Hen with milky diarrhea, loses balance and falling back onto hocks

[SarahGfa]

It won't hurt her. It's just wasted since it won't affect any of the viruses she may have.

Her eyes appear normal, but watch for any greying of the colored part and the pupils shrinking in size.

in that case i'll continue with a low dose. she weighs less than 2 pounds, so she's only getting 1% of what a human would get. it is not a lot of waste, and other people in the forum have asked about acyclovir so at least they will know how it works for this bird.

 

[Nellydog]

in that case i'll continue with a low dose. she weighs less than 2 pounds, so she's only getting 1% of what a human would get. it is not a lot of waste, and other people in the forum have asked about acyclovir so at least they will know how it works for this bird.

I'm no expert but I hope that your chicks gets better I've never seen this but keep on helping with what you can please keep updating

 

[SarahGfa]

Update, for anyone who wants to follow along.

Wednesday morning, she could not stand up on her own. Couldn't move wings. I mixed 10mg acyclovir with water, egg yolk, and chick crumble, let her eat that throughout the day. She seemed less energetic and appetite declined.

Thursday morning, strength seems to come and go. Gave her another 10mg acyclovir. Still can't stand on her own, but once in a while lfts up her wings (shaky). More alert today, appetite still not good. She is drinking water often. I think acyclovir decreases appetite and makes her thirsty.

The Good: Between Sunday and Wednesday, she went from unable to balance to can't even stand up. After starting acyclovir, paralysis seems to be stable.

The Bad: Poops still runny, now sometimes watery. I don't expect her to survive much longer.

 

[azygous]

Sadly, it does sound as if she's declining instead of improving. It's not the trend we hoped for. She likely has an avian virus and these viruses wreck the immune system, so she could have an infection on top of everything else.

I urge you to be prepared for the eventuality of her death, and refrigerate her body (do not freeze) until you can locate a lab to do a necropsy. When you experience a serious illness in your flock, it's important to know what you're dealing with and how it may impact the rest of your flock.

 

[SarahGfa]

I urge you to be prepared for the eventuality of her death, and refrigerate her body (do not freeze) until you can locate a lab to do a necropsy. When you experience a serious illness in your flock, it's important to know what you're dealing with and how it may impact the rest of your flock.

I have mentally prepared that she will die soon. I am not sure about the necropsy. I want to do that, but this isn't something a regular vet can do, right? Is it safe to put her body in the refrigerator (where I keep my food)? How much time would it last in the frige?

 

[azygous]

It's possible a vet could do it. You need to ask around. I began by calling my university extension office, and they gave me the number of the county agricultural lab.

Chickens deteriorate quickly after death, and refrigerating immediately is crucial. But you would want to get the body to a lab within a few days. I drove the two hours to get my dead rooster to the lab. By the time I'd returned home, they had the results for me.

It was from this necropsy that I learned my flock is carrying an avian virus called lymphotic leucosis. In the years since, I've learned to maximize the health of my flock, and I've had a few deaths, but many more chickens have developed resistance and have lived to very ripe old ages of seven, eight, nine, and ten years.

It has been the younger birds that have sickened and died from not being able to develop resistance, especially the ones I've tried to hatch from my flock.

There are measures I take in order to keep the virus from spreading beyond my flock, and it's a help to know what is probably happening when I have a chicken get sick. You do not need to get a necropsy on every chicken that dies, but this first one can give you very valuable information for managing your flock to keep illness to a minimum.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that I haven’t been up to date, and also that she is declining. I would stop the acyclovir since she is not eating well and having runny poops. I would give her more light, and if possible bring her in to be around other birds in a dog crate, or with you while you are around. If she hops out of the crate again from seeing outside or the other birds, let her be for awhile, to enjoy seeing the others, at least for visits. She might perk up enough to eat better. Here is a good link to talk to your state vet or poultry lab to make arrangements for a necropsy (refrigerate in your refrigerator in double plastic garbage bags) and ask for Mareks testing, since they don’t do it routinely:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[SarahGfa]

Sorry that I haven’t been up to date, and also that she is declining. I would stop the acyclovir since she is not eating well and having runny poops. I would give her more light, and if possible bring her in to be around other birds in a dog crate, or with you while you are around. If she hops out of the crate again from seeing outside or the other birds, let her be for awhile, to enjoy seeing the others, at least for visits. She might perk up enough to eat better. Here is a good link to talk to your state vet or poultry lab to make arrangements for a necropsy (refrigerate in your refrigerator in double plastic garbage bags) and ask for Mareks testing, since they don’t do it routinely:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Well she heard me talking about necropsy and got offended, so yesterday afternoon she escaped from her chair and started walking around on her own! Today she is running and even hopped up a small flight of stairs. She still trips sometimes and can't fully use her wings but making progress.

The Bad: Still not eating much. I've offered her cooked eggs, mealworms, wet mash, bread, oatmeal, and scratch. She takes a few pecks at each thing and then loses interest. Her poops are still runny and green. I put her outside for a while but don't want to leave her very long because I want to keep her next to her food. I did not give her any acylovir the last two days because she is just not eating.

 

[azygous]

That's really amazing! When you see that kind of improvement, you should be encouraged. Her body appears to be resisting whatever is making her sick. Now you need to give her immune system support and try to get nourishment into her. I have had good luck mixing yogurt with strained baby meats and syringing it into the beak. If she refuses to eat, you might try your hand at tube feeding her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Great news. I am so glad that she is fighting. Is she on vitamins at this time? Thiamine or foods rich in it, such as chopped beef liver or a bit of hamburger meat may help stimulate her appetite. Some eat better when they get around other chickens for short visits. I hope her improvement keeps going.