Lathargic 1 year old hen - please help

[tyjaco]

I don't have a helper right now to do a good cleaning of her ears, but I did manage to use some warm water and a soft cloth to loosen, and clean off some of the discharge. It's crusty and yellow (like snot - sorry).
She got really ticked when I tried to pick the crust off, so I did the best I could and will do more when dh gets back.
While I was cleaning her ears, I noticed her face seemed dirty, so I used some wet Q-tips to clean her face. It seems muddy..(?)

I got more meal worms into her (is that helping her at all, do you think?) or am I wasting my time with this?

And I started the tetracycline water again. I removed all water sources form the rest of the flock, and will only have them get tetra/water tomorrow also (I know I can't eat the eggs for 3 weeks).

When she opens her eyes - they are bright, and she gets alert. She was standing up a little more today, but still with her eyes closed.

Is there hope?

 

[dawg53]

Dont give your hen wormer and tetracycline at the same time nor mixed in the same water. It has to be one or the other. The wazine is only good for 24 hours as stated by the directions on the bottle. I hope she drank some more of it.

 

[tyjaco]

I did get her to drink more of it. She had several hours between the wazine water and the tetracycline water. Do you think I've harmed her now?

She actually seems a little more alert this evening. She started to peck at a grape, but decided not to. When I put her in her crate to bring her in, she stood up and walked right out of it.

I'm lost. Not sure which direction to go. Based on her "snotty" ears, I felt more inclined towards antibiotic than wormer.

I hate this. The last thing I want to do is make it harder for her...

(it's sad that I work in a Feed store, and my boss -who has had chickens for 30 years- tells me "she's probably not going to make it anyway - you should just leave her alone... or snap her neck". He won't offer any other advice)...

 

[dawg53]

I would ignore the boss, it's probably his only solution to every chicken problem he has had.
No, I dont think you have harmed your hen. If you believe she drank enough of the wazine water to be effective...go ahead with the tetracycline water. Try feeding her scrambled egg mixed with buttermilk for a few days. Scrambled egg is extra protein to help rebuild her strength and buttermilk is a probiotic to help with her immune system.

 

[tyjaco]

Thank you so much dawg53.
I really appreciate that you took so much time to help me out.

P