I Need Help Fast Please! I'm new to chickens and have an emergency!

[Idahochic]

Hi, im a teen 4-H member and just started a chicken project about a month ago. So i was at a chicken auction 2 days ago and purchased a wyandotte hen. She had overgrown nails (about 1 1/2 inches long!) and a very severe case of lice. I clipped her nails, bathed her, and treated her for lice and shes been seeming to get better ever since. However when i got her she would look like she was gagging and make those noises and had diahrea (with no worms in it) , and now she has regular poop and i havent seen her gagging at all anymmore. She doesn't walk much, she lays on her side and sits down a lot, hasn't layed an egg since i got her, and has just been very drowzy. I thought the drowziness was because of the lice so im giving her some electrolyte energy powder in the hens' water and it has seemed to help a little. But she drags her bottom and hunches down when she walks and then she'll suddenly just stop and sit down. She doesn't graze that much but is eating and drinking. Could she maybe have worms? She had a lot of worm symptoms but there are none in her poop. Is this all because of the lice? I have no idea, i'm a brand new chicken owner, please help!

Here's a picture of her as well, her comb is much brighter that the picture if that makes a difference:

 

[TheChickenMomma]

Hello!

I think it may be several things:


Egg Bound
Malnorished (spel)
Worms


Though you give a lot of detail, its not very helpful .

What kind of stuff are you feeding her? How old is she?What does she have to compete with for food?

 

[ShawnaScott]

Now, I don't know if your hen has worms or whatever else, but I do know that not all worms can be seen to the naked eye. My advice would be to get her to a vet with a stool sample and see what he can do.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Shawna has a good idea- some vets will do a fecal float for worms for a small fee (just bring the poo). False negatives are possible.

They can also test the poo for cocci, which may be a possibility if she was immunocompromised. Now she is on new soil. Her diarrhea has gone away but she is lethargic. Of course there are bacterial/viral things that can make a chicken ill too. A stool sample would be a good starting point.

If she were my chicken I'd make sure to treat for lice every 14 days to kill the hatching eggs (every 7 days for mites) until bug free. With her sitting down a lot, I'd check her abdomen carefully to make sure that she isn't swollen (such as egg yolk peritonitis or ascites). Check her vent area to make sure it is clear. Check her crop to make sure she doesn't have sour crop. Is her breath smelly?

 

[Idahochic]

Thank you so much for your advice! I just discoverd some new symptoms today and posted and updated thread with pictures, please take a look! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/781708/new-to-chickens-and-need-help-may-be-a-little-graphic