How to treat a mystery illness?

[TJAnonymous]

OK, I've been gone for a week on a business trip. DH has been caring for my flock while I was gone. Of course, he wouldn't notice a sick chicken unless it flopped over dead in front of him....

This morning I noticed one of my RIR hens was not eating. She has yellow diarrhea. Pale comb that has fallen over to one side. She did follow the others out to free range today but I don't think she has eaten much. I waited until she went back to the roost to bring her into sick bay. She had liquid dripping from her mouth when I picked her up.

So any suggestions on how I should treat her? I have no idea what is making her sick?

I have a few items in my medicine drawer -

Amoxicillan
Corid
Nutri-Drench
Sav-A-Chik Probiotics and Electrolytes

What would you start with and how much?

 

[TJAnonymous]

The Nutridrench 2 ml is given orally. Do you see any eye bubbles or nasal drainage? Is her lower belly enlarged down under her vent? How much amoxicillin are you giving? Dosage is 125-250 mg twice a day given orally for 10 days. Poop pictures would be good. Are they bright yellow, golden, or have yellow liquid around the solids? I suppose she might have coccidiosis, but some reproductive infections can cause yellow runny poops. Try offering some mushy chicken feed with a lot of water, and scrambled egg bits are given with a little water to get more fluids into them. I hold those up to the beak in a little lid or small cup.

Unfortunately my poor girl passed away sometime this afternoon. There were a bunch of shavings strewn about outside the cage so I'm pretty sure she had a seizure or something. She had not shown any predilection for digging at all since I brought her inside last night so a seizure is the only thing that makes sense for the amount of shavings on the floor. She was sitting in the same corner where I left her a few hours ago. Doesn't look like she moved much at all except for shavings everywhere.

Poor girl...

 

[Eggcessive]

It would be hard to know without a necropsy. It might have been egg, a bacterial reproductive infection, or sour crop.

 

[Eggcessive]

First I would try to figure out what her problem is. Check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it has emptied over night, or if it is full, hard, doughy, or puffy like a balloon. Smell her breath at the same time to see if it is sour or bad. Feel of her breast bone to see if it is prominent and if she has lost weight. Look her over for mites and lice under her vent. Is her tail position up or down? Poop pictures are welcome. Offer her water and give 2 ml of Poultry NutriDrench or some electrolytes.

 

[TJAnonymous]

My girl is not doing well this morning. She is wheezing pretty badly. I used an eye dropper to get some water, nutri-drench, and a little bit of amoxicillan in her. Her crop is empty and breast bone is prominent. Her poop is nothing but a yellow watery mess. No substance to it whatsoever. I also put some fresh water with some Corid. I put some mealworms out to entice her to eat. We'll see if she shows any interest. Right now she is hardly moving at all.

 

[Eggcessive]

The Nutridrench 2 ml is given orally. Do you see any eye bubbles or nasal drainage? Is her lower belly enlarged down under her vent? How much amoxicillin are you giving? Dosage is 125-250 mg twice a day given orally for 10 days. Poop pictures would be good. Are they bright yellow, golden, or have yellow liquid around the solids? I suppose she might have coccidiosis, but some reproductive infections can cause yellow runny poops. Try offering some mushy chicken feed with a lot of water, and scrambled egg bits are given with a little water to get more fluids into them. I hold those up to the beak in a little lid or small cup.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm sorry. Hugs for you. RIP, dear girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you lost her so quickly. Could you contact your state vet in the AM and try to take her body in for a necropsy? The body should be kept cold, but not frozen. Your state vet is on this list:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So sorry. @Eggcessive, could she have had a broken egg inside her? Could the yellow discharge have been a broken yolk?

 

[TJAnonymous]

First I would try to figure out what her problem is. Check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it has emptied over night, or if it is full, hard, doughy, or puffy like a balloon. Smell her breath at the same time to see if it is sour or bad. Feel of her breast bone to see if it is prominent and if she has lost weight. Look her over for mites and lice under her vent. Is her tail position up or down? Poop pictures are welcome. Offer her water and give 2 ml of Poultry NutriDrench or some electrolytes.

Thanks! Do you put the 2 ml in a gallon of water? Or give it to her some other way?

She just has plain water for now. I have a smaller cage (2 ft x 2 ft) that I can move her to in the morning with a puppy pad in it. Might help me inspect her poop a little better than on shavings.

This is her in the brooder. I moved the chicks to the main coop. I realize I will have to sterilize the brooder after I get this girl feeling better. The brooder was the only thing I had ready to put her into....