Losing hope

[tony guinn]

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.

Wormed the whole flock with when I noticed she was sick. I have looked her over good and haven't seen any mites or lice. Got all the birds from the same person and my guess is the are about 4 months old. Don't know about the standing and sleeping but she would stand away from the other birds.
The poo was greenish and very watery, it just shot straight out of her. Poop is better now but still not firm.

Don't think we have overdosed her with electrolytes as she has only had about a quart or the gallon I mixed in the last 7 days. I keep it refrigerated.

I have gotten her to peck at dry food in picture but only a few pecks at a time.

 

[tony guinn]

This is food I am feeding

 

[tony guinn]

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?

I let her sleep all night

 

[chriseagan]

Have you checked for sour crop ?
Just a thought , I had one girl who sort of acted the same as you described .
I managed to nurse her back with some simple steps over a 2wk period .

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Wormed the whole flock with when I noticed she was sick. I have looked her over good and haven't seen any mites or lice. Got all the birds from the same person and my guess is the are about 4 months old. Don't know about the standing and sleeping but she would stand away from the other birds.
The poo was greenish and very watery, it just shot straight out of her. Poop is better now but still not firm.

Don't think we have overdosed her with electrolytes as she has only had about a quart or the gallon I mixed in the last 7 days. I keep it refrigerated.

I have gotten her to peck at dry food in picture but only a few pecks at a time.

OK, so worms Probably wasn't her problem. But whatever she did have just got even more upset by the worming, quite possibly. Because it does crazy things to their system. Also, most wormers don't treat ALL types of worms, so you might not have even treated for the worms she does have.

Worming an already ill bird actually can push them over the edge to death. Anyways, for future purposes, please never worm an already ill bird UNLESS you confirmed through fecal float that is indeed the issue. Any vet can do it.

Right now, I would (remember I'm no expert) probably switch to regular fresh water (because you said she isn't having diarrhea) offer boiled or scrambled egg, or that egg yolk and your feed. Maybe some probiotics or yogurt. Meal worms are a favorite high protein snack. I think it's too soon for layer feed if your birds aren't laying eggs yet. I would switch back UNTIL I saw eggs if you can. Depending on breed some won't even lay until 24 weeks or later and that is too much calcium for non layers and not quite enough for still growing birds, especially if heavier breed like Barred Rock.

So when you let her sleep all night, try to notice if her crop is kind of full at bed time and EMPTY in the morning. Do you know how they usually feel?

How long have you had these birds? How many other birds?

Cocci is a possibility. But sadly, so is Marek's and so many other things. Have you looked into Marek's yet? You describe her as wobbly, but can she still stand and walk?

Also note that some parasites are very difficult to see or invisible all together (scaly leg mite/debluming mite). They are best seen at night under a flashlight directly near the vent. Your girl may or may not have some, but what you describe SOUNDS like something different.

Good that she is sleeping... so you can to! It's ruff when we have an ill bird.

 

[Eggcessive]

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

They are about a month too young to be on layer feed if they are 4 months old and not yet laying. It has too much calcium, so I would not give more calcium. Is it hot where you are? Dehydration, injury, vitamin deficiency, or Mareks disease could be possible reasons for her lameness. Coccidiosis can be a cause for weakness leading to lameness as well, but I would be a little concerned about Mareks at this age. Is her crop empty, since she is not eating or drinking? If it is puffy or full and hard, it might be a crop problem. Corid only helps coccidiosis if it is drunk, so try giving her a couple of drops of undiluted Corid twice a day.

 

[casportpony]

If she were mine I would tube fluids, then fluids and baby bird food. Can you post a picture of her, and one of her poop?

 

[christwodog]

When my hen was critically ill, the vet told me she should take in 100 ml of fluid every 24 hrs, which sounded like a lot to me - but the vet told me dehydration can take them down very quickly. So she may need some hydration via tubing if she's not drinking much on her own. It's not hard to do, once you see it done. I actually had to give her fluids sub-cu, because she was practically comatose. But she pulled thru and I hope yours does too. Good luck with her.

 

[casportpony]

When my hen was critically ill, the vet told me she should take in 100 ml of fluid every 24 hrs, which sounded like a lot to me - but the vet told me dehydration can take them down very quickly. So she may need some hydration via tubing if she's not drinking much on her own. It's not hard to do, once you see it done. I actually had to give her fluids sub-cu, because she was practically comatose. But she pulled thru and I hope yours does too. Good luck with her.

Great post!

 

[casportpony]

Here is some info on tubing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-crop-gavage-feeding-videos.837722/