My chicken is sick/lethargic. Please help!

[k8ethor]

Hi,
I noticed my chicken acting a little lethargic yesterday evening. This morning she would not leave the coup, I noticed she had some poo stuck to her bottom so I cleaned her, blow dried her and put her back. She was acting very lethargic and closing her eyes the whole time. I put some food/water in with her and it looked like she did eat a little. When I got home from work this evening she was just laying with her head down and eyes closed. She cant even stand up I brought her inside and now she is laying down in a box with a heat lamp.
I dont know what is wrong with her. I thought she might be egg bound, so I tried to feel if there was anything hard/egg shaped, but I couldn't feel anything... Please let me know if you can offer any help or suggestions of what it could be. She is my favorite chicken. I hope she is going to be alright!!!

Thank you

 

[k8ethor]

She has diarrhea as well...
Any ideas on what could be wrong?

 

[JPoe]

I am not terribly experienced with illnesses in chickens as I have only had my flock for a year, but a few of my hens have had some visits to the chicken hospital in my spare bedroom.

That being said, I don't know what could be wrong with her but is your girl eating or drinking at all now? If not, I have had success with providing scrambled eggs or favorite treats to coax them into eating. Otherwise, giving her a syringe of electrolytes in her beak can help provide some energy while she fights whatever she has. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I hope she feels better!

 

[Sandstorm495]

Hi you can mix natural yoghurt with some milk and feed it to her in a syringe. Give her water in a syringe as well. You should also sit her in a tub of warm water with just her head out of the water for a while. It helps heaps. I have had experience with a chicken just like this. Keep cleaning the poo away from her bottom. I think your chicken is eggbound, but if you can't feel an egg there, than I can't be sure. Hope she get's better! Keep updating how she is going!

 

[k8ethor]

Thanks for the advice... I have been trying to get her to eat anything at all and it hasn't been working... So I have been just giving her water with electrolytes and yogurt and trying to get her to eat little bits of egg. I gave her a bath and it seemed to perk her up a little. I talked to a local chicken expert and yesterday he thought it was coccidia. So yesterday I started treating her with antibiotics. This morning I was giving her water/med mixture and trying to get her to eat a little and she started to spasm. It looked like she was having a seizure. She put her head back her eyes were rolling around, she tried to walk but her legs didn't work and she was flapping her wings... I called the chicken guy again and he thought maybe it was Merrick's disease... He told me to bring her down and he would look at her. I thought we would have to euthanize her, but when he gave her a look he said it was a vitamin B deficiency because of the way her feet were clenched. So know I'm giving her water,antibiotics,vitamin B and sugar via dropper... I will update on her status. Thanks again for the help!!

 

[k8ethor]

Thought I should update. She died about two days after I last posted.
After having numerous "seizures" where she would stumble and flap around like crazy and twitch her head and peck at the air. The morning before she died I gave her her water vitamin mixture with an eyedropper and it seemed like she did not know how to drink anymore... she started making gurgling sounds and sounded like she inhaled it, so I turned her upside down and most of the liquid mixture came out. In between seizures she would lay and look around spastic like and peck at the air. We had her inside in a large plastic bin with blankets so she wouldn't hurt herself while having a seizure. She had another "seizure" while in the bin I picked her up and held down her wings so she wouldn't hurt herself and in the middle of the seizure she went limp and died It was a pretty traumatic couple of days for us...
Not sure was actually wrong with her. Sometimes it looked like she was getting better? If anyone has any ideas of what it could have been, please let me know.

 

[sunrisechicks7]

Awww poor chicken! I had a baby chick with a similar problem... she didnt move and had her eyes closed the whole time. She was also really cold. Im not really sure what the problem is but were you keeping the coop clean?

 

[Jporres]

How were you giving her the vitamin B?