My Hen Izzie Floppy Pale Comb Too Weak to Walk PLEASE HELP!!! 5th day!

[my1smthop]

Hi! I have a hen that's comb turned pink weekend before last weekend. She hasn't layed in a while and is getting on up in years so I dismissed it as she has just stopped laying. Then early last week I noticed that her shanks were lighter yellow and her comb was beige in spots. She was still eating well so I just gave her some treats and went on. By last weekend I noticed that she could almost fly up to the roost but couldn't make it. I had to help her. I also noticed the day before that when she was taking steps it was like her legs were hurting. After the not being able to make it to the roost I noticed her being wobbly and off balanced. I immediately started surfing the net to help this hen. I couldn't find anything and then the next symptom sat in. Her comb has become slightly floppy, very pale, peachy and her wattles are shrunken up. As of four days ago she could no longer walk but she uses her wings to balance herself and move around in her igloo. I found the Madbush article and another one talking about worms with the symptoms I've mentioned. I'm adding it below.

http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1aj … ped-laying

I started her on 1ml of ivermectin three days ago I am very new at this so any help is greatly appreciated. At first I tried to just put it in her water the first day, second day of course no improvement. I put the next dose in her water again and came back to surf and try to find help. That night I knew she needed that full dose so I got a towel, threw it over her so I could pick her up and opened her beak and put the syringe in her mouth and that time i knew she got that dose. I also mixed up some electrolytes with her water and syringed her some of those. The next morning I did the same thing but also gave her some hard boiled egg mixed with medicated feed crumbles and yogurt. She ate a little but not much. Today she is much livelier and her eyes have a brightness in them again. My daughter and I spent about an hour and a half syringe feeding her electrolyted water, egg yolk, yogurt, medicated feed and I added some Nutr Vet vitamins. She still can not stand but tried a couple of times. While my daughter was hand feeding her I went in to get some dry food for our dogs and she started talking when I was pouring it out so I tossed a couple of pieces in front of her. She gobbled them up! I was so happy! She was eating! I ran and got some cracked corn and grower feed and brought it back but she wasn't interested. She also was done with the dog food. So my daughter feed some more electrolytes and some more of the yogurt mix and then we put her back in her igloo to rest. We will go back and feed again this evening. She's trying so hard. Is there anything else I can do for her???

I have checked her for mites and lice...none found but I really don't know what I'm looking for. No bugs on her face or when I spread her feathers...nice and clean, but her hinney is covered with brown poo from not being able to stand. How do I bath a chicken and what do I use to wash her with??? Should I give her a bath???

Also...crop is soft and squishey....I felt under her in the egg area and it's soft..I guess it would be firm feeling if there was an egg in there, I'm not sure, but she has lost alot of weight. Is there anything I can give her to help fatten her up? Also, Is there anything else I can give to help kick this mess??? There's no avian vet around me so all help is greatly appreciated! Izzie my hen would greatly appreciated it too!

Melissa

 

[Jenski]

Sorry to hear Izzie is not feeling well. How old is she? Are you able to post close-up photos of her, including her face?

Sounds like you are doing a great job of taking care of her and trying to figure out what's going on. I don't have any suggestions at the moment, but others here may chime in. Hang in there!

 

[my1smthop]

Jenski, thank you so much for your reply! I'd appreciate any help you can give. I'm not sure of her age. I got her 3 years ago with my other rhode island reds at a sale barn. They said they were young hens but...who knows. She may be just an old lady now I'm not sure but this just came on her out of now where.

I am attaching pics of her laying with her wing spread. A couple of close ups of her face and a lovely pic of her poo. Yesterday afternoon she I went to check on her and she was out of the igloo laying on my deck so I don't know if she walked a few steps and layed down or if she used her wings as crutches to move herself. She did try to stand a couple of times but it's like when you're just starting to get over something and you feel like you can do it so you try then you realize you are just still too weak. That's kinda how she acted. Either way she is trying. She has decided that she likes my daughter feeding her much better than me and fusses at me when I touch or mess with her. She is trying so hard, I really would like to see her pull through this.

Let me know what you think of her pics. All suggestions and comments are welcome! I need all the help I can get!

 

[my1smthop]

Well, I don't think Izzie is going to pull through the night. We gave her some more Ivermectin, electrolytes and yogurt mixed with medicated feed. Also got her to take a tiny bit of watermelon but she is laying almost on her side and is panting, not yet gasping for air, but she's opening her mouth and closing it like we do when we're winded. She is just so thin.

I have two other hens and a rooster. They have had nothing to do with Izzie and have not been associating with her. One of my other hens that recovered from a raccoon attack looked pinkish in the comb tonight and I noticed that she was breathing heavy. My daughter said she had trouble getting up onto the roost but I didn't see her and my daughter is 6 so....IDK for sure. She usually loves a little dog food when I feed in the evening but tonight she didn't want it. I also offered her medicated feed and grower feed because she too is looking skinny.

What's going on with my girls??? I don't want to lose them all!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

 

[my1smthop]

Okay should I use sulmet and tetra on her? If so do I get sulmet in 12.5% liquid???? I don't know and I am sooo worried. Please please help me!

 

[my1smthop]

I am truly disappointed in this forum. I have read and surfed and surfed and thought for sure I would get some help or at least some advice. Other than Jenski noone has offered anything. I thought that's what this forum was for. Maybe I misunderstood.

My hen is still alive this morning so without any advice from here I'm going to start her on some tetramyicin 3tsp in a gallon of water. I do not have any sulmet but am going to try to get some today. I guess this is okay...who knows I can't get any help.

 

[Highlander]

If her crop is soft and squishy and her poo green (which suggests she is not getting enough food) then I am perhaps wondering about sour crop?

Sorry you feel you are not getting help. This is a busy forum and sometimes posts just get lost. Good luck with your hen.

 

[ranchhand]

I honestly don't have any answers for you, so my response is in hopes that someone will see this thread and know more than I.

 

[Jenski]

Hey OP, sorry you are feeling frustrated. From the pics you posted the only ideas I have are 1) e.coli or staph infection (this can migrate to wing and hock joints and cause that tendency to "walk" with the wings) caused by droppings in the food (e.coli) or skin injury that got infected (staph), 2) possibly milder form of botulism or other food-related issue, 3) fatty liver syndrome (hepatic lipidosis) from diet rich in carbohydrates over several months or years, 4) worms, though there are none in the droppings, or 5) she could be eggbound or an internal layer (situation where the muscles of the reproductive system begin to move eggs in the wrong direction, resulting in backup of underdeveloped eggs into the body cavity). [Ed. to add 6) Marek's disease, in which case you can simply keep her as comfortable as possible.]

Not sure if those possibilities help you at all.

For sure I would not give Sulmet. This is for bad case of coccidiosis, and the meds themselves can cause intestinal bleeding.

One other thought - - what is her crop like first thing in the morning? It is large and squishy? It should be relatively flat and empty. If it is not, there could be issues with crop stasis, which doesn't necessarily mean it is the cause of the problems, but it can certainly meddle with her health if there is food rotting in there. Just check in the morning to be sure.


If she were my hen, I would probably tend toward thinking it is an infection just because of the wing thing. I am fortunate to have an avian vet here, and I would have her checked first . . . but if I did not have access to him I might put her on a course of oral amoxicillin obtained from my regular vet, and the drug kills both e.coli and staph. I would have to feel pretty strongly about that diagnosis to begin treating, though, but since I am not there I cannot be sure.

If I could not get amox., I would probably keep her indoors in a kennel with soft food and electrolytes and just see how she did. Another full body check, including beneath the wings and on the bottoms of the feet (look for cuts) would not be a bad idea either.

If she is an internal layer, there is not much you can do. If she has a fatty liver, the only thing I could think of would be to eliminate all carb-based treats from her diet. There are more extreme treatments for this in humans, but I am not sure they are possible for a bird.

Sorry for all the rambling. Please feel free to PM me if I may be of any further assistance. Forum members with corrections or additions are encouraged to chime in.

Good luck!

 

[Jenski]

From Merck Vet Manual http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/204200.htm - - staph infection - -

Transmission, Epidemiology, and Pathogenesis:
S aureus and other Staphylococcus species are part of the normal flora on the skin and mucous membranes and are not thought to produce disease unless there is some breakdown in an environmental or immune system barrier. Most infections occur because of a wound, damage to the mucous membranes, or both. Infection can also occur in the hatchery as a result of contamination of an open navel. Birds that are immunosuppressed are also subject to staphylococcal infections. Staphylococcal septicemia is usually seen in laying chickens only in very hot weather. Once in the host, S aureus usually travels to the metaphyseal area of a nearby joint and causes osteomyelitis with subsequent spread to the joint. S aureus can produce disease locally at the site of entry, but the tendency to spread to the bones and joints is probably the most important feature of this disease.

Clinical Findings:
Infection most often manifests as a synovitis, with lameness being the most common clinical presentation. The bones and associated joints most frequently affected are the proximal tibiotarsus and proximal femur; the proximal tarsometatarsus, distal femur, and tibiotarsus are also involved when infection is extensive. Other common lesions include navel and yolk sac infections. Lesions that have been reported include green liver in turkeys, and liver spots and granulomas. In acute infections, mortality may be the only clinical observation.


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