Lethargic hen, not eating, droopy wings. Help.

[LucyBlue]

Sick hen: Laced Wyandotte, about 8+ months old, bought as a pullet.
Rest of flock: 8+ months old, Production Red, Ameraucana
Rooster: 6+ months old, Barred Rock

She stopped laying over a week ago, could be longer because she was acting fine so we thought maybe she was just laying elsewhere (we free range). Still seemed fine. But every day she seemed less and less a part of the flock. She got less and less active and just kept to herself. I finally noticed that her dropping were runny and making a trail down her backside and her wings were drooping. I have her isolated now. I don't have a vet near me but the guy at the feed store recommended Corid. I started googling and just can't seem to tell if this is the right treatment or not. The other chickens are still acting ok though their dropping were starting to get runny. Theirs are still a dark color. Hers looks like scrambled eggs: white with some yellow in it. I have only been dosing for a day so no change yet. She seems too skinny. I thought she was pecking at food before but when I really suspected she was sick and started watching closely, I didn't see her eat or drink on her own. I'm pretty sure she is dehydrated and malnourished. I started giving her water with an eye dropper and just got a vitamin mix today and started dosing with that. She still isn't drinking or eating on her own. She just hunkers down in the crate, though I do catch her standing from time to time, it isn't for long. Her wattle is red, no feather loss, her backside seems a little red but her vent isn't prolapsed or anything. As far as I can tell there isn't an egg stuck. At this point her crop isn't totally empty but there isn't much in there. So far, I've given her a little epson salt treatment, dosing with Corid in her water for barely 24 hours, plus the vitamins started today. I bought, but have not used, antibiotics and dewormer. I'm not sure if I can mix antibiotics with the Corid and I don't want to unless I know it's safe and would do that to cover all bases. I'm worried for the rest of my flock. I'm very attached to the rooster and would like to figure this out so I can insure the safety of the others.

 

[LucyBlue]

Sorry, I should clarify. I'm not using vitamins, I'm using electrolytes.

 

[nuttinfancy]

Hi and welcome! Sorry you had to join us with issues like this and I can't really help you but maybe someone will chime in with the answers for you. There are a lot of very helpful, experienced people here with tons of knowledge to share.

 

[herechilychiky]

Sick hen: Laced Wyandotte, about 8+ months old, bought as a pullet.
Rest of flock: 8+ months old, Production Red, Ameraucana
Rooster: 6+ months old, Barred Rock

She stopped laying over a week ago, could be longer because she was acting fine so we thought maybe she was just laying elsewhere (we free range). Still seemed fine. But every day she seemed less and less a part of the flock. She got less and less active and just kept to herself. I finally noticed that her dropping were runny and making a trail down her backside and her wings were drooping. I have her isolated now. I don't have a vet near me but the guy at the feed store recommended Corid. I started googling and just can't seem to tell if this is the right treatment or not. The other chickens are still acting ok though their dropping were starting to get runny. Theirs are still a dark color. Hers looks like scrambled eggs: white with some yellow in it. I have only been dosing for a day so no change yet. She seems too skinny. I thought she was pecking at food before but when I really suspected she was sick and started watching closely, I didn't see her eat or drink on her own. I'm pretty sure she is dehydrated and malnourished. I started giving her water with an eye dropper and just got a vitamin mix today and started dosing with that. She still isn't drinking or eating on her own. She just hunkers down in the crate, though I do catch her standing from time to time, it isn't for long. Her wattle is red, no feather loss, her backside seems a little red but her vent isn't prolapsed or anything. As far as I can tell there isn't an egg stuck. At this point her crop isn't totally empty but there isn't much in there. So far, I've given her a little epson salt treatment, dosing with Corid in her water for barely 24 hours, plus the vitamins started today. I bought, but have not used, antibiotics and dewormer. I'm not sure if I can mix antibiotics with the Corid and I don't want to unless I know it's safe and would do that to cover all bases. I'm worried for the rest of my flock. I'm very attached to the rooster and would like to figure this out so I can insure the safety of the others.

Hi LucyBlue, welcome to BYC. Sounds like your headed in the right direction. You might want to try to feed her some yogurt and scrambled eggs (yogurt for probiotics and eggs for protein).Some one should get back to you on the other quest. and give you some direction. Good Luck...

 

[LucyBlue]

I actually thought I'd joined the forums before now. This is by far my favorite chicken website and I seem to be on it all the time. But being a new chicken owner I never tried to post to the forums because I don't feel I have much to contribute yet.

Anyway, the other chickens are fine so far. She still isn't perking up. I'm not sure how to feed her yogurt even if I wanted to. She doesn't consume anything on her own at this point. I'm worried I'm just prolonging the inevitable. I have to use an eyedropper to get her to drink and I'm worried she is inhaling it sometimes. She even seems to be resisting swallowing at some points. It's hard to see her like this. She was never one of the feisty ones anyway but she had a funny personality.

 

[nuttinfancy]

I wish I had some great advice for you but I really don't know what could be wrong with her. Does she even try to peck at her feed ? She is probably getting to the point of starvation. As for the yogurt, maybe just wipe some inside her beak and see what she does with it? Try soaking dog food and see if she will eat some of that. Have you listened to her breathing? Is she raspy? Maybe we can keep your post bumped to the top and some of that experienced knowledge will see it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. What did you use the epsom salts treatment for--to give it orally or use as a bath soak? Epsom salts causes diarrhea, so I wouldn't give any orally since it may dehydrate her further. She is a little old for coccidiosis, but it still can affect chickens who are new to your yard or who have been exposed to a different strain from another bird. Corid would be the right treatment for cocci, and won't harm her if she doesn't have it. Enteritis and egg yolk peritonitis are 2 other conditions that might be causing this, although she seems young for EYP. The problem is that she isn't drinking now which is the problem with sick chickens, so she will die unless you tube feed her. Here is a link about tube feeding and a piece of aquarium tubing from WalMart or pet stores plus a 35 or 60 cc syringe may function as a tube feeding apparatus: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

 

[nuttinfancy]

Welcome to BYC. What did you use the epsom salts treatment for--to give it orally or use as a bath soak? Epsom salts causes diarrhea, so I wouldn't give any orally since it may dehydrate her further. She is a little old for coccidiosis, but it still can affect chickens who are new to your yard or who have been exposed to a different strain from another bird. Corid would be the right treatment for cocci, and won't harm her if she doesn't have it. Enteritis and egg yolk peritonitis are 2 other conditions that might be causing this, although she seems young for EYP. The problem is that she isn't drinking now which is the problem with sick chickens, so she will die unless you tube feed her. Here is a link about tube feeding and a piece of aquarium tubing from WalMart or pet stores plus a 35 or 60 cc syringe may function as a tube feeding apparatus: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

I was hoping you would drop in and reply to this one- you are a wealth of knowledge!

 

[LucyBlue]

It'll have to be filed away for later now. The poor chicken just died. I wish we'd caught it sooner. I used the epsom salts as a bath. She was filthy from the diarrhea and the bath seemed to perk her up. Now I'm worried about the other chickens if it's not cocci. I don't have an avian vet. We just moved here. The others seem to have diarrhea also but it's a dark brown as opposed to the weird scrambled egg color hers was. They are acting normal and eating and drinking. I've dosed their water with Corid but now I'm wondering if I should do something else or just wait and see.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. I would finish the Corid treatment in the flock. If you can find a local regular vet who would examine a fresh poop sample for worms, bacteria, and protozoa, it would be well worth your money. Sometimes if you take your dog or cat in they will do this as a favor. Here is a link about enteritis which can cause brown diarrhea and is caused by a bacteria called C.Perfringens: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...verview_of_necrotic_enteritis_in_poultry.html