House kept Hen off colour

[AgentBloomers]

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who posted a reply, I also posted in the emergency section (posted at the same time) but it didn't receive the response this post did.

Chicken has been given TYLAN and we're now surfing the internet to try and learn more about this drug and how much we should be giving her as the vet wasn't sure.

She saw the vet at 4pm and had her first dose at 6pm, she's just had a long drink of clean fresh water (00:30) and seems a little happier though she still has no interest in food.

I was planning on giving her 50ml of the antibiotics in the morning and 50ml in the afternoon.

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm sorry I don't know anything about tylan dosage. You might want to pm any of the previous responders who mentioned care for her. They may know. You might also put in the search box "tylan dosage for chickens," I think the right info should up. Chicken people frequently use it.

Hope she recovers soon, she sounds like such a spunky gal who has her own personal guard(Radish)

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you so much for all your caring advice
Her crop is empty and very squishy, I gave her plenty of water, 12 tea spoons just under 100ml at lunch time to ensure she didnt dehydrate
The vet gave her a good exam, neither I nor the vet can find any obvious reason - shes not egg bound, her crop isn't impacted, no obvious signs of poisons
She's been given antibiotics, (TYLAN) which is mixed with 2 litres of water - the vet isn't sure how much I should be giving her each day but has suggested between 50 to 100ml plus antibotic free water
She's had 50ml this afternoon (18:00) and has just had a good long drink of antibiotic free water (00:30)

I could really do with some advice ref the drug TYLAN is giving her 50 to 100ml of the diluted drug a day right?

Does the vet think she has a bacterial infection? What was his diagnosis? If her crop is squishy, and this is what she is being treated for, Tylan is not going to help any. Squishy crops are a yeast infection, not bacterial.

I would check her crop first thing in the morning. If it is still squishy, then hold her like a foot ball in one arm with her beak out. Support her at the crop with your other hand and lean your body forward. The SECOND fluid starts to come out her beak, count to 2 or 3 and stand up so she can breath. (she can breath in this position until the fluid starts to flow, so you can hold her like this for longer if nothing is coming up.) But as soon as the fluid starts to come up, only hold her like this for 2 or 3 seconds. Stand back up. Give her a moment to breath and do it again to see if you can get more out of her crop. That stuff is poison and is toxic. So it needs to come out. She should be able to drink by herself, so no need to give her water. Only feed her damp layer feed for a few days. Do the vomit thing each morning until when checked in the morning, her crop is empty.

As for the Tylan I believe it is mixed 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Change it daily. Keep us posted.

 

[AgentBloomers]

Hi, all the vet could determine was she had a temperature and was off colour; nothing else obvious.

I will try as you advise in the morning and let you know how it goes - thank you (truly) for taking the time to give us some advice

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi, all the vet could determine was she had a temperature and was off colour; nothing else obvious.

I will try as you advise in the morning and let you know how it goes - thank you (truly) for taking the time to give us some advice

Also, it would help to put some probiotics in her water for a week or two. (after you are done with the Tylan.) You can use human grade probios.

 

[AgentBloomers]

THANK YOU soooo much for you help x

The vet thinks she has an infection but can find no external signs of one. Her crop was empty apart from a few pieces of grit/grain size but she hadn't eaten for over 24hrs.

There was some tenderness at the front of her abdomen

This morning shes eaten a handful of meal worms and is more alert and is grooming her self which I hope is a good sign

Her droppings are have all been normal, though now more watery but I think this is to be expected. What I am curious about is that a few times she's passed undigested grass so there's some green streaks, she was eating grass a few days ago when in the garden with me. I was picking the grass for the guinea pigs and she was taking strands and eating them. Is it possible her ilhealth is related? Its the only connection I can find between recent activity, environment and current ill health

 

[AgentBloomers]

She prefers to drink from the dogs water bowl rather than hers BUT she loves yogurt so I'm off to buy some natural unsweetened for her. I fully believe that people often under estimate the wonders probiotics can do,

 

[TwoCrows]

Keep her warm and comfortable. The idea that she may have some abdomen tenderness is not a real good sign. Sometimes if a hen has some internal laying or is developing reproductive cancer, they can get small infections which can be treated and cured at first. But eventually the disease grows worse.

BUT....she may have just had a grass blockage in her lower intestinal tract that caused her to be off a bit. The fact that she is a house chicken and she doesn't have a lot of access to grass all the time, she may have just over eaten it and it cause digestion issues.

Keep up with the probiotics. They can do wonders in the intestinal tract to keep the immune system beefed up.

I truly hope she makes a full recovery!

Keep us posted.

 

[AgentBloomers]

UPDATE:
She's been a lot happier today, drinking, eating though not with a massive appetite she has managed little and often.
Her droppings have gone from occasionally having one with a strand or two of undigested grass to the below. Bright green. They look like she's eaten some green beans, its the best way to describe it.



Her comb seems a good colour, her demeanor seems better but her droppings are alarmingly bright green.



Looking through this site all the related posts have scared the pants of me!!! E-Coli has been mentioned.

 

[TwoCrows]

It could be grass that was undigested or possibly E-coli. Good that she is on the Tylan. But I am glad she is looking better today.

Please keep us posted.