hen stopped laying and seems ill.

[ckuykendall2]

one of my RIRs (under 1 year old) has stopped laying possibly for a couple of months, regrettably, we have only confirmed this very recently (2 days ago) and we are now trying everything in our power to help her.

signs/symptoms;
pale comb
lethargy
lack of appetite
cessation of laying for possibly 2 months only confirmed days ago

what we have tried;
digital probe to check for blockage (egg stuck etc.) found nothing

checked poop. poop usually appears normal with white cap though less often than others due to loss of appetite

took stool sample to 5 local vets all of which acted as thought it may as well have been unicorn stool and offered no help.

searching these forums and Google I have found many similar cases where it was either
A) severe intestinal/ digestive tract issues
B) reproductive issues

I'm in the field of medicine, however to me as well, these chickens may as well be unicorns because I have no idea how to treat this or approach it in any way.. it would deeply pain me to have to put her out of her misery as she does present with signs of illness, especially if it might be something antibiotics could fix. so I'm here asking for help.

please help me save my chicken!

 

[sourland]

@casportpony, can you help here ? Hopefully the person that I have tagged will have some ideas.

 

[casportpony]

If you want to try a Hail Mary you could treat for a bacterial infection, de-worm, treat for protozoa, give fluids, and tube feed. It's pretty extreme, and won't help if it's something like Marek's, cancer, EYP, or advanced salpingitis. Let me know and I will get you a list of the medications I use.

 

[ckuykendall2]

I appreciate the responses so far. through our horse vet in a town over we were suggested a vet in New Mexico, which in turn suggested us to a bird specialist vet (avian vet??) he was very nice and said he has had multiple calls similar to my case this summer and said it was likely the effects of the heat dome we have been baking in with temps exceeding 110 f. this was my first thought however I discounted it considering the other 4 in the flock aren't acting this way, not like this one is. we have been icing their water adding electrolytes etc to it to help counter this, they are in our yard with misters in multiple shade spots. I'm hoping he is correct in this but I'm worried it may not be correct. I just gave honey in water at his recommendation and will try a couple of other things, if they fail then I will want to quickly move to antibiotics.
thank you

 

[ckuykendall2]

on second though I may treat for a parasite/protozoa as well considering there's a leaking septic pipe on the ranch that they frequently flock to. we constantly cover it any way we can but the cows often destroy and dig it up even more. since this started she has hardly been over there but still I want to cover every possibility.

 

[ChickNanny13]

See if you can get her to eat ... try wetting her food, scrambled eggs, wet cat food, tuna
Maybe some Nutri Drench

 

[casportpony]

You say you are in the field of medicine, does that mean you would be comfortable giving fluids? Sick birds are always dehydrated, so you could be conservative and try giving fluids.

 

[ckuykendall2]

You say you are in the field of medicine, does that mean you would be comfortable giving fluids? Sick birds are always dehydrated, so you could be conservative and try giving fluids.

do you mean via IV?

 

[casportpony]

as in IV

do you mean via IV?

You could tube feed fluids, which is very easy, or you could give them IV fluids under the skin if you have some experience poking animals or people with needles.

 

[ckuykendall2]

finally found a vet nearby apparently she does have a broken egg in her but it's far up by her crop almost. I tube fed her some olive oil at the vets recommendation, she is drinking but not much, she is not eating so we have been putting food in her mouth which works but makes me feel bad. there is an odd squishy lump up near her crop which I'm guessing is the egg.

she got 2 shots of antibiotics and is getting more in the morning. will continue tube fluid and force feeding until then.

sorry for scattered thoughts very concerned for her. she is one that I nursed back to health as a week old chick when a curious dog knocked her pin over on her along with a brick. she has always been very fond of me and vice versa, almost like a lap cat. well we will see how things go. thanks for the help and advice