Hen very sick but still eating & drinking

[Mer1977]

Hi all,

I could really use some help with one of my Wandas (they're all named Wanda).

My hens are all Rhode Island/White Rock crosses. They will be 3 years old this spring. I have four total, and their laying has slowed way down recently - I get one egg every 3-4 days.

One of my Wandas has been sick for the past week or more, and getting worse. She has what appears to be all the symptoms of coccidiosis except that she eats and drinks just about as often as healthy hens.

Diarrhea, hunched over, puffed up, tail down, very lethargic. Diarrhea has been mostly brown, but once I noticed it came out yellow with a cottage cheese consistency, along with clear liquid (like water).

What's perplexing is that she's still eating and drinking.

I've also noticed a little diarrhea on one of the other hens, but she seems fine otherwise.

I added epsom salts to their water yesterday in hopes it would help.

Although we've had our Wandas for a couple of years, I am a completely newbie when it comes to avian diseases and treatments.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Mer

 

[seminolewind]

I guess I would try Sulfadimethoxine and a 'cillin or Tylan and cover all the bases. I think that sometimes when it looks like cocci but isn't , enteritis is pretty high on my list because I've had it here several times and the cocci med may not help with that.

I'm sure others have ideas, but lately, that's been my cocktail of choice.

 

[Mer1977]

Thank you so much! Very helpful.

I have some Amoxycillin here (500mg), which was prescribed to me but I never took.

Any suggestions on dosage?

 

[jgoldy2]

no idea what, but know what you are experiancing, however I am pretty sure it will be a sad ending, does she look like this?

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
The closest I can find is 100-300 mg per day. I don't think that says much. https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart I don't know if I'd use that.

 

[casportpony]

Amoxicillin dose for chickens is 125mg/kg *twice* a day for 7-10 days. That works out to 57mg per pound.

-Kathy

 

[Mer1977]

no idea what, but know what you are experiancing, however I am pretty sure it will be a sad ending, does she look like this?

Yes, that's pretty much how she was looking.

Earlier I gave her about 100 mg of the Amoxy in a little canned cat food, which she gobbled up.

Tonight I thought she was a goner - still outside, lying in the rain while the other Wandas were inside. It wasn't until I poked her with something that I realized she was still alive!!

I wrapped her in a towel and brought her inside, gave her a light blowdry, plus offered a little canned catfood and some water (neither of which she has touched yet). I'll be sure to put some layer pellets in overnight in case she wants her regular food.

We'll see how she does through the night.

Thanks!

 

[Mer1977]

Quote:
Thanks! I found the same site earlier, but everything seems to be all over the map. I figured, what do I have to lose at this point so I went with 100 mg (approximately).

 

[Mer1977]

Amoxicillin dose for chickens is 125mg/kg *twice* a day for 7-10 days. That works out to 57mg per pound.

-Kathy

Great, thank you!!! She seems to have lost weight this past week, so I don't think she's much more than 2lbs right now, if that. I will try to dose her again tonight.

 

[Mer1977]

She's aliiiive!

I'm very happy to report that Wanda is eating and drinking again (started late last night, continuing this AM).

She has even sort of stood up a couple of times, then sat back down.

She seems happy to be inside for now.

We'll see how the day pans out, but so far I'm optimistic.