Is my chicken sick? Or just emo?

[jengrantmorris]

Hi all. Sorry for my first post being a negative one! I have a question about one of our 4 chickens. She is a white Wyandotte, who is 9 months old (and still not laying). In July she became very lethargic and the absolute picture of misery. She'd hunch down, standing separately from the other 3, often with her eyes closed, and went off her food.

We inspected her and found she had lice, which we treated about July 26th or so, and she has been free of lice since (she was the only one who had them but we dusted them all).

She continued to look and behave miserably and we treated her for worms with Aviverm. DH noticed that sometimes she drops food out of her mouth or looks like she has trouble swallowing (I've not noticed anything myself). She will sometimes extend her neck and open her beak. Anyway, DH was convinced she had gapeworm and we got a dose of Ivermectin from the vet, which we gave her August 22nd. I had a good look down her throat (well, as well as I could!) and couldn't see anything.

She is still miserable but not as much as she was when she had lice. She eats more, but not as much as she used to and not as much as the other chooks. She is often separate from them and sits hunched down but doesn't have her eyes closed as much. She comes running for treats / scratch like the others do.

I sometimes see brown runny poo around and assume it's hers, but it's not every time she poops. It's not watery, just less solid and not the usual grey / white combo. Occasionally see yellowish runny poo too.

No other symptoms. Any idea what is up with her???

 

[Eggcessive]

Check her crop to make sure that it is emptying by morning. Look inside her mouth and inspect it since their are fungal infections that can start inside causing respiratory problems. Also think about giving her a treatment for coccidiosis with amprollium, or the med used in New Zealand. Did the ivermectin help her lice? We use Ivomec pour-on, sevin dust, and permethrin, among other treatments here, but remember to re-treat in 10 days for the lice eggs.

 

[jengrantmorris]

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. We have had a good look in her mouth and throat (she was not happy!) and it all looks beautifully healthy. Will check her crop in the morning - I don't exactly know how, do I just feel her throat for any bulges?? The lice was taken care of with a powder I got at the feed store, the Ivermectin wasn't for the lice but in case she had gapeworm.

Today when we inspected her I did notice her skin seems a little dry and flaky but no lice or any other bugs.

I was wondering about coccidiosis but my online reading indicated that there would be blood in her stools (there is none) and that she'd likely die fairly soon from it (still alive and kicking) - could it still be coccidiosis?

 

[Eggcessive]

There are 9 strains of coccidiosis in chickens, and only some of them that affect the ceca will cause blood in the droppings. Not all chickens die from cocci. I'm not really sure what her problem is since so many chicken illnesses cause lethargy and hunching with the head down. I always suggest apple cider vinegar in the drinking water, and yogurt that has cultures in it for overall digestive health. Treating for either cocci or giving her an antibiotic would be about the only things I would suggest. I hope you can solve her problem.

 

[casportpony]

There's a study that shows ivermectin as an ineffective wormer in poultry... it will kill mites, but not feather lice, so you might want to use something like fenbendazole instead if you think worms might be a problem.

-Kathy

 

[jengrantmorris]

Thanks again for the input. We've had a real good look at her and have found a growth in her mouth. Is this canker?

 

[casportpony]

I could be canker, but it could also be wet pox, which I have in my flock right now.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/818895/wet-and-dry-fowl-pox-pictures

I have some with dry pox, some with wet pox and some with both wet and dry.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Hen number 4 and 5 are two that have just wet pox and their treatment is:

• Weighed
• Dusted for mites/lice
• De-wormed with fenbendazole 10% at 50mg/kg
• Baytril injections at 20mg/kg
• Plaque/pus removal
• Topical application to lesions
• Tube feeding

I'm not saying that your hen doesn't have canker, and treatment for canker is *no less* than 30mg/kg metronidazole (Flagyl or Fish-Zole) once a day for 5 days. Keep in mind that I had two get what looked like canker, so that's what I treated for. One of those has since died and the other needs to be euthanized. At the time pox didn't enter my mind, so I treated for canker, then yeast, but if I had done what I'm doing now, I *might* have been able to save them.

Note that I have not succesfully "cured" one yet, so please do lots of research.

-Kathy

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, that does look like the pictures I have seen of canker. As Kathy said wet fowl pox is similar-looking. In some of the sites I have seen they recommend the Flagyl or metronidazole along with an antibiotic such as Tylan or Baytril as Kathy is using with her chickens with wet fowl pox. Here are two links I have seen: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/154/trichomoniasis-canker-frounce and http://www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7769

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I spoke with an Avian pathologist at UC Davis and he said that in 10 years he's only seen two cases of canker in poultry. Probably a good idea to send your pictures to an Avian Pathologist in your area.

-Kathy