Hen: Lethargic, hard abdomen, straining neck, standing, water doesn't stay down.....

[enola]

The medicated feed will not treat a coccidia outbreak. If she needs to be treated, you should get Corid.

 

[mournlight]

Well, today there is good news. Although she still has a long ways to go, she is much improved. Today she ate a cup of feed (about 1/4c size) at 0500 and again at 5p, a slice of bread and a whole scrambled duck egg with probiotics added. Her poop has mass and form - yay for poop! She is very weak, and used her wings to balance herself, but she also cooed and purred, which she hasn't done before. She only drooled water once during all the eating and drinking she did. She's had her second bigger dose of Safeguard. She felt well enough to resist it mightily and sling it all over the place the first two trys. I was happy to clean it up.
The calcium supplements must really taste awful. She can be in mid-suck and once a drop of the calcium hits the water, she's done.

If she improves as much tomorrow while I'm gone to work as today, I'll be able to take her outside for a while and let her get some sunshine. It's goog that the bathroom has a sunlight, but it ain't the same as some sun beating down on your feathers.

Keeping my fingers crossed for continual improvement. Thanks, y'all. I kept a stool sample and if anyone knows of a lab i can just send it to, I'd like to know what they find.

 

[casportpony]

Okay she's had the higher dose of Safeguard and I will continue that 5 days if she makes it.
I also picked up some electrolyte and started her on that.
She has hardly moved since eating the bread earlier. She seems weaker.
I won't be surprised if she doesn't make it 24 hrs.
If she does, perhaps she'll end up being the strongest hen.
I also picked up a medicated feed that I think is also for the cocids, if so I'll start her on that.

It's kinda up to her now.


Has anyone here had any experience with examining fecal samples on their own? I have a friend with a 100x scope that attaches to the computer.

It could be done with proper "flotation" supplies. Here is some info on fecal flotation:

Fecal Exam Procedures

Fecal examination procedures likely to be accepted and implemented in most veterinary practices include flotation (centrifugal or passive), sedimentation, and direct examination (direct smear). Only flotation and sedimentation are concentration procedures. Direct smears have poor sensitivity because of the small amount of feces examined, but may be useful for demonstrating motile organisms. CAPC recommends that feces be routinely screened by a centrifugal flotation method, which is consistently more sensitive than simple flotation. Accuracy of centrifugal flotation techniques depends on procedural details and specimen attributes.

1. Gross examination. Specimens should be examined grossly for the presence of blood, mucus, intact worms, or tapeworm segments.
2. Sample size and preparation. Specimen size should be at least 1 gram of formed feces (1 cubic centimeter or a cube about one-half inch on a side). If feces are soft, sample size should be 2 grams. If it is slurry-like, the sample should be 4 grams. For liquid feces, a sample of 6 grams or greater might be appropriate. Inadequate sample size (e.g., fecal loop sample) may result in false-negative results. To remove large fecal debris, sieving is recommended prior to centrifugation. The sample is sieved through cheesecloth or a tea strainer after mixing with water or flotation solution. Passive flotation kits typically include a device that prevents larger particles from floating to the surface.
3. Flotation solution. Both the type and concentration of sugar or salt solutions used can affect recovery of diagnostic stages of parasites from feces. Common flotation solutes include sodium nitrate, zinc sulfate, sucrose (usually granulated sugar), magnesium sulfate, and sodium chloride. These solutes can be mixed at varying concentrations with water to achieve flotation solutions with different densities. Flotation solutions with higher densities are capable of floating heavier (denser) parasite stages. However, higher density flotation solutions also float many other fecal particles that can render preparations more difficult to examine and can collapse thin-shelled parasite stages, making them difficult to identify or causing them to float poorly. More viscous solutions, such as Sheather's sugar (sucrose) solution, are more efficient for centrifugation. Most salt solutions dry very quickly, crystallizing on slides and obscuring observation.
4. Centrifugation. Centrifugation of sieved feces may be performed in flotation solution either with a coverslip placed on top of a filled tube or with the coverslip added after the centrifuge has stopped. In the latter case, the tube is spun near-full, and then the tube is filled to form a reverse meniscus, the coverslip is added, and the tube is allowed to sit a few minutes longer. Centrifugation with the coverslip on the tube works best when a sugar flotation medium is used. Alternate methods for sampling the reverse meniscus include loops or glass rods that can be flamed between samples; however, this approach is less efficient than centrifuging with the coverslip in place.
5. Slide examination. The entire area under the coverslip should be examined. It is helpful to focus on a small air bubble to obtain the correct focal plane. The edge of the coverslip can be sealed with nail polish to prevent drying and to allow examination of the specimen under oil immersion. Sucrose preparations can be stored in high humidity in a refrigerator for hours to days without significantly altering the morphology of most common helminth eggs.

Although routine fecal examination should always include centrifugation, at times, other examination methods are needed to reach a diagnosis. For example, motile trophozoites and nematode larvae can be observed using the direct smear method. Certain nematode, trematode, and tapeworm eggs will not float in less dense flotation solutions and are better demonstrated using sedimentation. The Baermann funnel method may aid in diagnosis of a feline lungworm (Aelurostrongylus abstrusus) infection. Stained direct smears are useful for diagnosis of a protozoal infection such as giardiasis or trichomoniasis. Specimens to be examined for protozoa can first be fixed using a commercial fixative such as Proto-fix

or a fixating stain such as MIF (merthiolate-iodine-formalin). Fecal antigen detection tests are useful for diagnosis of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis

Quote:

Fecal Flotation Test

The fecal floatation test is one of the most important tests that an animal hospital does on a regular basis. This test is important because it is used to determine if your pet has intestinal worms. Most veterinarians agree that this test should be performed at least once a year, more often if there has been a history of worm problems.
A small amount (approximately 1-teaspoon) of your pets stool or bowel movement is needed to perform this test. Ideally, the sample should be collected within the past 24hrs. and put in a sealed container. If you can’t bring the specimen down to be analyzed right away then it should be kept in a cool place. This will prevent the eggs in the stool sample from hatching at which point the sample is of no value for analysis.
Once at the hospital, the technician will remove the proper quantity of feces for analysis. The sample is mixed in a special container that is filled with a solution that is more dense than eggs of the worms. Complete mixing is needed to free the eggs that are trapped within the fecal material. The container has a strainer that traps large particles and other debris from floating to the surface. After approximately 20 minutes, enough time has gone by to allow any eggs present to float to the surface. The surface is then skimmed off with a cover slip and examined under the microscope.
Each type of worm lays eggs that are characteristic for the species. Not all worms shed eggs, such as the tapeworm for example and not all worms shed eggs all the time, such as the whipworm. For this reason the overall accuracy of the fecal test is 80%. Submitting multiple samples at various times will improve the accuracy significantly. When no eggs are seen under the microscope that test is called negative, however, it would be more accurate to say that no eggs were identified.
As is the case with most tests that are performed, it is necessary to look at the results in context of the symptoms that are expressed and the physical exam findings of the whole animal. Sometimes your veterinarian will recommend worming your pet on “general principles” even though the fecal floatation test shows no eggs present. This can be a way to more positively remove any likelihood of worms being present.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Well, today there is good news. Although she still has a long ways to go, she is much improved. Today she ate a cup of feed (about 1/4c size) at 0500 and again at 5p, a slice of bread and a whole scrambled duck egg with probiotics added. Her poop has mass and form - yay for poop! She is very weak, and used her wings to balance herself, but she also cooed and purred, which she hasn't done before. She only drooled water once during all the eating and drinking she did. She's had her second bigger dose of Safeguard. She felt well enough to resist it mightily and sling it all over the place the first two trys. I was happy to clean it up.
The calcium supplements must really taste awful. She can be in mid-suck and once a drop of the calcium hits the water, she's done.

If she improves as much tomorrow while I'm gone to work as today, I'll be able to take her outside for a while and let her get some sunshine. It's goog that the bathroom has a sunlight, but it ain't the same as some sun beating down on your feathers.

Keeping my fingers crossed for continual improvement. Thanks, y'all. I kept a stool sample and if anyone knows of a lab i can just send it to, I'd like to know what they find.

Any small animal vet should be able to do a fecal for less than $30. Poop sample does need to be fresh.

-Kathy

Edited to add:
Gald to hear she is getting better!

 

[mournlight]

Well, all, good news - she seems fully recovered except for needing to put back on some weight. It was an odd recovery. She could not walk fully until yesterday. It was as though all she went through just sapped all her energy and atrophied her legs. She was able to walk a few steps, then sit, until gradually she could walk again. She now has her full appetite back and is doing very well.
I wish I knew what was the cause. That's the frustrating thing, is that unless you spend a lot, you never really know.
So, I ended up spending about $60, but I got enough stuff to take care of future problems. And, in the process of taking care of her, everyone got wormed, everyone got dusted for mites (it was actually lice that she had), and of course I learned a lot even though I've had chickens for 25+ years.

I think the biggest advantage for me is having watched their behavior long enough to know that something was wrong early enough to be able to provide support for her so that her body could do the real work.

She's staying in a few more days since it is supposed to be 5 degrees tonight, and I want her to gain weight before going back out. Thanks to all!