Listless, shivering, shallow breathing

[TheBajan]

I found one of my BCM pullets last night when I went to shut up the coop. She was laying on her side, eyes closed, barely breathing. She offered no resistance at all when I picked her up. I brought her in the house, held her against my chest and wrapped her up like that till about 2 this morning. Then I wrapped her up in a blanket and laid her in the bed next to mine so I could try to sleep. She hasn't moved and barely chirped at all. This morning she opened her eyes breifly and opened her mouth for a second then went back to sleep. She's not shivering anymore. That stopped sometime last night while i was still holding her. I have no idea what went wrong. She's in a flock of 20 and none of the others are showing any distress. Is there anything I can do for her? I tried offering her some raw, scrambled egg. She wouldn't take it. I'm at a loss. Whatever is going on with her she's a little fighter and I want to give her every advantage in her fight.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I'm so sorry to hear she's doing so poorly. Unfortunately once they get this bad it's not usually a good prognosis. You're doing exactly what I would in trying to keep her warm and comfortable. I would also check her over thoroughly, I don't necessarily expect you to find something but it's worth a shot. Look in her mouth to see if there is an obstruction, check her crop to see what it feels like, look her over for and injuries that may be cause for shock.

IF she seems coherent enough to hold her upright and drip a very small amount of liquid vitamin on the side of her beak, not in her mouth, if she start to make a swallowing motion you can slowly continue to give her some more drops. I can't stress enough how important it is to be careful when doing this though because if she's in poor enough shape she will aspirate.

I can't think of anything else to try when they're in this shape other than loving on them and keeping them comfortable.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Ugh.
She doesnt look good.
No symptoms in the other birds?
No idea whats going on. Im sorry.

 

[New chiken momma]

So sorry for your little fighter. There is one one here that has given me alot of good advice with my bird @wyorprock. Hope she pulls through.

 

[TheBajan]

@CluckNDoodle
I've done all of those things except for the vitamin drops. I'll try that now. Thank you all. She needs prayer at this point.

 

[TheBajan]

Update:
We are now about 40 hours past finding her. She's still holding on. Last night I managed to drop a little bit of Nutri-drench on her beak. It was just a drop but she seemed to take it. This morning she's been opening her eyes, chirping a little, and responding to me. Right now she is sleeping with her head tucked (kinda) under her wing. She's still not eating or drinking but I made some oatmeal and she ran her beak through it. It was a reaction to me petting her. I think she swallowed a little but I'm not sure. It's much too cold outside to put her close to her flock for companionship. If she can hang on another day it's supposed to warm up tomorrow a bit. Keep those prayers going and fingers crossed. She's fighting! I'm calling her Diana.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Update:
We are now about 40 hours past finding her. She's still holding on. Last night I managed to drop a little bit of Nutri-drench on her beak. It was just a drop but she seemed to take it. This morning she's been opening her eyes, chirping a little, and responding to me. Right now she is sleeping with her head tucked (kinda) under her wing. She's still not eating or drinking but I made some oatmeal and she ran her beak through it. It was a reaction to me petting her. I think she swallowed a little but I'm not sure. It's much too cold outside to put her close to her flock for companionship. If she can hang on another day it's supposed to warm up tomorrow a bit. Keep those prayers going and fingers crossed. She's fighting! I'm calling her Diana.

I wouldn't worry about putting her back with the flock while she's in this condition. Chickens can be ruthless once one is showings weakness, they may beat her up. If you can encourage her to take fluids with or without the vitamins that's very important so she doesn't dehydrate. If it's toxin related it will also help to flush it out.

 

[TheBajan]

She's standing up! I'm going to offer her some more egg yolk and hope she takes it. I'm doing cart-wheels in my heart to see her standing!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your pullet, but so glad that she seems to be perking up. How old is she? Has she ever laid an egg yet? She looks pretty young though. Could she have been injured by a rooster or others? Besides cooked egg, most chickens will peck at chick feed made wet with warm water, tuna, and canned cat food. Those can get more fluids into her. What do her droppings look like? Coccidiosis could be a concern if she is having runny poops. That is treated with Corid, but I would continue to water and electrolytes, or some Poultry NutriDrench.

 

[TheBajan]

Sorry about your pullet, but so glad that she seems to be perking up. How old is she? Has she ever laid an egg yet? She looks pretty young though. Could she have been injured by a rooster or others? Besides cooked egg, most chickens will peck at chick feed made wet with warm water, tuna, and canned cat food. Those can get more fluids into her. What do her droppings look like? Coccidiosis could be a concern if she is having runny poops. That is treated with Corid, but I would continue to water and electrolytes, or some Poultry NutriDrench.

Her droppings look completely normal. No eggs yet (she's just 5 1/2 weeks old) and no visible injuries that I found. The entire flock has been on Corid for the past eight days because we noticed blood in stool from one of our other flocks.
I just took this picture! She's eating and drinking! Thanking God for every step in the right direction! Just hours ago I still didn't think she would make it!