Last stages of Cocci??, won't eat. Afraid we may lose her. Have some questions.

[BRchicknGal]

Hi, I've got a girl who was acting egg bound about a week or so ago. After spending the night dunking her hiney and trying to manually dislodge an egg that wasn't there. I took her to the vet who ran labs which only revealed, low calcium, phosphorus and mild anemia. She told me to segregate her and stuff her full of anything she will eat because of her severe weight loss. She also gave me an antibiotic to treat her empirically while we waited on the labs because she was so afraid we were going to lose her then. She appeared better and so we put her back in with the flock. She has been free ranging the last few days and eating normally, but I noticed last night that she looked extremely anemic, e.g., pale face and comb. She has not given us eggs for several week (before the vet visit 7/6/13). This morning I heard the "egg-laying" noise in the coop, but only found bloody feces, and a crouching bird who looked lethargic. She always comes when I whistle and she does not do that today. I did a little reading because I could not get the vet on the phone and decided to run out and get Clormid (or something like that. I don't have the box next to me, but I'm sure you all are familiar), and mixed up a batch but she will not even eat or drink today. She is just panting and clearly has no energy. So that's my background. Here are my questions:

Is she too far gone?

Should I try to give her the treated water with a dropper since she will not eat. I don't want to choke her.

Given the symptoms I have given and based on your own experiences, would it be more humane at this point to put her down?

I do not want to do that, but I can't stand to see anything suffer.

Has anyone had one this far along and come back from it?

I have 8 hens, but this is my girl. I'm so sad about this.

Thanks.

 

[MrsBachbach]

If you can get the medicated water down her it can't hurt at this stage. If she is lying down, panting and unalert, she may not last much longer.

 

[BRchicknGal]

Thanks. She is alert, but lying down and panting for sure. I was able to get like 0.2 ounces in her, but after that she knew what I was up to and tried to fight me. She was so feeble, I just did not have the heart to stress her out, so I just left some water near her and am going to let her be for a bit, but I have lost hope.

 

[MrsBachbach]

crop tubes come in handy in situations like this. I had some old iv lines lying around the house from fluids I had to give to my pets in the past. They make great crop tubes when used with a little syringe.

 

[War Chicken]

Did the vet do a crop wash/swab or fecal smear?

If not some egg binding issue, weight loss + bloody diarrhea + anemia = Macrorhabdus ornithogaster aka avian gastric yeast aka megabacteria.

An X-ray could be helpful in ruling out egg binding?

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet take a fecal sample to test for coccidiosis? What strength of Corid are you giving? Your vet could probably give her fluids by feeding tube or under her skin. Here is a link to giving fluids by tube: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/722041/how-to-t-feed-a-sick-chicken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid

 

[BRchicknGal]

She just did a lab draw, because my funds just did not allow for much. They did "test" for parasites but I did not think to ask how exactly they did that; whether fecal smear or via lab draw, and they did an x-ray to look for an egg. I had no idea about the tube feeding. That's cool. I'm going to go take a look at the link. I was so bummed. We ran out for minute and she always runs around the house to greet us when we came home. No greeting today. I went around the house to see her and she poked her head up, but I really miss my Welcome Wagon! I'll update when something changes and in the meantime go research the yeast factor and go see about the crop tube method. Thank you.

 

[BRchicknGal]

All she said was that they "tested for parasites," so now I'm wondering if they did or not. The vet reccommended 3 oz./1 gallon of water as a dosage. My usual avian certified doctor was not there today so this guy gave me these dosage instructions, and I'm to do it for 5 days and he also said to "lime the coop."

 

[ten chicks]

All she said was that they "tested for parasites," so now I'm wondering if they did or not. The vet reccommended 3 oz./1 gallon of water as a dosage. My usual avian certified doctor was not there today so this guy gave me these dosage instructions, and I'm to do it for 5 days and he also said to "lime the coop."

Did you purchase Corid(amprolium),and are you treating for Coccidiosis. Her symptoms do suggest Cocci,normal dose for Corid 9.6% liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water(9.5cc/9.5 ml) 3 oz is equal to 6 tablespoons,seems high if you are using Corid. Dose for Corid 20% powder is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water. Treat All chickens for 5 days. For cleaning coop,you can use cleaning ammonia diluted in water,bleach will not kill cocci as it is parasitic,not bacterial. I have always used ammonia for disinfecting for cocci,never had any problems.

 

[BRchicknGal]

Did you purchase Corid (amprolium)? Yes.

I noticed that too. Upon further investigation, it appears that the dose he gave me was the correct dose...if my chicken was a cow.

Thanks for catching that! I work in the medical field, and I tell everyone, question everything because even doctors make mistakes! Thanks again. I put 3 oz. in a gallon, so I will make adjustments immediately. Thankfully, no one has had any yet!