Lithargic, crusty eyes, every weak - need advice

[drjulian]

I have a flock of 5 hens (20 months old- 4 NH reds and 1 LI red) and 3 female ducks (2 ½ year old pekins) they live together in a fully netted (top and sides) run which is about 50’ X 30’. Within the run is a small pond for the ducks and a coop they all spend the night in, where they lay. They are fed Layena pellets and crumbles with the occasional treat (usually frozen peas or cantaloupe or sunflower seeds) upon which I sprinkle calcium carbonate.

About a week ago two of the hens stopped laying (they all normally lay daily). I could not determine which but they all seemed fine so I credited it to the 95 + degrees of heat here in FL.
Four days ago one of the hens began to act odd, staying in the nest area all day and looking ragged and weak. I offered her some electrolytes, which she took, but when the others saw her drinking they all attacked her immediately. The got some feathers from her neck and drew a little blood but I was able to get her out before they killed her. (Prior to this, I have not seen them fighting)

She is isolated now (2 days) and she is doing better but still not well.

Here are the symptoms:

1. She eats very little, she will eat treats (frozen peas) but very, very little feed (Layena).
2. She is drinking a lot. I have made a ‘cocktail’ of 1 Qt Pedialyte with 10 cc Probios, a squirt of Nutracal and 5 cc of Poly-Vi-Sol mixed in. Additionally she has a bowl of regular water with ACV in it. She strongly prefers the cocktail and drinks about 25 oz per day of the mixture, all on her own.
3. Her poop is very runny (no shape) and much of it sticks to her feathers (diarrhea).
4. She stands most of the time and after a while, her head will drop down till her beak touches the ground which startles her and she pops her head up.
5. Her eyes are very squinty and seem to have crust around them but there is no discharge and they are not wet. She keeps then closed most of the time.
6. He comb is all drooped over and pale.
7. She makes very little noise, and when she does it sounds like a weak moan.
8. She is very thin and emaciated.

Symptoms she does NOT have:
1. No sneezing or wheezing
2. No running nose or eyes
3. No odd walk or straining to lay
4. No excessive head shaking
5. No blood in poop


I have checked and she does not seem to be egg bound.

The fact that she is pooping seems to exclude a crop problem.

I have not seen any lice (my eyes are not that great) so to be safe, I dusted her with sevin, which did not seem to change her condition.

Attached are a couple of pictures of her eye and head. The missing feathers and the small cut are from the attack.

I have done a lot of research and have, to this point, not offered any antibiotics since I am not sure what illness I should address.

There is no local poultry vets, the reason being “chickens are cheap enough to replace so no one brings them in”.

Can any offer a suggestion on how I can help her. As I've said she has improved a bit (mostly because she is not being attacked regularly) but I have not seen a measurable improvement with them measures I have thus far implemented.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are her eyes swollen with drainage due to the attack, or were they swollen before? Has she had any scabs which could have been fowl pox from mosquitoes? The pictures look a bit like pox, but may be just due to the attack. You can try putting some electrolyte water into her layer food, making an oatmeal consistency, which most chickens like, as well as a scrambled or boiled egg chopped. Does the Nutrical have dairy products in it? Chickens don't digest dairy well, and it can add to diarrhea. Chickens sometimes tend to attack another if they are sick, and with her symptoms, it may be hard to pinpoint the cause. Heat stress and dehydration could be the original problem, but I think you are doing the right things. Have you wormed your flock recently? Valbazen and SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer are good to use, but only if she is drinking enough fluids.

 

[drjulian]

Thank you for the reply.

Her eyes were swollen prior to the attack I witnessed, however she may have been being attacked before I saw it as her feathers show signs of being pulled.. They are certainly worse now then before the attack that caused me to remove her. (It was a vicious attack-- the other 4 ganged up on her and kicked the bejesus out of her in the few seconds it took me to get to her. I am sure it was do to her illness, as prior to that they were all buddies)

I have not wormed them beyond putting ACV in their water on occasion.

Nutracal is a high calorie supplement given to weak puppies and the like. I don't see any dairy. Right now that is the only source of calories she has since she is not eating crumbles. Here are the ingredients:

Corn syrup, soybean oil, malt syrup, water, fish oil, cane molasses, methylcellulose, gelatin by-products, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), sodium benzoate (preservative), manganese sulfate, iron peptonate, thiamine HCI, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate (source of calcium and pantothenic acid), magnesium ...

Regarding pox, the black marks on the comb have been there for over a year, they all have then, I think they are scars from them pecking at each other when they were small. Pox, to my understanding, will pass over time if they survive and if those marks were pox, they are way past the period for the disease.

Right now I am boiling an egg which I will offer her along with a paste of crumbles as you suggested.

Do you think antibiotics are called for? She has survived 4 days of this without worsening, so I have thus far let her heal on her own. I understand that when they get this sick, they usually do not last 24 hours.

 

[Eggcessive]

Certain respiratory diseases such as mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or coryza can cause swelling and drainage around the eyes. E.coli and other bacteria may also complicate those inections. Tylan 50 injectable is a good antibiotic to use either orally for 5 days, or as an injection 1/4 inch deep into the breast muscle for 3 days. Dosage is 1/4 ml daily for a bantam, 1/2 ml daily for a chicken less than 5 lb. and 1 ml daily for those over 5 lb. Oxytetracycline and Gallimycin are others that can be given in the water. Most of those are found in the cattle medicines of feed stores. Testing is available through contacting your state vet or Dept. of Agriculture, or various labs around the country, and the state vet can answer questions about how common those are in your area. MG and coryza are 2 diseases that can make all flock members carriers, whether they get sick or not, so testing may be good for just knowing that. Here are links to the state vets and testing centers:
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Here is a good link to read about common respiratory diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[drjulian]

Thank you again for your reply.

I do have Tylan 50. Correct me if I am wrong, but when they are given antibiotics must I stop all electrolytes and probiotics? Something about the zinc binding to the antibiotic.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may know more about that than I. The probiotics may be usefull at the end of the course of antibiotics to help restore the beneficial gut bacteria. The electrolytes were for dehydration mostly. If she is drinking well enough those could be discontinued.

 

[drjulian]

Update:

My 'cocktail' seems to be working. I have added it to her feed and made the 'oatmeal mash' you suggested and she is eating it quite well.
She is clearly better today.
I have added wormer to her feed (and all the others) as a precaution.
She will be kept isolated until she regains her strength and her ability to defend herself. I am sure the others will have some "'splaining to do" when she returns.

Here is a picture of her today. The color is returning to her comb and her eyes are more open, brighter and have color. She is eating and drinking better as you can see from the mash on her beak.

"What a difference a day makes"



Thanks for the suggestions and assistance.

 

[Eggcessive]

It's good to hear that she is improving. Sometimes her pictures look to me like she could have fowl pox, a virus from mosquitoes. That sometimes can affect the eyes with scabs around the head, comb, wattles, and cause eye swelling. Hopefully she will continue to get better.