Lime green fecal matter

[WyoChickenMamma]

I have a 6 month old New Hampshire Red pullet. About 3 weeks ago we noticed that she was limping, checked her out and sure enough she had bumblefoot. We did a surgery, wrapped her foot up and put her back with the others. She limped for a few days and then seemed to be better. Then about a week ago I noticed that she really was not walking much, she would just stay in one place most of the day. She was eating and going to the fount for water, but then would lay back down. She was putting herself to bed at night and getting out of the coop in the morning. The foot is almost healed, I thought she was just enjoying a few lazy days and keeping the weight off of her foot. Then about 3 days ago, I happened to be collecting eggs and watched her poo. It was mostly water that shot right out followed by some very bright lime/neon green small poo. Yesterday I noticed that she seems to be losing weight. I brought her up to the garage, and she ate like crazy when I put her in the kennel. Gave her some avia charge in some water and she perked up some. Last night I put her back in with the girls at bedtime. This morning she wouldn't get up in the coop when I put the other girls out. I have her now back in the garage in a kennel. She has not eaten today and I the only way I can get her to drink is to force her beak in the water. She is now holding her mouth open, but not panting. She continues to have the bowel movements that are like water at first and then the lime green solids. She will not stand up. Her comb and wattles are bright red, her eyes are bright and she is alert.

I am at a loss. She is the only one of my flock with this issue. The only thing I have seen online regarding this kind of poo is liver disease. Should I try to treat her with something or cull her? Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Edited to add: Tonight I gave her some yogurt with oats and she did eat a bit of that and drank a bit of water. She did stand to eat, but it seems like she will only stand for about 3 minutes and then she lays back down. She has her tail down again tonight. Also, I should mention that I can't feel an egg or see any pieces of shell near or in her vent. I checked for that the other day. My heart just breaks for her. I hate to see them ill.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

I did not put her back in the coop tonight, I decided to keep her in the kennel in the garage. I guess I will wait and see how she is in the morning. She is such a sweet little girl, I hate seeing her be this way.

 

[FisherMOM]

could she need to be wormed?
I read somewhere that green poo meant that they were starving.
My Emma pooed out the eggs that I fed her.. and they were green too.

She has since been dewormed using Wazine (you can research it on here) and now is getting yogurt, spinach and some wheat bread soaked in water (for the water as she won't drink)
When she tries to walk, she falls over. She is sooo weak.. it's awful!

I hope your girl will be ok.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

Quote:
The whole flocked was wormed about 2 weeks ago. She shows no signs of any parasite, but that doesn't meant that she couldn't still have something in her. I wormed as a precaution because I had no idea if the birds in my flock had ever been wormed....I just started this whole chicken thing in July. I decided to put them on a fall and spring worming schedule. What is so strange is that she is not sleeping all the time, her eyes, comb and wattles are all bright and appear to be healthy. She murmurs a lot and makes a humming noise.

 

[FisherMOM]

maybe too weak to walk?
mine has become malnourished and I am hand feeding her watered down bread, yogurt and cooked fresh spinach.

 

[flowerchild59]

I would worm them all again with valbazen or one of the other womers on the market (like safeguard. There are lots of worming threads on here to read about). Valbazen covers all the bases and it worms effectively and covers roundworms too. Then I would start her on some antibiotics, either injectible or oral. You could read up on the first state vet site and get some recommendations. Or read this reference material and go from there.

Here is a reference I found: http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/jtua_poultry.asp

Staphylococcus Infections in Chickens:
Staphylococcus spp. infection in chickens causes primarily an arthritis most commonly observed in the hock joints and footpads. It can also be associated with osteomyelitis and swollen head associated cellulitis.

Diagnosis: Necropsy lesions are typical and can be used to diagnose arthritis in chickens. However, cultures should be performed to confirm the etiology as other bacteria may be associated with arthritis. When culture is performed, an antibiotic sensitivity should be used in determining appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

Non-Antimicrobial Intervention: Flock outbreaks are uncommon in chickens. Culling procedures to assess the progression of the disease in a flock before antimicrobial therapy is initiated should be performed.

Antimicrobial Intervention: Based on in vitro sensitivity, flock and farm history and the clinical judgment of the veterinarian antibiotic intervention may be warranted.

Suggested Antimicrobials for Staphylococcus Intervention:


Class III: penicillin, lincomycin

Class II: erythromycin


Any antimicrobial selected for use, if not specifically labeled to treat Staphylococcus spp. in chickens is extra label use and must be used as outlined in AMDUCA.

Treatment Duration: Per labeled instructions or based on the veterinarian's clinical judgment.

Treatment Assessment: During and after therapeutic intervention, the flock should be carefully evaluated as to the success of the treatment. These evaluations can be performed by the attending veterinarian or by service personnel under the veterinarian's direction. Accurate records should be maintained on all treatment outcomes and included in the farm history and records for future reference.

Other Treatment Considerations: Often, Staphylococcus spp. infections causes low morbidity in a flock and treatment is not cost effective. The use of culling procedures will help assess the progression of this disease within a flock and determine intervention strategies.

Prevention: Identifying the predisposing factors is an important component in preventing Staphylococcus spp. infections. Predisposing factors such as litter quality, viral arthritis enteric disease, and upper respiratory infections can lead to Staphylococcus spp. infections. Identifying any predisposing factors and implementing preventative vaccination and management practices is imperative to prevent future infections

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

She is still with us this morning. She came to me when I opened the kennel this morning, that is a good sign I think, she actually stood up. We gave her a shot of antibiotics this morning and for breakfast I made her a scrambled egg, buttermilk and some honey. She ate a bit of that too. I am worried about it being a liver issue after I read that one of the signs of liver troubles is a fast growing or long beak. Her beak is quite long and overhangs the bottom. I tried to clip it a bit this morning, I might have to just use a nail file. This morning a cleaned a lot of wet bedding with just a small amount of the lime green solids. So I guess right now it is a wait and see kinda thing. I will keep her in our garage away from the other girls until after her run of antibiotics, which be a few more days. I hope the combination of all I am doing will help her, but I am truly worried about liver disease and it seems their is really not a cure for that.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

Well sadly after several days of trying to nurse her back to health we threw the towel in last night. She totally quit eating, was barely drinking any water. After doing a lot of reading and watching her symptoms I was sure she had some kind of liver failure or cancer. I trimmed her beak on Monday and by last night it was grown out longer than before. Her nails were getting super long as well. She also never quit having the lime, almost glow in the dark bowel movements. We tired antibiotics and she showed not improvement. It was hard to watch her deteriorate so quickly to the point that she was so weak she couldn't even stand up. So we ended up culling her. When we were done, my husband wanted to see if she had an egg bound in her, I wanted to see if she had a normal looking liver. So we cut her open. No egg, but her liver was spotty. So I feel we did the right thing. RIP little red hen.