Lethargic hen, loss of appetite

[Jlwennerberg9]

My Polish hen is very unwell and I am at a loss. She is just shy of 2 years old and has been extremely healthy and a great layer. About a week and a half ago, I noticed her becoming more sleepy throughout the day. At that time, she was not lethargic, very much alert, just more sleepy than usual. 8/5 was the last egg she laid and her appetite has become poorer and poorer each day. She also has begun losing feathers, so I assumed she was beginning a molt and that is why she has been feeling so crummy. However, she was also having greenish, sometimes frothy poop so I was suspecting coccidiosis or worms. I started her on corid and was drenching her daily in addition to the water mix. I also started giving her fenbendazole prior to losing her first feathers, otherwise I would've held off that. She was going to roost with an empty crop at night.

She has just continued to decline as the week went on. Her appetite is so poor now that I have been syringing wet mash and egg yolk onto the side of her beak to get any nutrition at all into her. Last night she became so lethargic and wouldn't eat at all that I decided to give her NutriDrench despite the corid treatment. I was worried she wouldn't make it through the night. This morning she is even worse, extremely sleepy and has only eaten a few bites of scrambled egg and some blueberries. Her comb and wattles are pale today and she's having green poop with yellow liquid. I have continued syringing her egg yolk and nutridrench/poultry cell which seems to perk her up for a bit but then she goes right back to sleep. This is way beyond feeling awful due to a molt in my opinion. Does anyone have any ideas what could be going on with her?

First attached image is her poop 3 days ago, second image is last night, and last image is today.

 

[Jlwennerberg9]

Update: I have started torpedo feeding her after watching a video I found on another post here. It seems to have helped some but not a huge change. She is still incredibly sleepy but when she does wake she will scratch around for a short while before falling asleep again. Her poop is still green but urates appear to be slightly less yellow to me. Picture included below.

I did give her 250mg amoxicillin capsule in case this is an infection on top of her molting. I found another thread for a chicken with similar symptoms and it was recommended to start amoxicillin. Can anyone confirm if this is the right course of action?

 

[LaFleche]

She is still incredibly sleepy

Check the roosting bars, nest boxes and the entire coop for blood sucking poultry mites aa they can leave a bird anaemic in no time.

 

[Jlwennerberg9]

Check the roosting bars, nest boxes and the entire coop for blood sucking poultry mites aa they can leave a bird anaemic in no time.

I have been doing that and we did just treat the flock with ivermectin almost 4 weeks ago for mites and the coop was treated with elector psp. Can I treat her again with ivermectin? I have not found any mites since treatment but if it will not hurt her to treat again then I will asap.

 

[LaFleche]

I have been doing that and we did just treat the flock with ivermectin almost 4 weeks ago for mites and the coop was treated with elector psp. Can I treat her again with ivermectin? I have not found any mites since treatment but if it will not hurt her to treat again then I will asap.

I have no personal experience using Ivermectin. What I would do is as follows:

Check her over carefully for any lice or mites.

Separate her in a super clean crate with old towels and move her into the house to make sure no parasites that possibly still reside in the coop can get to her at night.

Feed her little bits of fresh raw beef liver and scrambled eggs with millet, fine rolled oats, greek yoghurt to help rebuild red blood cells as she is very pale which translates to anaemic and apathetic.

Prepare fresh tea every day: oregano, fennel, nettles, thyme, aniseed and milk thistle. Let steep for 20-30 minutes and add a bit of sugar to entice her to drink more.

Monitor her fluid intake and add more water to the tea in case she finds it to strong.

Feed her every 2-3 hours and encourage to drink.

Add a poultry vitamin supplement to the tea, not too much or she might refuse to drink.

You may give her a vitamin B12 injection placed right in her breast muscle situated either side of her breast bone. Use a short needle (think insulin or similar).
If you choose to inject her, wrap her up in a towel with only the breast showing (not the crop!) and have someone hold her still for you.
Vitamin B12 is essential for the erythropoiesis of the red blood cells as only fully mature red blood cells are able to properly transport oxygen.

 

[Chickenbutt09]

Did you have any luck with anything? My polish hen is having this exact this thing happen to her and haven’t had any luck. Called the vet and thought maybe pneumonia and started gallimycin a few days ago but haven’t seen any improvement.

 

[Debbie292d]

Did you have any luck with anything? My polish hen is having this exact this thing happen to her and haven’t had any luck. Called the vet and thought maybe pneumonia and started gallimycin a few days ago but haven’t seen any improvement.

Hi, more details would help, such as;
How old is she?
What specific symptoms does she have that led the vet to suspect pneumonia?
Is her crop full at night and empty in the morning?
Has she been laying eggs since she got ill?
What's her poop look like?
Has she ever been dewormed?
Do you have other flock members, and are they all fine?

At a minimum, without knowing more, I'd suggest giving her poultry vitamins in her water, such as Poultry Cell. I would do that every other day for a couple of weeks. When the antibiotics are done, I would give her probiotics. Those can be a powdered type put in her water, Greek yogurt, fermented grain, etc. I would also give her those every other day for a couple of weeks.

 

[Chickenbutt09]

Hi, more details would help, such as;
How old is she?
What specific symptoms does she have that led the vet to suspect pneumonia?
Is her crop full at night and empty in the morning?
Has she been laying eggs since she got ill?
What's her poop look like?
Has she ever been dewormed?
Do you have other flock members, and are they all fine?

At a minimum, without knowing more, I'd suggest giving her poultry vitamins in her water, such as Poultry Cell. I would do that every other day for a couple of weeks. When the antibiotics are done, I would give her probiotics. Those can be a powdered type put in her water, Greek yogurt, fermented grain, etc. I would also give her those every other day for a couple of weeks.

She is a polish that is only about 6 months old. She isn’t laying but never really laid. She refuses to walk around and seems to wable when she stands. She won’t eat or drink unless I give her meds thru a syringe and water. She will eat some rice and corn but that’s it. She had a bit of a runny nose but he never looked at her this was just thru the phone. I had another polish hen that just died a week ago same symptoms. But none of my other chickens are having any symptoms. She is currently secluded though. Her poop has been pretty green. I haven’t dewormed just give pumpkin. I’ve been trying to give her nutridrench. Her crop seems empty at all times.

 

[Debbie292d]

She is a polish that is only about 6 months old. She isn’t laying but never really laid. She refuses to walk around and seems to wable when she stands. She won’t eat or drink unless I give her meds thru a syringe and water. She will eat some rice and corn but that’s it. She had a bit of a runny nose but he never looked at her this was just thru the phone. I had another polish hen that just died a week ago same symptoms. But none of my other chickens are having any symptoms. She is currently secluded though. Her poop has been pretty green. I haven’t dewormed just give pumpkin. I’ve been trying to give her nutridrench. Her crop seems empty at all times.

I would try wetting some chick crumbles with a raw egg yolk mixed in and a couple of drops of your nutra-drench. See if she'll eat that. If she won't, add a little water so you can syringe it, or, thicken it up and make pea-sized balls, then open her beak and one at a time, put one in.

The green poop is likely due to a lack of eating.

Other than the runny nose, does she sneeze, cough, or have a rattly chest? If so, she'd need an antibiotic. I'd go with amoxicillin, and there are a few online places to buy from.

Jedds https://jedds.com/collections/poultry

Twin City Poultry https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/

https://thecanaryfinchstore.com

Fish Mox: https://hardypaw.com/products/fix-mox-amoxicillin-capsules-fish-antibiotics?variant=44787640008865

Do you have a vet you can get her to to be tested? It's possible she's got something else. If for some reason she doesn't make it, consider sending her or taking her in for a necropsy. Here's a list of state labs that do it. https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is a polish that is only about 6 months old. She isn’t laying but never really laid. She refuses to walk around and seems to wable when she stands. She won’t eat or drink unless I give her meds thru a syringe and water. She will eat some rice and corn but that’s it. She had a bit of a runny nose but he never looked at her

I haven’t dewormed just give pumpkin. I’ve been trying to give her nutridrench. Her crop seems empty at all times.

Called the vet and thought maybe pneumonia and started gallimycin a few days ago but haven’t seen any improvement.

The Vet prescribed Gallimycin which should treat symptoms respiratory illness like Mycoplasma, CRD, etc.

Can you post photos of your pullet and her poop?

She's a Polish, any chance she was pecked on the head?

If she's not walking well, hasn't laid an egg and is not eating well, then I'd start her vitamin therapy and also give her Extra Calcium.

Give 400UI Vitamin E and 1/4tablet B-Complex daily along with a little egg for the uptake of E. Give this for several weeks to see if she improves.

The Extra Calcium can be given for 3-5days. Give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 once daily.

I'd continue/finish the course of Gallimycin that was prescribed if it's suspected she has respiratory illness.

Try to encourage her to eat a nutritionally balanced poultry feed, corn and rice will not sustain her for very long.
Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight. If she has a lot of facial feathers/floof, be sure she is able to see (trim feathers if needed).