I don’t know what else to do for my hen - had mites, dewormed, still sick

[HippieAtHeart]

I discovered my hen 2 weeks ago by herself and found out she had mites. I tried getting g rid of with permethrin and had no luck so sprayed with spinosad and got rid of them successfully for almost a week now. She didn’t improve so it was suggested to deworm. I dewormed her for the 5 days with safeguard horse paste which he ingested, but she still hasn’t improved. Here’s her info
-4/5 year old buff Orpington hen (got her from a family member)
- not been laying since we got her that I know of
- now mite free
- now dewormed
- still lethargic, doesn’t walk normal (kind of penguin waddle but not egg bound from my checks)
- crop gets full-ish and is empty in morning but now not eating much food
- drinks Lots of water and sometimes water comes back up out mouth but no color or smell

I don’t know much about slow crop or crop issues other than she definitely doesn’t have an impacted crop because it is not hard. She can get around kind of, she particularly likes to lay on coops “porch” in the sun, but other than that she isn’t doing to well with walking normal. I just don’t know what could be wrong with her. I am thinking about starting a round of antibiotics but I don’t know if I should or if she is just getting old and dying of old age.
Any thoughts on what might be up with her would be appreciated!

 

[ronott1]

To me, she looks like there is an internal issue. It could be a stuck or broken egg or it could be a reproductive cancer.

Keep doing what you are doing and make her comfortable.

A vet trip might help but if she is reaching end of life, hospice might just be the best thing for her.

 

[HippieAtHeart]

To me, she looks like there is an internal issue. It could be a stuck or broken egg or it could be a reproductive cancer.

Keep doing what you are doing and make her comfortable.

A vet trip might help but if she is reaching end of life, hospice might just be the best thing for her.

Thank you for your thoughts, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve thought about culling, but to be honest I thought she would just pass so I’ve been holding hope she will improve since she hasn’t yet. We don’t have vets around that will look at chickens so that’s not really an option. She may be even older than 5 but the family member we got some of our chickens from didn’t know exactly when they got them so not much help there

 

[MysteryChicken]

Her posture looks like she has a Reproductive system issue. Her comb color is kind of purple.

Feel her abdomen, feel if it's fluidy, like a water bed, or if you can feel a mass?

If there's fluid she may have ascites, if there's a mass then she may have a tumor, or has been internally laying.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you for your thoughts, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve thought about culling, but to be honest I thought she would just pass so I’ve been holding hope she will improve since she hasn’t yet. We don’t have vets around that will look at chickens so that’s not really an option. She may be even older than 5 but the family member we got some of our chickens from didn’t know exactly when they got them so not much help there

I'd actually agree with culling, she seems to be suffering.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

if you are trying to get rid of mites, I would use food-grade diatomaceous earth- I get mine in a 50-pound bag at the local farm supply. The mites are in your coop so just dunking or trying to kill them just on the chicken won't do you any good. You will need to strip down your coop, clean or even better - replace bars and disinfect boxes. I would do this while your chickens are free ranging or out in the run. Then dust down your bars, coop, boxes, and the entire flock with dia earth. It's the only thing that has helped me control the mites here in the tropics hope this helps!!

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

Her posture looks like she has a Reproductive system issue. Her comb color is kind of purple.

Feel her abdomen, feel if it's fluidy, like a water bed, or if you can feel a mass?

If there's fluid she may have ascites, if there's a mass then she may have a tumor, or has been internally laying.

I do agree, she may have mites but she is suffering from something else,

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Her posture looks like she has a Reproductive system issue. Her comb color is kind of purple.

Feel her abdomen, feel if it's fluidy, like a water bed, or if you can feel a mass?

If there's fluid she may have ascites, if there's a mass then she may have a tumor, or has been internally laying.

What does a purple comb indicate? I’ll feel her abdomen when I next get out to see her. I felt i before but there was no obvious large mass. I think I may give her a day or two with no chemicals (spinosad or safeguard) in her system to see if she can improve some, if not I’ll have to cull because I just don’t want her to be in pain anymore

 

[MysteryChicken]

if you are trying to get rid of mites, I would use food-grade diatomaceous earth- I get mine in a 50-pound bag at the local farm supply. The mites are in your coop so just dunking or trying to kill them just on the chicken won't do you any good. You will need to strip down your coop, clean or even better - replace bars and disinfect boxes. I would do this while your chickens are free ranging or out in the run. Then dust down your bars, coop, boxes, and the entire flock with dia earth. It's the only thing that has helped me control the mites here in the tropics hope this helps!!

Diatomaceous Earth does nothing for mites.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

Diatomaceous Earth does nothing for mites.

I guess the mites in my coop just magically disappear then huh.