Hen suddenly very sick. Chalky white/yellow discharge, bad smelling vent. Other details provided, please help

[azygous]

Very interesting! I think a lot of people would be interested in how chickens living where there are no seasonal changes manage their molting cycles. But then, I am, as I mentioned, excessive in my curiosity about things overall. I would have been glued to Google if it had been invented in the 1950s when I was an annoying kid asking endless questions. You should turn this into an article about how chickens behave in an equatorial region.

Even at my latitude, I've had chickens molt at disparate times of the year, skip molts for a year, and molt at different speeds. I have a very special hen at present that is "speed molting". I swear she dropped almost all her feathers two weeks ago, and she has nearly regrown almost all of them. The drawback is that she is normally in my lap for snuggling at every chance, but only tolerates an "air kiss" from a distance right now.

Obviously, from your report, living where there are no drastic seasonal changes does nothing to prevent a hen from having a very rough time during molt. I think our patient is going to come through this ordeal okay, thanks to your keen sensitivity to your flock's behaviors and prompt action.

 

[TropicalChickies]

You should turn this into an article about how chickens behave in an equatorial region.

Hmm.. that could be interesting for those of us close to the equator -- and curious people!

Even at my latitude, I've had chickens molt at disparate times of the year, skip molts for a year, and molt at different speeds

Supports my theory that there's more a lot more "normal" chicken behaviors that don't conform to the "typical" one ready about in the top Google articles!

I think our patient is going to come through this ordeal okay, thanks to your keen sensitivity to your flock's behaviors and prompt action.

Ahh.. I hope so. It seems like the infection is moving through her body. She seems to be clearing the nastiest of what was in the back end. Her last two poops didn't have as much white or yellow in them, they were more dark green, runny, but not all liquid.

But now her crop is beginning to feel spongy (she did eat and drink throughout the day, I'll check it first thing in the morning).

Most worrying is that she also now has some slimy yellow gunk bubbling inside her beak. She actually stopped breathing about two hours ago for about ten seconds, she was just gaping and I thought that was it. Then she somehow cleared her throat and recovered. I don't know if this slimy stuff is coming from her crop or her lungs.

I guess I can't rule out MG given her symptoms, but man, I've been so careful keeping this flock closed. If she has it, they all have it, and any stressor can trigger. Or it could be coryza...or some type of salmonella or e coli, I don't know because all the symptoms I read online for these various infections sound so general and similar.

I'm keeping her a good distance away from the other chickens.



Well, I know all of us who care about our animals (and don't have recourse to vets or necropsies for chickens) have to go through this and just do the best we can. Rusty is young and strong and all I can do is treat her symptoms and hope.

Thank you everyone for your knowledge and support!

 

[ManueB]

@TropicalChickies I hope Rusty manages to survive the infection, and fight it off. I think you are handling this incredibly well and helping her as much as possible.
While it makes one feel very powerless not to know what's going on, I sometimes feel that even with a precise diagnosis from a vet, often there is no certainty to have an effective treatment.

I am not sure if it's relevant to your situation, but in case it is, when she goes out be very careful for flystrike.
(My last experience with reproductive disease ended in a horrible manner for the hen which I could have avoided).

 

[TropicalChickies]

Rusty seems a bit better this morning.

Good signs:
Both eyes are more open and clear, no discharge or bubbles from the eyes.

Her poop overnight this morning was more solid. Urates are runny. But there was no more yellow or white chalk in her poop or stuck to her vent.

She feels more firm and solid in her body when I pick her up. She doesn't have that "floppy" feeling really sick or dying chickens have. She's perfectly mobile/ambulatory.

Signs for concern:
Her crop did not empty overnight. It's not huge as the photos show, but there's still some food in there from yesterday. Not much liquid. It has not soured -- yet. Or at least her head/beak doesn't smell like it. I did not give her breakfast, only water.

I think she almost choked yesterday because I offered her too much food for her condition. She loves to eat and will eat anything at any time. When I gave her the 4pm dose of ceph, her crop was really full, she didn't want to take her dose, and probably my handling her pushed some of the crop contents upward. I'm experienced with crop issues (I had a hen with chronic crop problems I helped for almost two years) and I am gentle, but Rusty was being really stubborn. I think she'll get more cooperative as her treatment continues; they usually do.

Anyway, my plan -- unless anyone thinks it's a bad idea -- is to not feed her until her crop empties. Perhaps the infection plus molt is slowing it down. I think it will empty on its own, but if her crop isn't empty by this afternoon, I may give her an Epsom salt flush (if she cooperates). That's been pretty helpful in the past with other hens.

If the crop does sour, I have Clotrimazole and ACS on hand. Can I treat sour crop while still giving her the ceph? I also have probiotics. I put some in her water this morning.

She still smells pretty bad overall -- that acrid odor -- but not as bad as two days ago.

She still has some puffiness in her face, but her eyes are more open.

Overall, she's improved. I think she's responding to the antibiotic and fighting the infection, but the crop worries me.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. I just posted an update, she seems a bit better this morning. Her vent has stopped getting caked/messy so that's a good sign. I'm checking it every time I dose her and keeping her clean.

@TropicalChickies I hope Rusty manages to survive the infection, and fight it off. I think you are handling this incredibly well and helping her as much as possible.
While it makes one feel very powerless not to know what's going on, I sometimes feel that even with a precise diagnosis from a vet, often there is no certainty to have an effective treatment.

I am not sure if it's relevant to your situation, but in case it is, when she goes out be very careful for flystrike.
(My last experience with reproductive disease ended in a horrible manner for the hen which I could have avoided).

 

[coach723]

Rather than withholding food, I would mix her feed (crumbles or pellets) in some water to make a mash, that will help with hydration also, and mix in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Give her a smaller amount more often, rather than a huge dish. She is passing some solids, so isn't blocked, things may just be slow. If she's very hungry and wolfing food down, then that may be causing the choking, and the moistened feed will help with that also. Just don't give anything hard to digest, nothing fiberous. Some probiotics might help also, since the antibiotic kills good bacteria as well as bad. I give them when I'm doing a round of antibiotics and for a while after, the antibiotics will kill them off, but there can be enough, long enough to help keep things from getting too unbalanced, and it won't hurt anything regardless.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Rather than withholding food, I would mix her feed (crumbles or pellets) in some water to make a mash, that will help with hydration also, and mix in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Give her a smaller amount more often, rather than a huge dish. She is passing some solids, so isn't blocked, things may just be slow. If she's very hungry and wolfing food down, then that may be causing the choking, and the moistened feed will help with that also. Just don't give anything hard to digest, nothing fiberous. Some probiotics might help also, since the antibiotic kills good bacteria as well as bad. I give them when I'm doing a round of antibiotics and for a while after, the antibiotics will kill them off, but there can be enough, long enough to help keep things from getting too unbalanced, and it won't hurt anything regardless.

Thank you @coach723 that's a great feedback. I know she hates not getting fed, so I will do that.

If her crop does go sour, should I use the Clotrimazole? I wouldn't use it unless really necessary -- I imagine antibiotic plus antifungal would be hard on her liver.

 

[TwoCrows]

Rusty seems a bit better this morning.

Good signs:
Both eyes are more open and clear, no discharge or bubbles from the eyes.

Her poop overnight this morning was more solid. Urates are runny. But there was no more yellow or white chalk in her poop or stuck to her vent.

She feels more firm and solid in her body when I pick her up. She doesn't have that "floppy" feeling really sick or dying chickens have. She's perfectly mobile/ambulatory.

Signs for concern:
Her crop did not empty overnight. It's not huge as the photos show, but there's still some food in there from yesterday. Not much liquid. It has not soured -- yet. Or at least her head/beak doesn't smell like it. I did not give her breakfast, only water.

I think she almost choked yesterday because I offered her too much food for her condition. She loves to eat and will eat anything at any time. When I gave her the 4pm dose of ceph, her crop was really full, she didn't want to take her dose, and probably my handling her pushed some of the crop contents upward. I'm experienced with crop issues (I had a hen with chronic crop problems I helped for almost two years) and I am gentle, but Rusty was being really stubborn. I think she'll get more cooperative as her treatment continues; they usually do.

Anyway, my plan -- unless anyone thinks it's a bad idea -- is to not feed her until her crop empties. Perhaps the infection plus molt is slowing it down. I think it will empty on its own, but if her crop isn't empty by this afternoon, I may give her an Epsom salt flush (if she cooperates). That's been pretty helpful in the past with other hens.

If the crop does sour, I have Clotrimazole and ACS on hand. Can I treat sour crop while still giving her the ceph? I also have probiotics. I put some in her water this morning.

She still smells pretty bad overall -- that acrid odor -- but not as bad as two days ago.

She still has some puffiness in her face, but her eyes are more open.

Overall, she's improved. I think she's responding to the antibiotic and fighting the infection, but the crop worries me.

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View attachment 3692490

Glad she is improving! As @coach723 mentioned above, definitely add probiotics to her diet, these potent antibacterial drugs wipe out the good bacteria in the crop and digestive tract and birds can get slow and sour crops. I think you have Copper Sulfate on hand? You could always turn to a half dose of this in her water in addition to everything else if the crop gets really sour.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Glad she is improving! As @coach723 mentioned above, definitely add probiotics to her diet, these potent antibacterial drugs wipe out the good bacteria in the crop and digestive tract and birds can get slow and sour crops. I think you have Copper Sulfate on hand? You could always turn to a half dose of this in her water in addition to everything else if the crop gets really sour.

Yep, I always keep ACS around. It's been the most helpful thing by far for sour crop here. A half dose sounds good (1/4 tsp per gallon of water). I'll do that if -- only if -- the crop goes sour.

 

[ktboy]

I agree I'd go with the Calcium and antibiotic.

Take note if the gunk around the vent seems to be a constant "leakage" or just appears when she poops.
Vent Gleet comes to mind with the smell being like sour milk, but it very well could be infection from the reproductive system.

The watery bubble in the eye...do you have MG in your flock or IB? I'd just clean the eye with saline and see if the bubbles return or if she presents with other symptoms. Could just be a matter of getting something in the eye or a poke/peck to the eye.

Keep us posted.

this sounded good until I tried to get ceph, can't be purchased without a prescription, and have to take chicken to vet to get prescription, this making it unaffordable!