The meat if the matter: "Eight week old Polish pullet...Hen is uddled over, puffed out, kind of lethargic, stands or lays around, not extremely interested in food though she was happy to eat some egg yolk when I put it in front of her. "
"I free ranged them for the second time. She was out eating bugs for several hours and the next day seemed under the weather. " In other words, she's not used to free ranging so this happened right after doing so. "yolk, and I caught her pecking around at some scratch. Also a bit of oatmeal with probiotic powder and chick starter mixed in. I haven't seen her drink much but I haven't been able to watch her constantly either. ""
I haven't seen a whole lot of poop from her yet but what I did see was runny. She pooped a couple times and just a tiny bit came out.""
I put Corid in their water and a couple drops on her beak since she's not drinking much. ""Coop/run with the others. It's got a dirt and sand floor with pine shavings inside. I'll put her in a brooder or pen inside with pine shavings when I get home from work."
First, when she free ranged, does she have grit - actual granite grit available? Have you felt her crop to see if it's emptying normally? Or impacted? Was she able to get into mud puddles, any maggots, compost pile or decaying vegetation, fallen fruit, berries, or vegetables in a garden?
What is her normal diet - the chick starter? Is the ground upon which she went old ground - like are other birds on it, were other older birds with her? Are there others in the flock? If so what ages? Mixed?
On the worms, incidentally, looking in droppings is not at all an accurate way to find worms. Worms by their very nature intend to stay in the bird at all times. They spread by shedding eggs. Eggs are microscopic, you will not see them. So the only true way of telling what type of infestation your birds could have is by doing a "fecal egg count" through the vet. DE and cayenne may help with control, but do not prevent worms as there are many stages that don't stay in the digestive tract (where the DE is). So if in doubt, always have a "fecal egg count", not just a "fecal" done by a vet.
If you worm, and you don't know for a fact if there's not a heavy infestation, always use Wazine first. Then 2-4 weeks later you can use a heavier wormer like fenbendazole (wormazole) or pour-on ivermectin to kill the larva and adults (which wazine doesn't do). BUt always use the lesser wormer first to prevent shock and death. Or in birds under four months.
That being said, this doesn't sound like worms really.
Is this bird fat or thin? Does her keep sharply protrude? Is the chick starter medicated with amprolium? Incidentally, she's about the age where you can switch to grower or starter/grower. But I wouldn't just yet because of her issues.
Did she keep cool during her trip outside? Sometimes heat issues don't show until the following day. I'd definitely put electrolyte supplement into her water for the next few days. Also make sure that you know she knows where the water and feed are outside.
Did she mix with an existing flock? Any chance she was chased or pecked?
I'm most concerned about whether or not she had grit before she went out, and the state of her crop. That would be the most obvious thing since she's not eating much and not expelling many droppings. I'd check that first. Try to encourage her to eat by giving her boiled egg yolk (mashed) with yogurt. Keep her off of solid feeds for now - just the crumbles, egg yolk, maybe some cooked oatmeal with the yogurt added in easilyl dissolved feeds. Feeds that if you put ina glass of water and came back 10 minutes later, they'd be puddled in the bottom of the glass mostly.
I'd also keep her up and isolated so that you can tell us exactly what her droppings look like, please - the color o fthe liquid, the color of the urates the color of the feces, and their texture, and their amounts. If the feces part of the droppings (the solids) were dark green, she indeed isn't eating much. That's going to be top priority - make sure she keeps getting food and water in her.
I'll look for your replies.
