I CANNOT figure out what is wrong with this hen

[cocoloco]

My 2 yr old bantam hen, Beanie, is sick. My flock free-ranges - She started staying apart from the flock 3 days ago. She and one other hen had a poopy butt with yellow/green matted feathers under their vents. I attributed that to the very hot weather and all the water/watermelon they were eating to stay hydrated - they all had runny poop. Yesterday she was laying down in the middle of the day with her eyes shut. I hand fed her to check her appetite - she is eating and will drink. She made a couple of "cheeps" as she was eating - like a chick - never heard her do that before. I caught her gaping 2 or 3 times -not constant - but it made me think of gapeworms so I tried to check her throat - she wouldn't let me see. I forced a Q-tip in and swabbed the back of her throat and it came out clean. i put a few drops of VetRX down her throat, on her nose, her comb - in case it was respiratory. She did NOT like that - but really perked up afterward. I did not separate her from the others (I only have 6 hens and a rooster) - she went to bed fine. This morning she was first out of the coop. I have been watching her all day. Her poop is normal - though much smaller than usual. (eating less than usual). She sat away from the flock again today. (Re eggs - she has not laid one in a while. She laid an egg every day for a year - then just stopped. I didn't mind - as long as she wasn't sick I did not care.) She has always been my most active bird - boundless energy - now, she is listless. She is in the house with me now. When she is laying down - her breathing seems labored, her eyes closed, she gaped twice in one hour. Then I brought a box of hay in - she jumped in it all excited - kicking it around! I called 3 vets - the 2 best do not have exotic vets on duty tonight - another that is farther away and handles chickens charges $180 just to walk through the door. The final option is a 24 hr animal ER. their prices are reasonable and they take chickens - but none of their DRs specializes in birds. I'm torn between taking her there tonight - or giving her another day. This happened same time last year - with a different hen. Someone suggested Corid - I dosed the whole flock with it - within 2 days all were recovered. Within a week - 2 rescue hens that had NEVER laid eggs started laying! I decided to start the flock on Corid today - what have I got to lose? I squirted some in Beanie's mouth an hour ago. She is just standing up, slightly fluffed, with her tail down. Can anyone help? I'm at a loss.

 

[Ragna]

She may be perking up but remember that she's still sick and to keep an eye on her. You should try giving her moist feed... From my experience if she has a respiratory infection caused by a virus there may not be any way to treat it since they are limited on what they can give chickens medicine wise... At least in florida. You said her breathing sounded struggled... Is she tilting her head up at all?

 

[Ragna]

My 2 yr old bantam hen, Beanie, is sick. My flock free-ranges - She started staying apart from the flock 3 days ago. She and one other hen had a poopy butt with yellow/green matted feathers under their vents. I attributed that to the very hot weather and all the water/watermelon they were eating to stay hydrated - they all had runny poop. Yesterday she was laying down in the middle of the day with her eyes shut. I hand fed her to check her appetite - she is eating and will drink. She made a couple of "cheeps" as she was eating - like a chick - never heard her do that before. I caught her gaping 2 or 3 times -not constant - but it made me think of gapeworms so I tried to check her throat - she wouldn't let me see. I forced a Q-tip in and swabbed the back of her throat and it came out clean. i put a few drops of VetRX down her throat, on her nose, her comb - in case it was respiratory. She did NOT like that - but really perked up afterward. I did not separate her from the others (I only have 6 hens and a rooster) - she went to bed fine. This morning she was first out of the coop. I have been watching her all day. Her poop is normal - though much smaller than usual. (eating less than usual). She sat away from the flock again today. (Re eggs - she has not laid one in a while. She laid an egg every day for a year - then just stopped. I didn't mind - as long as she wasn't sick I did not care.) She has always been my most active bird - boundless energy - now, she is listless. She is in the house with me now. When she is laying down - her breathing seems labored, her eyes closed, she gaped twice in one hour. Then I brought a box of hay in - she jumped in it all excited - kicking it around! I called 3 vets - the 2 best do not have exotic vets on duty tonight - another that is farther away and handles chickens charges $180 just to walk through the door. The final option is a 24 hr animal ER. their prices are reasonable and they take chickens - but none of their DRs specializes in birds. I'm torn between taking her there tonight - or giving her another day. This happened same time last year - with a different hen. Someone suggested Corid - I dosed the whole flock with it - within 2 days all were recovered. Within a week - 2 rescue hens that had NEVER laid eggs started laying! I decided to start the flock on Corid today - what have I got to lose? I squirted some in Beanie's mouth an hour ago. She is just standing up, slightly fluffed, with her tail down. Can anyone help? I'm at a loss.

My girl was in very very bad condition.... She had fowl pox and two different respiratory infections back to back for months

 

[cocoloco]

Yes - she is tilting her head up slightly. I wanted to add - there is no discharge - her face is clean - her comb is red. I tried to give her crushed mealworm (her favorite) in yogurt - she would not touch it. I just let her out for the afternoon treat - today it was corn niblets from a can - she scoffed them along with the others. btw, I have a full scrip of Baytril left over from another vet. What is that best for? I think I will look it up.

 

[cocoloco]

To Ragna - I am so sorry about your hen - how did you treat it?

 

[cocoloco]

can I moisten the feed with something other than water to give her a boost? Would milk be better?

 

[MROO]

can I moisten the feed with something other than water to give her a boost? Would milk be better?

Try Pedialyte, the electrolytes for children. Generic is fine, and a lot cheaper.

 

[MROO]

She may be perking up but remember that she's still sick and to keep an eye on her.

Can you separate her, just in case ... and to keep a closer eye on her?

 

[cocoloco]

I did not have anything like that so I mixed their drinking water (with the Corid in it) into the crumbles and put down a big dish for all of them. They came running over and so did she. I put a separate plate in front of her and she ate it all. I am watching her right now - she is laying down with one other hen while the rest graze. I know you are supposed to separate them but, in her case, I think it would traumatize her more to be out of the coop tonight. We have a big coop and she is near the top of the pecking order. She is always the first in at night, and the first out in the morning. I just tried to catch her - she ran under the car. I guess she has had enough of me for one day. I am mindful that I can take her anytime to the 24hr ER - I will give her the night - and take her first thing tomorrow morning if she has gotten worse. This is a mystery to me.

 

[Ragna]

To Ragna - I am so sorry about your hen - how did you treat it?

Well... Initially she was persribed doxycycline and then after her treatment she came down with avian pox... Which there wasn't anything I could do about at that point. They have a vaccine I think but it only helps if she doesn't have it already. But you'd know if it was avian pox because you'd see an outbreak of lesions and bumps. You could take her to the vet... But they may not be able to treat it depending on what it is bacteria or virus... that's what my vet told me snd I still spent 300 dollars on my vet visit despite that possibility. Bottom line is if she didn't catch avian pox RIGHT after she would have survived because the initial sickness was treatable with doxycycline... I hear a lot of people keep their hens in a seperate cage inside the coop so she doesn't get lonely but can't infect any of the other hens or roosters. I've never tried it but if your desperate enough maybe Gatorade on the feed would give her electrolytes??? But I have no idea. I always joke about giving my girls Gatorade