lethargic hen & wierd poop

[CloneFly]

Hello! My 2yr/o BSL hen has been acting rather lethargic lately and I noticed her vent feathers were very dirty. She was brought in, cleaned up and given probiotics and some fresh egg yolk (which she loved!) But she just pooped and it looks... wierd?

She's had issues with vent greet before, and all the waterers in the coop have AVC to help combat/prevent further cases. This hen was also recently brought to the vet due to her being anti-social. She was placed on Oxytetracycline, Meloxicam and Thiamine/D3 for 5 days and seemed to be getting a bit better. Doctor suspects she might have an issue with her reproductive tract.

Sorry for the long post, my question is, is this poop something to worry about and should I begin her again on the antibiotics again? We don't have the money to bring her to the vet again, but I want to help her get better. Any advice?


P.S. we recently switched the run substrate to peat moss, and it almost looks like there's peat moss in her poop. Is that normal??

 

[CloneFly]

(Pictures incoming- my phone posted without my permission )

 

[CloneFly]

Edit: She pooped again...

 

[CloneFly]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet perform a fecal float on her poop to look for worms or coccidiosis? The larger red intestinal lining when blown up has a thread or hair on it, but maybe it is some type of worm? Have you wormed lately? If not, I would get either Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer and worm her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Reproductive infections and salpingitis can be common in hens over 2 years. Cancer is also. Has she been laying eggs recently? Has she lost weight or is her keel/breast bone more prominent? Is her tail position up or down? How does her crop feel?

 

[CloneFly]

Reproductive infections and salpingitis can be common in hens over 2 years. Cancer is also. Has she been laying eggs recently? Has she lost weight or is her keel/breast bone more prominent? Is her tail position up or down? How does her crop feel?

She hasn't lost any weight and her body mass is decent. Her tail is normal(?) She's not holding it differently than she usually does. The doctor did mention the possibility of cancer but offered to try treating her for the infection. I believe she's still laying- I haven't seen any lash eggs or soft shelled eggs lately.

Did the vet perform a fecal float on her poop to look for worms or coccidiosis? The larger red intestinal lining when blown up has a thread or hair on it, but maybe it is some type of worm? Have you wormed lately? If not, I would get either Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer and worm her.

I don't think she did a fecal float. I thought the thread thingy was irate webbing, but I could be wrong. I haven't wormed them this year... would fenbendazole work?

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks too thin for a worm really, maybe a hair. Fenbendazole 0.23 ml per pound given 5 days in a row treats most worms except tapes which are rarer. It probably would help to get a rough weight on her, to see if she is losing. Cancer could cause weight loss. Most times we don’t understand what is going on until a necropsy can be done after death unfortunately.

 

[CloneFly]

It looks too thin for a worm really, maybe a hair. Fenbendazole 0.23 ml per pound given 5 days in a row treats most worms except tapes which are rarer. It probably would help to get a rough weight on her, to see if she is losing. Cancer could cause weight loss. Most times we don’t understand what is going on until a necropsy can be done after death unfortunately.

I'll see if I can get a weight on her. Would it be a good idea to try starting her back up on meloxicam and maybe the oxytetracycline?

 

[Eggcessive]

How long ago was she on it and how long did you give it? It probably wouldn’t hurt to give them. Corid probably wouldn’t hurt, just in case she has coccidiosis.