Lethargic, green poop, pale comb...

[Chickadeedeedeedee]

One of our non-layers has been sick since Friday. We noticed her comb was pale and she was just laying around. Her poop was/is also green/yellow. We had a local chicken "whisperer" of sorts come out the following day and he thinks she has an intestinal infection and lice. He gave her antibiotics in the form of a shot and we are also giving her daily antibiotic shots for 5 days. He also treated the lice in the whole flock.

Yesterday she didn't eat much. Yesterday and this morning she is doing some open mouth breathing. She's not panting, but she's got her mouth slightly open. We are in contact with our local guy again today, but we are new to this and I thought I'd ask if anyone had any ideas. She's about 8 months old and the other 2 EE's are fine. They are currently separated from the sick one.

 

[jmendoza]

Did the guy tell you what disease he thought she has?
I f she has trouble walking it could be Mareks as it typically strikes chickens under one year old.
Mareks is debilitating but if your chickens was vaccinated for Mareks, she most likely will survive, but be permanently weakened as a result. Since Mareks is viral, antibiotics will not have much, if an,y affect.
Other than it being hot outside, the open mouth may be a sign of either breathing/respiritory infection, or she may just need water.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of our non-layers has been sick since Friday. We noticed her comb was pale and she was just laying around. Her poop was/is also green/yellow. We had a local chicken "whisperer" of sorts come out the following day and he thinks she has an intestinal infection and lice. He gave her antibiotics in the form of a shot and we are also giving her daily antibiotic shots for 5 days. He also treated the lice in the whole flock.

Yesterday she didn't eat much. Yesterday and this morning she is doing some open mouth breathing. She's not panting, but she's got her mouth slightly open. We are in contact with our local guy again today, but we are new to this and I thought I'd ask if anyone had any ideas. She's about 8 months old and the other 2 EE's are fine. They are currently separated from the sick one.

Photos of the hen and her poop?

Video of her actions may be helpful. Upload to youtube and provide a link.

When was her last egg?
Is her crop emptying?
What do you feed?
What antibiotic was given and the dose?
What was used to treat the lice?
Has she been dewormed?
What do you feed including treats?

 

[Chickadeedeedeedee]

Thanks for the responses... unfortunately our Luna died this evening. She was sick for a week. We tried lots of things to help her, but she never could make a comeback. I'm so sad I couldn't have helped her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about Luna

 

[Chickadeedeedeedee]

I'm really bothered by her death and am wondering if anyone could possibly give some insight. This was our first flock so we've never dealt with this before! She wasn't drinking at all yesterday so we gave her some water very carefully so it didn't harm her. However, after that she got worse. Her breathing was labored a few hours later. I picked her up and there was clear fluid coming out of her mouth. She squawked a little, thrashed a little, and died in my husband's lap

I understand the water probably didn't help, but she was declining all week despite antibiotics, dewormer, Ivermectin, comfort, and warmth. We decided not to send her away to find the cause and buried her in the backyard

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry that you are having a hard time.

The only way to really know what happened would be to investigate further. A formal necropsy through your state lab would give the best results. Some of us do our own informal one to see if we find anything obvious.
Since you have buried your sweet hen, then this would not be a practical thing to do.

Just guesses, speculation on my part from what you have listed.
8mo old, non-layer - did she ever lay an egg at all?
Clear liquid coming from the beak.
Was treated for lice - did she have lice or mites?
Reproductive disorders and/or Fatty Liver Disease are a couple of common conditions that will cause a fairly quick decline. A crop that is not emptying (water spilling from the beak) is very often a symptom - inflammation in body due to another illness/condition will slow the digestive system down. They can aspirate fluids when the crop is not emptying.

From your description, she was very ill, and it can be unsettling to see them die.

Know that you did what you could for her and that she was loved. I'm very sorry, I know it can be difficult to lose one

 

[Chickadeedeedeedee]

I'm sorry that you are having a hard time.

The only way to really know what happened would be to investigate further. A formal necropsy through your state lab would give the best results. Some of us do our own informal one to see if we find anything obvious.
Since you have buried your sweet hen, then this would not be a practical thing to do.

Just guesses, speculation on my part from what you have listed.
8mo old, non-layer - did she ever lay an egg at all?
Clear liquid coming from the beak.
Was treated for lice - did she have lice or mites?
Reproductive disorders and/or Fatty Liver Disease are a couple of common conditions that will cause a fairly quick decline. A crop that is not emptying (water spilling from the beak) is very often a symptom - inflammation in body due to another illness/condition will slow the digestive system down. They can aspirate fluids when the crop is not emptying.

From your description, she was very ill, and it can be unsettling to see them die.

Know that you did what you could for her and that she was loved. I'm very sorry, I know it can be difficult to lose one

I really appreciate your response

I read up on possible reproductive disorders and fatty liver disease as well and maybe I was looking for some agreement from someone with more experience! We will never know for sure, but the fact that she looked very close to laying and it never happened is interesting. Unfortunately, we have another non-layer, but she just started looking close to laying and appears very healthy...fingers crossed!

With this being our first flock and first loss, it was a bit jarring. I've put many animals to sleep, but have never had one die like that in our arms. Thanks again! Time will heal I suppose!

 

[Perris]

I understand the water probably didn't help, but she was declining all week despite antibiotics, dewormer, Ivermectin, comfort, and warmth.

I understand that you were trying your best to save her, but for future reference, you may want to keep in mind that there are far more beneficial bacteria in the body than there are harmful ones, and antibiotics kill them too, so antibiotics can make things worse, especially in combination with other active medicines. In general it's a good idea to treat for parasites only if you are certain they are infested with parasites.

As you are just starting out with your first flock, you might find this interesting
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gut-health-in-poultry-the-world-within-1

 

[seminolewind]

It's sad I'm sorry. Many times it's the chicken who has something wrong herself. It could have been a cardiac problem or a number of different problems (even pneumonia) that you would not be able to fix for her.

Years ago if I really needed to know why a hen died (for the safety of the flock) I sent the hen to a state animal disease lab. In Florida it cost me $25-50, Overnight shipping was more money. After sending a couple (not all at once) I made sure I was prepared for the next one by having ice packs, a styrofoam cooler, a box to put it into, and a few plastic bags and a copy of the form to fill out . I found that many labs will charge a flat fee that is not much, or just run tests just until they get a +, and stop there.

From experience, planning ahead for any potential was good for me because I would have a wrapped up chicken in the fridge until I found all the material I needed. Hope this helps.