velizhanna
In the Brooder
Hi All!
I'm hoping to hear some ideas and thoughts from you chicken experts on what may be going and what I can expect.
I have a 12wk old Barred Rock chicken that was (most likely) physically injured a week ago. I don't see any terrible wounds but she doesn't want to move, eat or drink. Here's timeline:
Last Saturday: we noticed that she had a bit of blood on her comb, and was standing around, puffed up, not active like the other chickens. One of the other chickens also seemed to have a bit of blood on her comb but she seemed fine otherwise and is still fine now, a week later.
We isolated the barred rock and brought her inside, set her up in a dog crate with food&water. Her eyes were clear, no discharge from eyes or nose, no sneezing/wheezing/coughing, pooping normally, and was drinking and eating at least some. She was also aknowledging us with a soft squak when we came by to check on her. But she was mostly just sitting down.
Sunday&Monday: she was still pooping solid poops. I tried to examine her and found a wound in her left side, but it didn't seem all that bad. It had some dried up blood around it, but not enough that it ever dripped or even got on top of the feathers. And it doesn't look big or deep. I had suspected an air sac rupture and I found what seemed to be a bubble under her skin, but again - nothing awful. She's mostly breathing normally, with an occasional labored breath or sigh.
We had some really cold nights and with the chickens not being fully grown yet, I was worried about them getting cold so I had set up a blanket tent of sorts inside of the coop and I'm guessing the blanket may have shifted and they got freaked out and she may have flown into the roosting bar or something?
Since last Monday though she has stopped eating or drinking, has stopped getting up - she now poops right where she is laying down, and her poops have turned into either very liquidy or sticky diarrhea (very smelly too). She was no longer making any sounds either.
Since about Tuesday, I realized that she was not eating and that I need to force feed her, so I've been syringe-feeding her, giving her water with electrolytes, and alternating egg (either raw or scrambled), some groud beef, and their usual fermented feed mash. I also have to bathe her in a bucket to wash off the poop, since she doesn't get up to poop.
In the last few days I feel like she's a little bit more active in that she will try to flap her wings and fight me a little when I feed/bathe her, she'll occasionally squak when I handle her, but when I put her down she just lays there, not moving. She's still not eating or drinking herself. And her paws seem almost atrophied. I tried to make her stand up on her legs this morning, and she just won't.
I've been studying the Chicken Health Handbook, and reading online, and I just can't figure it out. It doesn't seem viral (the rest of the flock seems fine too), it seems unlikely to be something environmental (we moved them into their brand new coop&run 3 weeks ago, with fresh hemp bedding, and everything else brand new. Before that they were also in a brand new, but much smaller coop. They definitely have enough space for the number of birds. The run & coop are predator-proof.) But the wounds she does have seem inconsistent with her completely lethargic state, the awful diarrhea, and the inability to use her legs (she was still walking around last weekend).
Honestly, symptoms seem to match the worm parasite symptoms listed in the Chicken Health Handbook, but it just doesn't feel like the right diagnosis to me (though, what do I know, I've only had chickens for 12 wks). But: I've had them on Molly's Herbal formula for 6-7weeks now, the rest of the chickens seem totally fine, and the blood on the comb+wound in her side is throwing me off in terms of the worms diagnosis.
Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Do I keep doing what I've been doing? How long does it typically take chickens to recover (am I just being impatient)?
I've been reading stories online about chickens recovering from the worst of wounds, and it seems like they are up and eating/drinking almost right away, while my chicken has a (seemingly) light wound and can't even get up to poop...
Thank you in advance for the help!
I'm hoping to hear some ideas and thoughts from you chicken experts on what may be going and what I can expect.
I have a 12wk old Barred Rock chicken that was (most likely) physically injured a week ago. I don't see any terrible wounds but she doesn't want to move, eat or drink. Here's timeline:
Last Saturday: we noticed that she had a bit of blood on her comb, and was standing around, puffed up, not active like the other chickens. One of the other chickens also seemed to have a bit of blood on her comb but she seemed fine otherwise and is still fine now, a week later.
We isolated the barred rock and brought her inside, set her up in a dog crate with food&water. Her eyes were clear, no discharge from eyes or nose, no sneezing/wheezing/coughing, pooping normally, and was drinking and eating at least some. She was also aknowledging us with a soft squak when we came by to check on her. But she was mostly just sitting down.
Sunday&Monday: she was still pooping solid poops. I tried to examine her and found a wound in her left side, but it didn't seem all that bad. It had some dried up blood around it, but not enough that it ever dripped or even got on top of the feathers. And it doesn't look big or deep. I had suspected an air sac rupture and I found what seemed to be a bubble under her skin, but again - nothing awful. She's mostly breathing normally, with an occasional labored breath or sigh.
We had some really cold nights and with the chickens not being fully grown yet, I was worried about them getting cold so I had set up a blanket tent of sorts inside of the coop and I'm guessing the blanket may have shifted and they got freaked out and she may have flown into the roosting bar or something?
Since last Monday though she has stopped eating or drinking, has stopped getting up - she now poops right where she is laying down, and her poops have turned into either very liquidy or sticky diarrhea (very smelly too). She was no longer making any sounds either.
Since about Tuesday, I realized that she was not eating and that I need to force feed her, so I've been syringe-feeding her, giving her water with electrolytes, and alternating egg (either raw or scrambled), some groud beef, and their usual fermented feed mash. I also have to bathe her in a bucket to wash off the poop, since she doesn't get up to poop.
In the last few days I feel like she's a little bit more active in that she will try to flap her wings and fight me a little when I feed/bathe her, she'll occasionally squak when I handle her, but when I put her down she just lays there, not moving. She's still not eating or drinking herself. And her paws seem almost atrophied. I tried to make her stand up on her legs this morning, and she just won't.
I've been studying the Chicken Health Handbook, and reading online, and I just can't figure it out. It doesn't seem viral (the rest of the flock seems fine too), it seems unlikely to be something environmental (we moved them into their brand new coop&run 3 weeks ago, with fresh hemp bedding, and everything else brand new. Before that they were also in a brand new, but much smaller coop. They definitely have enough space for the number of birds. The run & coop are predator-proof.) But the wounds she does have seem inconsistent with her completely lethargic state, the awful diarrhea, and the inability to use her legs (she was still walking around last weekend).
Honestly, symptoms seem to match the worm parasite symptoms listed in the Chicken Health Handbook, but it just doesn't feel like the right diagnosis to me (though, what do I know, I've only had chickens for 12 wks). But: I've had them on Molly's Herbal formula for 6-7weeks now, the rest of the chickens seem totally fine, and the blood on the comb+wound in her side is throwing me off in terms of the worms diagnosis.
Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Do I keep doing what I've been doing? How long does it typically take chickens to recover (am I just being impatient)?
I've been reading stories online about chickens recovering from the worst of wounds, and it seems like they are up and eating/drinking almost right away, while my chicken has a (seemingly) light wound and can't even get up to poop...
Thank you in advance for the help!
