Hen Not Moving, Nodding Head

[countryjess]

Hi There,

We have a small flock of three girls, all about 3 months old. One of our barred rocks is standing right outside of the coop, next to the food and water. She is standing perfectly still but just slowly picking up her head and then lowering it back down in a kind of slow pattern. Her mouth is a little open and her eyes are closed while she is doing this. She seemed fine yesterday(although staying a little closer to the coop than usual), but she was 'honking' a couple of days ago when I was feeding the girls some treats. Any help would be awesome!

 

[TwoCrows]

If she was "honking" a few days ago, it sounds like a respiratory ailment. I would get her started on some Duramycin as soon as possible. Does she have any other symptoms??

Oh, and welcome to BYC!

 

[countryjess]

Thanks for helping twocrows. She is now under a tree lying down doing the same head nodding as before. She looks worse in the past couple of hours. I tried to get her to eat and drink and she wouldn't do it for me. I tried to feel her crop, but I didn't have much success- that got her going enough to move away from me. It does sound maybe like she has a really faint wheezing when she is doing her nodding. Can you usually find Duramycin at feed stores or am I going to have to order it online? We have TSC and some local feed stores in our area.

 

[leadwolf1]

If you have access to Tractor Supply, I would skip the Duramycin and go straight to Tylan 50. It is in the cattle section and is injectable. You can also give it orally. You will need to purchase a syringe and needle to get the medicine out of the bottle. Then, you can either inject or feed it to her with an eye dropper. If she eats at all, you can put it on a small piece of bread. If you chose to do injectable, you can alternate breasts and inject into the muscle. Do not go deep. You can puncture an organ. Before you inject, draw back on the syringe and notice if there is any blood. If there is, dispose of that syringe and try again. If you inject into the blood stream, it will kill her immediately.

The dosages: .5ml LF per day injected for 3 days or the same dose orally for 5 days.

 

[countryjess]

Thanks leadwolf. How long into treatment should we notice a difference?

 

[leadwolf1]

You should see improvement on day 2.

How hot has it been in your area?

I would also pick up some poly vi sol, without iron. .5mls per day.

While you are at TSC, pick up some vitamin/electrolyte solution. It is in the poultry section. It is made by duravet.

Bring the sick pullet inside where she will be comfy and safe.

 

[countryjess]

It's been about 80 during the day, high 50s at night (Maine). The poly vi sol is a baby supplement too, right? We'll bring her inside to hotel chicken as soon as my hubby gets home. Thanks for all of your help!

 

[leadwolf1]

Ok, just checking if it could be heat related. I want to come live in ME now

Yes, that is a baby vitamin supplement and can be found at Walmart. Make sure you get the one without iron.

My other thought. If there isn't any other symptoms. Coccidiosis. While you are at TSC, pick up Corid. It will be found with the Tylan. Here is what I would do. Treat her with the Corid first. You will need to dose her with an eyedropper at first. Give her as much in one dose as you would think she would drink at a single sitting. Do this every 2 hours until she is drinking well on her own. You will see improvement almost immediately if it is Coccidiosis. Continue to dose for 5 - 7 days. I would treat everyone. 1/8 tsp per quart, 1/2 tsp per gallon. Mix fresh daily. Since she is not sneezing, coughing, runny nose, etc. I would go this route first. You will have the other meds on hand if you need to treat after the Corid. Do not start the vitamins until after you treat for Coccidiosis. You can provide her with probiotics to help out the normal bacteria regrowth. Or, you can make a mash of water, crumbles and yogurt and let her eat that. They all seem to love it.

Good luck with her. I hope this helps. Sorry for making such a long grocery list for you. These are just a few things I like to keep on hand to have in emergencies. This way, you will be ready if one treatment doesn't work!

 

[countryjess]

Thank you so much for your help! We'll keep you posted.

 

[leadwolf1]

You are welcome! I hope she feels better soon