joelandbrandy
In the Brooder
10 week old RIR (Nugget) with mystery illness that just won't quit.
Here's the rundown:
Three weeks ago, she was fine one minute, running around the yard being her hoppy little self and then thirty minutes later we found her under a tree in the yard huddled with droopy tail. Listless, diarrhea and a gimpy leg.
No obvious signs of injury. Still eating, drinking and pooping at this point. We thought maybe she just sprained her leg and got dehydrated, so we kept her inside for a few days and then took her to the vet.
They gave her painkillers, did a fecal smear (no sign of parasites), we kept her indoors for a week, until she was done with meds and was quite perky and demanding to be out of her cage all the time and she rejoined the flock, happy as can be.
Then, three days later, we came home to find her listless, with diarrhea again. It was hot (high 80s) so we thought maybe she was heat exhausted. We dunked her in cool water and that got her up and walking again, but she soon lay back down and huddled. So now we've brought her back inside. The vet suggested to give her some wet cat/dog food he uses for critical care patients, but she won't eat it. So, we made a mash with her crumbles and she gobbled it up.
She perks up when we take her outside to stretch her legs, and forages happily, but is still obviously weak, and after awhile just kind of shuts down and returns to her hunch.
I've suspected an impacted crop and have fed her oil and massaged it, but in the morning, it's always hard again and in general,she's kind of just a sad looking, listless little chicken. (And, no, I'm not up for making her vomit - it's too risky). We've also but her on a course of oxytetracycline, which she'll finish the 7 day dosage tomorrow. She doesn't seem to want to drink the medicated water though, so I've been syringe feeding it to her. Eats off and on, but doesn't seem to be on her food or water at the moment.
She goes back and forth between normal poop and watery, white, loose poop.
Anyone have any suggestions? advice?
Here's the rundown:
Three weeks ago, she was fine one minute, running around the yard being her hoppy little self and then thirty minutes later we found her under a tree in the yard huddled with droopy tail. Listless, diarrhea and a gimpy leg.
No obvious signs of injury. Still eating, drinking and pooping at this point. We thought maybe she just sprained her leg and got dehydrated, so we kept her inside for a few days and then took her to the vet.
They gave her painkillers, did a fecal smear (no sign of parasites), we kept her indoors for a week, until she was done with meds and was quite perky and demanding to be out of her cage all the time and she rejoined the flock, happy as can be.
Then, three days later, we came home to find her listless, with diarrhea again. It was hot (high 80s) so we thought maybe she was heat exhausted. We dunked her in cool water and that got her up and walking again, but she soon lay back down and huddled. So now we've brought her back inside. The vet suggested to give her some wet cat/dog food he uses for critical care patients, but she won't eat it. So, we made a mash with her crumbles and she gobbled it up.
She perks up when we take her outside to stretch her legs, and forages happily, but is still obviously weak, and after awhile just kind of shuts down and returns to her hunch.
I've suspected an impacted crop and have fed her oil and massaged it, but in the morning, it's always hard again and in general,she's kind of just a sad looking, listless little chicken. (And, no, I'm not up for making her vomit - it's too risky). We've also but her on a course of oxytetracycline, which she'll finish the 7 day dosage tomorrow. She doesn't seem to want to drink the medicated water though, so I've been syringe feeding it to her. Eats off and on, but doesn't seem to be on her food or water at the moment.
She goes back and forth between normal poop and watery, white, loose poop.
Anyone have any suggestions? advice?
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