Hen sick - possibly tuberculosis?

[Chicken Lass]

Hello and thanks to you all for the wonderful info. I gave Sheila yogurt mixed with fish oils and will try that everyday. I will try to take her to a vet - maybe I can find better antibiotics. It has been hard searching for a vet that will look at a chicken! They are so busy with other things. I will also buy some grit for them - they have small pebbles scattered in their coop to help with the mud when it rains, but they are too big for them to eat.
It sounds very much like Sheila (and possibly the rest) have Coccidiosis or maybe Salpingitis. Sheila has more symptoms pointing towards Coccidiosis, but the yellow diarrhea has me worried that its the other. Most of the time in the past my chickens have been very healthy and active, and since they are so isolated from other chickens I don't know how they picked this up. My chickens are mixed ages and kinds so maybe I managed to buy a carrier in the past. Maybe wild birds or something caused this since it has been over two years since I last got new chickens.
I'll be in touch. I'm just so sorry I didn't join here earlier! It is just so great to be able to talk to chicken experienced people at anytime!
Thanks for your time

 

[threehorses]

Yellow diarrhea is always worrying, yes.

By the way, did we rule out worms? If not, when you find your vet, you should get a 'fecal egg count' done to rule that out and treat what is found. If she has them, worm the flock.

As for vets, here's a list of certified avian vets. I have found that all the ones listed for my city are indeed very open to poultry and not at all 'parrot snobs'. I can say that with a grin as I'm a parrot owner.. i was afraid that the good vets would be parrot snobs. As it turns out, the lesser vets are often parrot snobs and the avian vets just love ALL birds.

http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm

 

[Chicken Lass]

Hello again. I have bad news - Sheila died last night. At least she died in her sleep. She's in the diagnostic lab right now so I can figure out what she had and what I need to do for the others.
I really hated to see Sheila go. She was a cute little ISA Brown hen with a unique personality. I had taught her a neat little trick too - whenever I attempted to pet her on the head or even point at her she would start slowly backing up and keep backing up in a straight line (sometimes for around eight steps!), like she was bowing or something! She was pretty funny. People who don't own chickens often look at me like I'm insane when I tell them that each of my chickens have their own character and quirks.
So, I'll let you all know what the lab results are when I get them - maybe this info can help someone else as well. Thanks threehorses for the list of bird vets. Parrots are cool too.

 

[threehorses]

Aww I'm so sorry to hear that you lost Sheila. Darnit. Im' glad that you decided to take her to a lab. I hope that they're able to give you some answers to put your mind at ease and help you flock. Maybe it was just her personally and in internal infection from a laying issue, etc.

And yes thank you for sharing the lab results when they arrive. That's very kind and good of you.

And you're welcome for the bird vet list. I just wish I could have gotten it all to you earlier.
/hugs

 

[verlaj]

Sorry to hear about your hen. Thanks for posting (and thanks threehorses for your insight.) You are not alone. I subscribed to this thread because I have seen similar signs in old hens and I learned a lot from the discussion.