?

Work on removing some of the nits from the feathers at the ears. Use a little coconut oil and work the nits off.

If the inside of her ear has infection, apply 1 (One) drop of Hydrogen Peroxide into the ear, let it bubble out whatever material it can, then wipe it clean. Pack the ear with triple antibiotic ointment.

Possible ear infection is causing her to be lethargic. But check her over for a few other things too. See if her crop is emptying overnight, get a good look at her poop (photos of you have them) and if she should have laid an egg, I'd get extra Calcium into her asap. 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 once daily for a few days.

You've had these hens for a little while, you may wish to treat for Coccidiosis as well since they are on new ground. Corid can be found at stores like TSC.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Yes, this is the best advice. Listen to the expert!!

 

[kassandra09]

Welcome To BYC

Looks like she may have or had an ear infection and I see lice nits on the ear feathers too.

Look inside the ear, is it clean and smooth inside?

Work on removing some of the nits from the feathers at the ears. Use a little coconut oil and work the nits off.

If the inside of her ear has infection, apply 1 (One) drop of Hydrogen Peroxide into the ear, let it bubble out whatever material it can, then wipe it clean. Pack the ear with triple antibiotic ointment.

Possible ear infection is causing her to be lethargic. But check her over for a few other things too. See if her crop is emptying overnight, get a good look at her poop (photos of you have them) and if she should have laid an egg, I'd get extra Calcium into her asap. 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 once daily for a few days.

You've had these hens for a little while, you may wish to treat for Coccidiosis as well since they are on new ground. Corid can be found at stores like TSC.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Thank you. Last night I isolated her and she eventually drank lots of water with ACV and electrolytes and had a few bites of Scrambled egg. Today she is much more alert and is drinking but not eating much. Crop is empty this morning.

Her poops looked normal but I broke them up and found what I think is a tiny worm and also some blood, so I will definitely be treating all 4 for worms. I'm in Canada so products are different but I think the ingredient I'm looking for is fenbendazole?

I will clean out her ear with peroxide and antibiotic polysporin. I don't see the Nats on her ears though? I'll try to get whatever I can off and will look inside her ear as well.

Thank you for your help

 

[kassandra09]

So sorry about your hen. Bless you for taking those sweet ladies in. Don’t feel discouraged, they have had rough lives, it is going to take time to get them back on track. You’re doing great.

I may be incorrect, but there seems to be a little swelling on her face right in front of her ear. Do you think she may have an ear infection from the mites that she had? Mites can cause ear infections. I’m unsure why the crust would be black in color, though. Did it seem like chicken pus - cheese like in texture? Do you think it could be droppings from mites? Is there any odor from the ears?

As for the flakey skin would you be able to post a picture of her skin while you’re spreading her feathers apart to reveal it?

Either way, just for good measure, I think I would flush her ears with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, rub it around and use a Q-Tip to try to clean the ears out. She will probably not like this, you may need a helping hand and to wrap her in a towel. After the ear flush, use something such as neosporin (without pain relief) on/in the ears.

Try to get her to drink some electrolytes if you have any. There are some simple recipes online to make homemade solutions if you don’t have some. That may perk her up a bit.

Unfortunately I'm not experienced enough to be able to tell if there's swelling. It looks normal to me when I compare it with the other girls but it's really hard to say.

They didn't have mites, only lice. I did very thorough checks and inspected the coop at night and never saw any evidence of mites, so hopefully it's not that.

It very well may have been pus coming out of the ears and making the feathers all stick together. Or perhaps it was the lice laying eggs there, but it was black and not white like all the other lice eggs/nats. No odor.

The flaky skin was just on her face but honestly today I think it looks pretty normal, just seems a bit dry.

I'm going to do the peroxide flush today and thankfully she's been really good about drinking water! I added apple cider vinegar and chicken elixir to her water and she drank a bunch since last night. This morning she's much more alert and has eaten about 1/3 of a scrambled egg plus a couple meal worms. Not her usual full amount but more than yesterday so I'm happy.

I've noticed a little bit of blood in the stool this morning so I'll be treating the whole flock for worms... Just one thing after another.

She's my favorite hen she's so cuddly and sweet, I really want her to pull through and be ok

She hasn't laid an egg yet so I'm going to keep her separated for a while, I want to see if she will lay or not. Her vent is very clean and healthy looking though.

 

[alinas2010]

Unfortunately I'm not experienced enough to be able to tell if there's swelling. It looks normal to me when I compare it with the other girls but it's really hard to say.

They didn't have mites, only lice. I did very thorough checks and inspected the coop at night and never saw any evidence of mites, so hopefully it's not that.

It very well may have been pus coming out of the ears and making the feathers all stick together. Or perhaps it was the lice laying eggs there, but it was black and not white like all the other lice eggs/nats. No odor.

The flaky skin was just on her face but honestly today I think it looks pretty normal, just seems a bit dry.

I'm going to do the peroxide flush today and thankfully she's been really good about drinking water! I added apple cider vinegar and chicken elixir to her water and she drank a bunch since last night. This morning she's much more alert and has eaten about 1/3 of a scrambled egg plus a couple meal worms. Not her usual full amount but more than yesterday so I'm happy.

I've noticed a little bit of blood in the stool this morning so I'll be treating the whole flock for worms... Just one thing after another.

She's my favorite hen she's so cuddly and sweet, I really want her to pull through and be ok

She hasn't laid an egg yet so I'm going to keep her separated for a while, I want to see if she will lay or not. Her vent is very clean and healthy looking though.

I’m glad she’s eating and drinking a bit for you. A deworming doesn’t sound like a bad idea considering where they’ve been. If she hasn’t laid since you’ve adopted her, she could still be adjusting to the move. Plus recovering from all these things might be taking a toll, just an idea.

I think you’ve been given great advice by one of the educators here and it sounds like you’ve got a good plan I know it feels frustrating and never ending, but hang in there, you’ve got this and those girls deserve the life you’re giving them. Keep us updated.

 

[kassandra09]

I’m glad she’s eating and drinking a bit for you. A deworming doesn’t sound like a bad idea considering where they’ve been. If she hasn’t laid since you’ve adopted her, she could still be adjusting to the move. Plus recovering from all these things might be taking a toll, just an idea.

I think you’ve been given great advice by one of the educators here and it sounds like you’ve got a good plan I know it feels frustrating and never ending, but hang in there, you’ve got this and those girls deserve the life you’re giving them. Keep us updated.

They're all excellent layers I usually get 2 or 3 eggs a day from them! I just meant that she hasn't laid yesterday or today yet, but that might just be because she's ill.

 

[alinas2010]

They're all excellent layers I usually get 2 or 3 eggs a day from them! I just meant that she hasn't laid yesterday or today yet, but that might just be because she's ill.

Ah, okay. Sweet girls. I agree, maybe bc she isn’t feeling the greatest. I hope she starts feeling better.

 

[kassandra09]

Just in case someone goes through the same thing, I ended up finding worms and some blood in her stool. I dewormed the whole flock for 5 days and she is doing so much better now!

I also cleaned the ears with a bit of Peroxide and packed them with antibiotic ointment.

I'm doing an egg withdrawal of 10 days from worming bur everyone is looking great. We gad lots of other nasty huge poos with so many worms so I'm glad I treated them.