Losing hope

[tony guinn]

i Have a sick hen that I am about to give up on. She got sick about a week ago and was wobbly, diahrea, lathargic. The next day she was down and could not stand or walk. She has lost a bunch of weight. She refuses to eat or drink. I have had her on corid for a week now and the diahrea has dried up. I have been giving her calcium and b vitamins also. I have been mixing a small amount of feed with electrolyte water and adding kale and sweet potato to it and then drawing it in a syringe and forcing her to eat it. I have seen very little improvement in her. She still can't stand or walk and doesn't eat or drink on her own that I can tell. Does anyone have any last chance ideas before I put her down

 

[Kiki]

I'm sorry to hear she isn't doing so well for you.

What other symptoms did/does she have besides not walking?
Have you ever wormed your flock?

You are probably not getting enough nutrients into her with just a syringe.
Would you be willing to tube feed her?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I am sorry you are having trouble with your hen.

Unfortunately, you aren't doing her any favors with SOME of the things you've listed...

A) it doesn't sound like Coccidiosis

B) B vitamins defeats the point of treating with Corid because it acts as a thiamine blocker to starve out the Coccida, which you just fed by giving vitamins.

I'm gonna stop right there for a minute and post while I review other things you mentioned... STOP the kale!

 

[tony guinn]

I forgot to put that in there, yes I have wormed her and the flock. I am giving her quite a bit of food. She is lathargic, just sits with her eyes closed. She moves her legs but the movement doesn't appear to be coordinated

 

[EggSighted4Life]

For your next bit of feed give only high protein items like canned cat food, tuna, mackerel, boiled chopped egg, yogurt and ... please describe your electrolyte mix?

 

[tony guinn]

For your next bit of feed give only high protein items like canned cat food, tuna, mackerel, boiled chopped egg, yogurt and ... please describe your electrolyte mix?

 

[tony guinn]

How do I get her to eat those things. Can I grind them up in some of the electrolyte water and use the syringe. His is the electrolyte mix I have

 

[EggSighted4Life]

How long ago was it when you wormed, and do you know what worms you treated for? What did you use?

Have you checked for other parasites like mites or lice? How old is your hen? When was the last time she laid an egg?

Forcing calcium can be bad, I wouldn't do that UNLESS she was egg bound. Usually death occurs within 48 hours, so that probably isn't it.

What do you feed normally, including treats and supplements? How many in your flock? What size coop/run? When was the last time you added new birds?

When you saw her wobbly and with diarrhea, was she also standing up sleeping? What color was this liquid poo?

Any chance you might take a fecal float to the vet for about $15 they can check for worms and cocci to make sure if she does need to be treated for either. (I know today is Saturday)

You should be careful pushing too much food on bird who is not well. You need to make sure that the crop is not impacted. Are you providing any sort of grit for her? Possible sour crop? What have you looked into beside cocci? And IF it was cocci, maybe treating correctly will help...

IF and ONLY if you are sure you haven't overdosed her on electrolytes (because that can be VERY deadly) Then I would give that solution with boiled egg, as you are trying with the kale & sweet potato except eliminating those as already suggested.

As a last ditch effort I would give raw egg yolk. It's loaded with the vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients needed to sustain life as well as easy to digest! Don't push anything chilled though.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

View attachment 1102726 How do I get her to eat those things. Can I grind them up in some of the electrolyte water and use the syringe. His is the electrolyte mix I have

Yes. Just make sure you are mixing the heavy, if you know what I mean.

If you already have a lot of food in her like you said, give her crop a chance to digest what's there and just push some liquid every hour or two for a little while.

Is she getting to sleep through the night or are you on a constant vigil?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hang in there for her...

I gotta run for a few, but try to answer some of the questions I asked if you can because it will help me as well as anyone else who reads the thread to help you with a more accurate diagnosis and hopefully treatment. Disclose anything you can think of that might help, there is NO judgement here. Only friends!