Lethargic Hen, Low Appetite

[azygous]

Yes. It's safe to worm her when she's still on an antibiotic.

 

[Winchikn]

Yes. It's safe to worm her when she's still on an antibiotic.

Thank you!

 

[Winchikn]

I administered safeguard this morning.

I can’t tell if it appeared before or after that but my hen is now having difficulty carrying weight on one side and appears to be having muscle spasms down that side of her body. This is not a good development.

She still has an appetite, but has been sick for over 2 weeks now. I know she was vaccinated but I can’t recall the specifics. I should also note that she has not laid since the onset of illness but was laying well until then. She also appears to be losing feathers but has been in the warm house 80% of the time.

Very concerned for her and the rest of my flock.

 

[azygous]

Give her some sugar water to drink - one teaspoon to one cup water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. If you suspect a heavy worm load, it can sometimes make a chicken go shocky if a lot of worms die off in the intestines at once.

 

[Winchikn]

Give her some sugar water to drink - one teaspoon to one cup water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. If you suspect a heavy worm load, it can sometimes make a chicken go shocky if a lot of worms die off in the intestines at once.

Thank you.

No other signs of shock - just weakness in the left leg and this weird spasm along that side of her body when she's at rest, but not all the time.

I've given her some B vitamins and will just have to keep monitoring. I really hope she rallies soon!

 

[azygous]

Imbalance and leg weakness are classic signs of shock. The sugar water is the cure.

 

[Winchikn]

Imbalance and leg weakness are classic signs of shock. The sugar water is the cure.

I think you were bang on. It was the first time I had encountered this and my complete ignorance that there could be no other symptoms. We never administered the sugar water but she was okay and on her feet this morning.

Strange she had such a strong reaction as no sign at all of roundworms in her poop. Could the safeguard have killed something else off, or could she have been reacting to the medication itself given she hasn't been well?

 

[azygous]

Worming meds work to anesthetize the worms so they go to sleep and let go of their purchase in the intestines. These are not generally harsh medicines. As the worms die from lack of nutrients, they get absorbed in the intestines as extra protein, passing out as poop. Only very occasionally will you see a dead worm make it intact in the poop.

If the worm load is very heavy and the chicken's health has been compromised by the worms living on the nutrients that should have been going to the chicken, then she can go into shock. On rare occasions this shock will kill the chicken. This is why I urged you to give the chicken sugar water, which is cheap, easy, and uncomplicated and has zero downside.

Anyone else reading this who has a sick chicken they suspect has worms, it's essential to give electrolytes with added sugar to head off possible shock and subsequent tragic death.

 

[Winchikn]

Thank you so much for your time and knowledge. I will know for next time.

And hopefully the reaction means we have hit at the source of this hen's issues and she can get on the mend. She definitely seems improved today and I'm grateful beyond words that we didn't lose her to shock.

 

[Winchikn]

Upon reflection, I have more questions. I wormed this hen individually but given awfully wet/melting conditions here, there are likely worms in the rest of my flock.

I plan to treat everyone with Safeguard this week and have some questions related to that:

• My two smaller/younger laying hens are a bit out of sorts - I will definitely worm them. My dual purpose hens all seem healthy. I assume I need to treat them as well?
• On the day of worming, do I proactively give vitamin/electrolyte water to help manage any shock that might occur?

I have also realized that given our wet climate and recurring issues with roundworm (possibly other parasites - I can't get a float done but have seen roundworms), I probably need to deworm on a regular basis. Questions:

• how often should I plan to (or can I) safely deworm? Is three times through our wet season too much (say, December, March & June)?
• I have Safeguard and Piperazine Dihydrochloride 53% - should I rotate them?
• Is there anything I can safely apply to the soil to help reduce the worms? I assume most things will kill all sorts of critters in the soil...

Thank you!!

*Note that the hen that launched this thread is doing somewhat better - poops are still watery but her affect is improved and she spent the day outside yesterday in sight of the rest of the flock. I will finish day 6 of antibiotics (that were potentially unnecessary) today and work to reintegrate her in the next few days.