Lethargic pullet

[cathyroof]

I have a pullet who stumbled out of the roost this morning walking around like she's drunk. She's a bit lethargic, but seems to have gotten slightly perkier as the morning goes on. She's eating and drinking. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem might be? She's probably about 16 weeks or so old.

 

[dawg53]

Pick her up and visually inspect her for lice/mites, especially around her rear end and base of tail feathers. Soiled bedding emits ammonia fumes that could affect her as well, easy to take care of if that's the problem.

 

[cathyroof]

Thanks. Checked, no lice. She's got some poo sticking to the feathers near her vent, but nothing blocking anything. I put wormer in their water and she took a nice big drink. I'll be keeping an eye on her. I wonder if it's cocci since she's behaving a bit like some other posts I've seen.

 

[cathyroof]

well, she died this morning.

 

[CMV]

Sorry for your loss. It could have been cocci. Monitor the rest of the flock for signs of cocci overload. And it is a good idea to keep some cocci meds on hand for these emergent situations. Corid can be hard to find, but it is the best of all cocci treatments, so I would recommend finding some of that. When I had a cocci overload in my 2.5 year old hens (Contrary to what we often believe, cocci overload can happen at any age) I was unable to find Corid in a timely fashion, so I had to resort to Sulmet which meant I had to discard many eggs after the course of treatment.

I hope this helps. Good luck with the rest of the flock.