Lethargic hen with diarrhea- need advice on what to do

[New2ChickensMom]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and to raising chickens. Here are my answers to the questions provided. Thank you in advance for your time and help.

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Buff Orpington, 1.5 years, Not sure on weight, maybe about 7lbs?

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Lethargic, floppy & pale crown, diarrhea, wobbly on feet (due to lethargy I'm assuming). Started to stay in coop all day when it was raining heavily for a couple weeks in a row. I read about it and thought this could be normal behavior, but now it is sunny and she just sits in the nesting box and seems to be loosing her ability to move. I don't think she has laid an egg since she molted this winter.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
I've noticed a severe decline in the last week

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No, we have 3 others that are slightly younger and different breeds, and they seem to be fine.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We don't know. She molted over the winter with no change in behavior. Now her beautiful feathers are back, but she isn't acting herself. She sits in the nesting box because it appears she is took weak to hop up to roost.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Organic pellets, water

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Very very runny & greenish

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
None

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Would be happy to treat her ourselves if we knew what to do. If it is an infection, would rather administer antibiotic directly to her instead of treating the water/whole flock since we eat their eggs.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. I don't have a picture right now but I can take a picture of her if you think it would help

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Nice size coop, free range much of the day, ceder shavings in nesting boxes and bottom of coop.

 

[Miss Lydia]

thers alot of talk back and forth about cedar shaving and chickens, most say it is toxic to chickens, I would use pine shavings instead. do you know when se laid an egg last? have you noticed weather her vent is swollen or abdoman is? is she squatting like she's trying to lay an egg?

 

[eggfire]

I'm new to the website, too. Everyone told me these things when my hen became ill...check her crop, check for parasites, and check for egg binding. I would start with those things. I keep getting told NOT to put them on antibiotics unless you know what the problem is.

 

[eggfire]

Any updates?

 

[New2ChickensMom]

Thanks for your posts but I'm still feeling at a loss.

My husband and I went out last night to give her a good look over and we didn't notice anything except for how she didn't even care about what we were doing. I didn't feel any hard spots or anything obviously strange on her body and in fact, her feathers, especially after molting over the winter, look incredibly beautiful. I don't think she has laid an egg in a long time, and she doesn't seem to be trying to lay one either.

We did notice that in addition to having a hard time holding her head up, it seems to be tilted slightly. Do you think she could have wryneck? I saw her eat yesterday and today and her appetite seems to be there but she just doesn't have the interest in moving when not eating and even when she is, her pecking is at a very slow rate compared to the others. Today when she was out in the yard, she just put her head down and fell asleep while the three other birds scratched and pecked around the yard. I wasn't sure if she was going to make it back into the coop tonight. She did, but she is sleeping on the floor now. Its very sad.

If it is wryneck, is there an effective treatment?

I'd appreciate any other thoughts anyone has that may help our "mama" get better.

Thanks, Lori

 

[CapricornFarm]

Hi Sorry your hen is sick. If she had wry neck, it would be tilted more than a little bit. I am wondering if she has coccidiosis. I would try feeding high protein like boiled eggs and add vitamins. No matter what it is, that won't hurt to feed her. Plus bugs if you can find some. I think green poop is a sign they are not eating well. Good luck, lmk how she does
Deb

 

[eggfire]

Just checking in on your sick hen. Is she eating any better? I had a sick one recently and gave her cooked oatmeal and sometimes some bread because other people on BYC told me to stop giving her yogurt, applesauce, and buttermilk due to them causing diarrhea. The stool was like clear goo with occassional greenish tint. Another person on here told me to try cranberry capsules and garlic. I did that for about 5 days, She is a TON better. I did find what I thought was a weird mass in her crop during that treatment, too. I massaged her crop a lot, and gave her olive oil soaked bread toward the end of her garlic treatment which she loved. During the entire illness, I had to syringe water to her so she would drink. I was just curious on your situation and thought I would check in.... Hopefully, someone with some experience can help if you're still having problems.