My hen is losing weight

[MaeM]

Hello there, I'm a bit worried about one of my hens, Eris.

As the title says, she's been losing weight. She was molting and had ascaridia, which may explain why she started losing weight, but she finished molting and I've treated her ascaridia with levimasole and she doesn't seem to gain weight. (I don't know if I should give her more time, though, how much time would you wait before worrying?)

For a moment I thought that perhaps the levimasole hadn't worked but she pooped dead worms.

She hasn't lost her appetite. I don't know if she is eating less but I see her eating and she is interested in treats. Sometimes she has a very smelly diarrhea, though, I don't know if these are cecal feces or actual diarrheas, but I've seen some indigested food on the poop.

And I'd say she is a bit less active than usual. Not lethargic, but she seems to take more naps than usual.

Is there something in particular that I could try? Any special food, any vitamin?

 

[Greyflower72]

I had a hen that took almost a month to completely recover from an illness. How long has it been?

 

[Shadrach]

Hello there, I'm a bit worried about one of my hens, Eris.

As the title says, she's been losing weight. She was molting and had ascaridia, which may explain why she started losing weight, but she finished molting and I've treated her ascaridia with levimasole and she doesn't seem to gain weight. (I don't know if I should give her more time, though, how much time would you wait before worrying?)

For a moment I thought that perhaps the levimasole hadn't worked but she pooped dead worms.

She hasn't lost her appetite. I don't know if she is eating less but I see her eating and she is interested in treats. Sometimes she has a very smelly diarrhea, though, I don't know if these are cecal feces or actual diarrheas, but I've seen some indigested food on the poop.

And I'd say she is a bit less active than usual. Not lethargic, but she seems to take more naps than usual.

Is there something in particular that I could try? Any special food, any vitamin?

Worst case is she has some intestinal damage from the worms.
I think I'm correct in writing using antihelminthic drugs when a hen is moulting is not recommended. Did you do this?

It is also possible that the dosage given hasn't done the job. A different type of wormer or better still a poop sample sent to a lab might be a good idea. If you do, then send a sample of cecal and normal poop.

Sometimes chickens have more than one type of worm and another wormer with a wider spectrum and a longer dosage period can be more effective.

Fish, drained canned tuna/mackerel. Any cooked white fish. Chopped liver in small quantities. Scrambled egg. Kefir (live yogurt).

 

[MaeM]

Worst case is she has some intestinal damage from the worms.
I think I'm correct in writing using antihelminthic drugs when a hen is moulting is not recommended. Did you do this?

It is also possible that the dosage given hasn't done the job. A different type of wormer or better still a poop sample sent to a lab might be a good idea. If you do, then send a sample of cecal and normal poop.

Sometimes chickens have more than one type of worm and another wormer with a wider spectrum and a longer dosage period can be more effective.

Fish, drained canned tuna/mackerel. Any cooked white fish. Chopped liver in small quantities. Scrambled egg. Kefir (live yogurt).

Well, this is a rescued hen and when I first got her, she had coccidiosis. I did a lab and she also had two other worms, one of them was ascaridia, I can't remember the other (it starts with H...). She was treated with two different drugs, she stopped pooping with blood but now that I think about it, I didn't see a lot of normal poops coming out of her... like, ever. Perhaps she's had intestinal damage since then. But it is the first time that I see her losing weight and pooping entire grains.

I did not choose her medication, a vet did. But it is a different vet and he gave me medication to pour on her water, so it is hard to calculate the dosage that she actually had. The other vet gave me liquid medication to give her orally with a syringe, I think that's far better, but he refused to see Eris (and other birds) due to the avian flu this time.

I'm going to ask him if he can still do a lab.

In the meantime, I will feed her what you said. Is there another thing I can do for her? How do I take care of her is she has some intestinal damage?

 

[MaeM]

I've just seen her poop.

So here's her most recent poop:

 

[MaeM]

Did a lab. She has coccidiosis again. The vet gave her treatment but warned me that it's probably chronic by now. Hopefully the meds help her regulate the amount of parasites and her symptoms, but he basically told me there's nothing else to do.

 

[Kiki]

Did a lab. She has coccidiosis again. The vet gave her treatment but warned me that it's probably chronic by now. Hopefully the meds help her regulate the amount of parasites and her symptoms, but he basically told me there's nothing else to do.

What did the vet give you to give her? What meds?

 

[MaeM]

What did the vet give you to give her? What meds?

A compound of Sulphaquinoxaline + Sulphadimethoxine + Trimethoprim + Vitamin K to pour in her water for 3 days, then rest 2 days, then other 3 days.

She is having the 2-day rest now but I can see that she already feels better. I mean, she is more active. I'm still worried because she is still underweight but that is not going to improve overnight, unfortunately.

The vet told me that I should repeat the levimasole treatment next month as well, as roundworms in general tend to reappear.

 

[MaeM]

Guys, she ended her treatment for coccidiosis and had a second round of levimasole for roundworms but she is still pooping mustard-like poop.

I can't see undigested food this time. I do see dead roundworms.

The problem is the consistency. It's almost liquid. Brownish but no "turds".