Lethargic Hen

[seminolewind]

I hope your skinny chickens get well like your other one. Our other 7 have been fine and show no signs of distress at this time.

Today her crop hasn't emptied completely but has gone down. So far we have tried rice, scrambled egg and layer crumbles (made into mush with pedialyte) and she has not been interested in eating, but I feel that is because her crop isn't emptying as normal. She had 20cc of pedialyte with 125mg amoxicillin at 11:00 this AM and spit just a little back up. We have offered pedialyte sips throughout the day. Her crop at 12:30 and 3:30 her crop still felt full but felt better (not empty) around 6:00 this evening. We only 10cc pedialyte, 125mg amoxicillin and 0.5ml Safeguard to make sure it is digested before we give her more. She still chats with me when I go in and there were a few times that she stood and her right foot was placed correctly without the toes curling under. Still hoping she will pull through. I appreciate everyone's help and Kathy, I am thankful that you confirmed the meds we are using will work.

What has been coming out the other end? In detail?

 

[casportpony]

@atxnatheart , you should post those pictures that you sent in the PM's

.

-Kathy

 

[atxnatheart]

What has been coming out the other end? In detail

This sweet girl will have a nice warm bath today to clean her up. We make sure it is a draft free/warm room. Feedback is welcome. The great news is her crop is empty so we will give 30cc Kaytee Baby Bird Food and 125mg amoxicillin this AM.

 

[RichnSteph]

Anyone who thinks that raising chickens isn't a labor of love needs to read through this thread. I know folks that wouldn't go through this much hand feeding and care for their own parents.

Hoping things turn out well.

RichnSteph

 

[atxnatheart]

Thank you. I feel each of us on BYC would go through this. I am grateful my husband feels the same way.

Did I mention she is also getting the benefits of essential oils in the pan of water in front of the space heater? My hope being it will prevent respiratory problems. Lemon, eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I see undigested seed, which really make me think bacterial infection. Poops looks like it has some mucus? If you think she won't vomit, increase her Kaytee. Remember when tubing that the tube needs to be all the way down into her crop.

-Kathy

 

[atxnatheart]

Thanks. We will increase the food today and continue with the Amoxicillin!

 

[atxnatheart]

Good morning amazing BYC folks. Want to update on our hen.

Monday, November 17: Since she had trouble with her crop emptying Sunday we wanted to be sure her 125mg amoxicillin stayed in and got digested, so we gave her 10cc of Kaytee, pedialyte and her amoxicillin via tube feeding before I left for work. She weighed in at 2:03:05, I believe the weight I got the day before was because I had my fingers on her to be sure she was steady. Today she was fine sitting on her own, so I know this is true bird weight. She had another bath to get the poop off from the night before and my husband said she just loved it.
She had 30cc of Kaytee, pedialyte, 125mg amoxicillin and 0.5ml Safeguard when I got home from work. She has stood up a few times today, sometimes toes curled under and sometimes flat, like they should be. This give me hope. She is still unsteady, but that isn't surprising to me with all she's been through.

Tuesday, November 18: She weighed in at 2:03:75!! True bird weight! No hands! Her crop is empty! We will give her 45cc Kaytee, pedialyte, 125mg amoxicillin before I leave for work.

I want to give a big thank you @casportpony for all of the help and time spent via PM and phone to walk us newbies through this. I am aware we are not out of the woods, but I can guarantee we would have not been fighting this battle as long as we have without your guidance. You have the patience of a saint.


Here are poops from yesterday and last night! I know this is everyone's favorite part!

Poop from 11-17-2014 8:00 PM




Poop from 11-18-2014 AM

 

[atxnatheart]

For the remainder of yesterday, my husband said she ate some mealy worms and a cricket. He offered mush of layer crumbles and she didn't eat any of that. She was standing a few times when he went in to check on her. She is still weak getting into the standing position. Her crop was not empty when we went to feed her at 7:00pm, so we only gave 20cc Kaytee, pedialyte, baby applesauce, 125mg amoxicillin and 0.5ml Safeguard. We left some mealy worms and rice out for her in case she wanted any of it.

Here is poop from yesterday evening, 11-18:



Her crop is still full this morning, Wednesday 11-19, but soft and squishy, not hard. She weighed in at 2:05:01, a gain!

She seems very alert. We will only give her the amoxicillin this morning since her crop is full.

Here is today's poop, since we are not poop experts, feedback would be greatly appreciated:

 

[atxnatheart]

I thought I would post an update on our girl. She is slowly gaining! That is exciting for me! We have completed 5 days of Safeguard @ 0.5ml. We are on day 8 of 125mg amoxicillin. We only had enough to get through day 6, none of the local vets would provide the amoxicillin for us because they don't treat hens. My husband was going to have to load her up and take her about 45 minutes to the nearest vet that would see her and we weren't crazy about the stress it would cause her. I put out an SOS on FB and some friends had some unused amoxicillin and gave it to us so we are able to continue her treatment. Since starting the amoxicillin she has really shown signs of improvement. She is much more alert, her toes are not curled under, she stands, but she is unsteady. Each day below we are still tube feeding, the amount depended on how her crop was emptying.

11/16: 2 lbs 03.05 oz - showed no interest in scrambled egg, layer crumbs. Crop wasn't emptying very well. Added baby applesauce to tube feeding.
11/17: same weight - still tube feeding, crop emptying better
11/18: 2 lbs 03.75 oz - toes still curled under about 50% of the time, attempts standing, started showing interest in food, dried meal worms
11/19: 2 lbs 05.01 oz - ate meal worms and rice
11/20: 2 lbs 04.80 oz - ate meal worms and rice, vigorously ate layer crumbles with a pinch of grit! Crop clearing well.
11/21: 2 lbs 05.85 oz - still eating well and continuing tube feeding, crop clearing well. In her food dish I combine dry Kaytee baby bird feed with her layer crumbles, grit and dry meal worms.
11/22: 2 lbs 04.60 oz - still eating well and standing more, tube feeding, crop clearing well. I was in Fort Worth yesterday and was able to buy live meal worms! She had an awesome time with those!
11/23: 2 lbs 06.60 oz - Day 8 of amoxicillin, alert, loving the live meal worms!

She has been inside since November 2 and I know she would not be with us if it had not been for each of you on BYC. Thank you again. I know we are not out of the woods yet due to her weight and weakness, but I feel we have some hope.