Hoping for improvement by now

[azygous]

Recently I lost a hen with many of these same symptoms. Aside from each case being unique, the progress I expect when treating a chicken will usually follow a simple pattern. Since most of the time we are treating symptoms, we begin with the most obvious and easy to treat and move up the scale from there watching to see signs of improvement. Often we do see an immediate change for the better after one or two tries. It's not something hard to miss.

When there is no improvement after trying to treat all that is obvious, and this is what happened at the beginning of this month with my hen, there is little choice but to accept that a much more serious chronic issue is underlying all of the symptoms. My hen never showed improvement, became more listless, lost more and more weight, and finally I accepted that the end was imminent. She died early on New Years Day.

This hen is following the same pattern. The only "progress" is in the direction of declining. I don't see that any other treatments would be of value here.

 

[dawg53]

View attachment 3733813
I am attaching a photo of the dead worms from Monday.
I think I'll finish out the amoxicillin and make a decision then.
Thank you for your continuing help.

I dont see any worms in the photo. I see mucus lining which can be caused by many things; coccidiosis, inflammation of the intestines, ecoli, necrotic enteritis as examples. Worms can cause it as well. Since you've wormed your bird, I doubt worms are the cause.

 

[OKhobbit]

Sorry that she is not doing better. It may be that she is not going to get well. Sometimes we don’t realize what was going on until a necropsy is done by the state vet where they can give you details. I would not let her have access to grit and oyster shell right now since she could be taking them instead of food.
The 5 day SafeGuard treatment you did should be all she needs. She doesn’t need Valbazen if she had the complete 5 day treatment. Did you shake the SafeGuard well? Most wormers are a suspension that has to be shaken well for a minute or so, even Valbazen. If you see any more stools with the wormlike things, take a picture. I hope she gets better, but she must have something fatal, possibly cancer.
I would not give benadryl for euthanasia. If it becomes necessary take her to a vet or ask a friend who hunts or is used to that to put her down. Quick removal of the neck with loppers, cutting the jugular veins to bleed out, cervical dislocation or the broomstick method are some common ways that may bring death quickly.

Thank you so much for the shaking the liquid wormers info and the photos. I shook initially, but I don't remember doing it every time. I will worm the other chicken when things calm down around here with the Valbazen. I think worming Lucy now would be pointless.
I will continue the amoxicillin until the last dose on Sunday evening. I decided to just put her out in the garage in the run with her flock mate. She went right to the crumble and ate some and drank a little from the water bucket. She is still sleeping standing up, but if she doesn't improve, and I feel she won't, then she'll have a more familiar environment in her last days.
Thank you so, so much for your advice and support.

 

[OKhobbit]

I'm sorry she's not doing well.

Not sure if you're dealing with worms or not. I'm inclined to think this is mucous strands.

Her crop is emptying overnight and she's pretty much passed all the feathers she consumed, correct?

If you've dewormed, treated for Coccidiosis and infection, then I'm not sure what else you can try.
Perhaps a flush, either a Molasses or Espom salts flush would be good, but either one is dehydrating so you would need to make sure to hydrate her well.

Thoughts on the flush from @Eggcessive @dawg53 and @azygous would be appreciated.

Crop is empty in the mornings now. Haven't seen feathers for some time. There was no cocci in the fecal float test that the vet saw.

 

[OKhobbit]

Recently I lost a hen with many of these same symptoms. Aside from each case being unique, the progress I expect when treating a chicken will usually follow a simple pattern. Since most of the time we are treating symptoms, we begin with the most obvious and easy to treat and move up the scale from there watching to see signs of improvement. Often we do see an immediate change for the better after one or two tries. It's not something hard to miss.

When there is no improvement after trying to treat all that is obvious, and this is what happened at the beginning of this month with my hen, there is little choice but to accept that a much more serious chronic issue is underlying all of the symptoms. My hen never showed improvement, became more listless, lost more and more weight, and finally I accepted that the end was imminent. She died early on New Years Day.

This hen is following the same pattern. The only "progress" is in the direction of declining. I don't see that any other treatments would be of value here.

I am very sorry for your loss. You are helping me to understand she is probably nearing her end.