My chicken is sick: lethargic, not eating and drinking. Help!

[floricik]

You don't need an avian vet for a fecal float, just a vet (or lab). Heat exhaustion can look very similar to a worm infestation: lethargy, reduced appetite, disheveled appearance, and more.

For de-worming, most here suggest Safeguard 10% Suspension for Goats (Fenbendazole) given at .23ml per pound of body weight administered orally for five days with a syringe or dropper.

If you're not sure how to administer liquids to a bird, this will help tremendously:
https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

I called our vet practice and the answer was a bit vague. Waiting on the vet to call me back with details and price. It saddens me to see that vets around here don’t care much about chickens.
DR POL, HELP!

 

[Swbertrand1]

I called our vet practice and the answer was a bit vague. Waiting on the vet to call me back with details and price. It saddens me to see that vets around here don’t care much about chickens.
DR POL, HELP!

Explain to them that you're wanting the fecal float to check for parasites, namely worms in the stool. Any competent vet should easily be able to perform that service for you; they do it for dogs and cats routinely...

 

[floricik]

Explain to them that you're wanting the fecal float to check for parasites, namely worms in the stool. Any competent vet should easily be able to perform that service for you; they do it for dogs and cats routinely...

They recommended me a poultry lab that does necropsy and fecal tests. Hubby is taking her there soon.
Thanks again for your help!

 

[Swbertrand1]

They recommended me a poultry lab that does necropsy and fecal tests. Hubby is taking her there soon.
Thanks again for your help!

The lab wants you to bring a live bird in??

 

[floricik]

The lab wants you to bring a live bird in??

She passed this morning. So No bringing live chicken to the lab. I sent the dead bird on ice and a few samples of stool from around the chicken run to be tested for parasites.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

She passed this morning. So No bringing live chicken to the lab. I sent the dead bird on ice and a few samples of stool from around the chicken run to be tested for parasites.

hopefully you'll get results soon.

 

[Swbertrand1]

She passed this morning. So No bringing live chicken to the lab. I sent the dead bird on ice and a few samples of stool from around the chicken run to be tested for parasites.

Sorry! Duh! I even posted about your loss mid-post of my reply. Ok, now I'm straight!

Please don't forget to post what the lab finds. It helps all of us get a little more educated at spotting problems and knowing how to treat when you do.

I'm still very sorry about your hen - Australorps are beautiful birds!

 

[chicks4life19]

A few of my hens were lethargic too. I think sometimes an egg breaks inside of them and they don’t eat, drink, and their poop is liquid. So maybe check for liquid poop next time it happens, (hopefully it doesn’t) and what I did for this specifically is put a drop of oregano oil in their water. It keeps them healthy and it shouldn’t get them sick again. And it should clean out all of the yolk inside them. Sorry for your loss.

 

[floricik]

Sorry! Duh! I even posted about your loss mid-post of my reply. Ok, now I'm straight!

Please don't forget to post what the lab finds. It helps all of us get a little more educated at spotting problems and knowing how to treat when you do.

I'm still very sorry about your hen - Australorps are beautiful birds!

So, the lab doc said that it could be a respiratory infection and recommended to treat the rest of our chickens with Liquamycin LA-200 injectable put in their drinking water (5ml/ 1 gal of water for 5 days)
No worms have been found in the fecal samples. Still waiting on two more results I guess they are very busy…
PS: one of the other hens started to show signs of illness, not long after we sent the dead one for necropsy but the recommended antibiotic worked!