LETHARGIC Hen; White, Liquidy Poop; Eating But...

[R_V]

Hello, everyone! Back again with a question in regards to the big, beautiful, black-feathered Doña.

Recently, this particular hen of mine has not been moving nearly as much as she used to. She will run towards me when I call my flock for treats if, and when, she is very far away but otherwise she'll just lumber to me. There have been multiple times in the past two days alone where I've found her tucked away into herself. She'll be far from the flock. Multiple times I have found her close to doors.

She is eating normally (full crop today) and loves drinking water (dare I say, even moreso than any of the other hens right now). She does not say no to treats. The last time I saw her eat pellets was about two days ago but she has scratched and searched the ground occasionally throughout the days.

I have checked for parasites on her skin and feathers and have found nothing. I have checked her vent and there is nothing there, either. I've given her two baths this past week because her poop has been nothing short of watery. Just today her poop came out liquidy and white. (Attached at the end is a picture of this particular excrement from anywhere within the past 5 hours.)

Her comb is not as bright red as the other hens. It is drooping over to the side a bit, too.

I gave her a dust bath to be sure nothing was sticking to her and she didn't move near all that much either. Normally, she would have bickered and tried to escape.

I do not know her exact age but I want to guess anywhere between 4 and 6 years.

Just tonight I tucked her away from the flock into a warm, secluded area and she just let me set her down where I pleased. She did not bother to uncurl her toes or move to accomodate herself. She made sounds that came across as enjoyment when I gently smoothed her feathers back a bit before telling her good night.

PLEASE. ANY advice will be much appreciated. I want to see her happy and healthy again after suffering an extreme case of fly strike last summer. If she can pull through that, she can pull through whatever is going on now. But I need advice!!

ALSO! I have given her antibiotics these past three nights (sans yesterday and today). Thought she might need a break from that so I stopped for the time being and gave her a little yogurt today.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she lay eggs?

I would feel her abdomen for bloat or fluid.
What antibiotic were you giving her (dose and product name)?
Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight and if possible take a sample of her poop for a fecal float.

With an age between 4-6, she may be suffering from a reproductive issue which can be common in older hens. Sometimes other conditions will when one is not well and complicate things.
If you started antibiotics, it's best to finish the course of treatment instead of stop and start. So consider doing that.
Sounds like she's still eating/drinking and relatively active. Sometimes all you can do is keep them as comfortable as you can, monitor them daily and let them go when there's a drastic decline.

 

[DuckDuckGooseMum]

Excess white poop is a sign of kidney problems or failure. Too much calcium can do this. If you are feeding her layer feed I would stop this and offer starter feed. Give her some vitamins in water & mix in juice. I like to use cranberry juice because it's very good for the kidneys and for detoxifying the system in general. If you can get Azo gel tabs give her one of these. That's the over the counter tablets for women for urinary tract health. Available at any pharmacy or at Walmart. Liquid B complex drops are also as good idea and also available at Walmart and are inexpensive. Stop the yogurt as she's probably on Calcium overload. Give her broth..meat & scrambled eggs. Veggies & fruits. I would suggest offering free choice oyster shell to your flock and using starter food or general flock food that is lower in Calcium with a good phosphorus ratio and higher protein. Starter can be used for the life of your birds without causing calcium issues. Check her well for mites and I would suggest after a day of vitamins in water, do a day or two of acv in water at 2 tsp per gallon 1st day & back to 1 tsp the following day and then back to vitamins for a few days.
Feel her abdominal area for any hardness and to see if she reacts with discomfort. I'm betting she will. You may need to give her an antibiotic. Which one were you giving her? I would suggest enrofloxacin (Baytril), for digestive & kidney issues. You can use fish antibiotics if necessary. Fish Enro should be available at a local pet store or feed store and this is the same medication. Otherwise, you may have to get this from your veterinarian. (Discontinue the other antibiotics. When you're giving antibiotics you should not be giving acv as it may interfere with the effacy. Do not give fish oil as it will interfere with some antibiotics also, as does yogurt.)
You should always give probiotics after finishing an antibiotic to balance good bacteria in the system and at this juncture I think your bird desperately needs probiotics. I hope she improves quickly.

 

[R_V]

Excess white poop is a sign of kidney problems or failure. Too much calcium can do this. If you are feeding her layer feed I would stop this and offer starter feed. Give her some vitamins in water & mix in juice. I like to use cranberry juice because it's very good for the kidneys and for detoxifying the system in general. If you can get Azo gel tabs give her one of these. That's the over the counter tablets for women for urinary tract health. Available at any pharmacy or at Walmart. Liquid B complex drops are also as good idea and also available at Walmart and are inexpensive. Stop the yogurt as she's probably on Calcium overload. Give her broth..meat & scrambled eggs. Veggies & fruits. I would suggest offering free choice oyster shell to your flock and using starter food or general flock food that is lower in Calcium with a good phosphorus ratio and higher protein. Starter can be used for the life of your birds without causing calcium issues. Check her well for mites and I would suggest after a day of vitamins in water, do a day or two of acv in water at 2 tsp per gallon 1st day & back to 1 tsp the following day and then back to vitamins for a few days.
Feel her abdominal area for any hardness and to see if she reacts with discomfort. I'm betting she will. You may need to give her an antibiotic. Which one were you giving her? I would suggest enrofloxacin (Baytril), for digestive & kidney issues. You can use fish antibiotics if necessary. Fish Enro should be available at a local pet store or feed store and this is the same medication. Otherwise, you may have to get this from your veterinarian. (Discontinue the other antibiotics. When you're giving antibiotics you should not be giving acv as it may interfere with the effacy. Do not give fish oil as it will interfere with some antibiotics also, as does yogurt.)
You should always give probiotics after finishing an antibiotic to balance good bacteria in the system and at this juncture I think your bird desperately needs probiotics. I hope she improves quickly.

Is there a ratio for mixing in the cranberry juice? I'm assuming this can also be overdone if not given correctly. On that note, can electrolytes be given, as well? What kind of meat would you recommend? Will anything go?

The antibiotic is Ampicillin. The dosage has been around 0.05 ml every 24 hours.

What kind of probiotics work? I have been giving her the yogurt thinking that would work best but I most certainly have to rethink that now! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I wholeheartedly appreciate you.

 

[R_V]

Does she lay eggs?

I would feel her abdomen for bloat or fluid.
What antibiotic were you giving her (dose and product name)?
Check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight and if possible take a sample of her poop for a fecal float.

With an age between 4-6, she may be suffering from a reproductive issue which can be common in older hens. Sometimes other conditions will when one is not well and complicate things.
If you started antibiotics, it's best to finish the course of treatment instead of stop and start. So consider doing that.
Sounds like she's still eating/drinking and relatively active. Sometimes all you can do is keep them as comfortable as you can, monitor them daily and let them go when there's a drastic decline.

Ampicillin at 0.05 ml every 24 hours. I will check now to see if her crop has emptied and update accordingly. Also, her abdomen for signs of discomfort.

 

[Eggcessive]

Ampicillin at 0.05 ml every 24 hours. I will check now to see if her crop has emptied and update accordingly. Also, her abdomen for signs of discomfort.

What type of ampicillin do you have, and what is the dosage? Do you have a picture of the label? Ampicillin should be given at the proper dosage probably 3 times a day in a chicken. Amoxicillin is used more often, and it can be given 2 or 3 times a day at a dosage of 125-250 mg twice a day.

 

[R_V]

Her crop was hard when I checked this morning. She has a tad bit more energy this morning. Green diarrhea from last night. White, liquidy poop again this morning. Waiting on the shipment of booster vitamins to arrive tomorrow.

Attached is a picture of the antibiotic. It's from a Spanish pharmacy.

 

[casportpony]

When my vet prescribed injectable ampicillin it was 150 mg per kg every 12 hours.

 

[R_V]

When my vet prescribed injectable ampicillin it was 150 mg per kg every 12 hours.

By the looks of things, I am under the mark.

 

[casportpony]

By the looks of things, I am under the mark.

Common mistake. The avian "cillin" dose is huge compared to mammals.