Mystery Chicken Illness?

[AzDuck]

Hi BYC,

I only have ducks, and can usually be found browsing the duck forums, however, my grandma's chicken is in need of some help. I have contacted our local mobile farm vet, but she does not normally treat chickens. She is willing to do the research to help out but is unsure of where to begin to look d/t the spectrum of symptoms. I would love to have some well-versed chicken owners help us get the ball rolling.

Dorothy's Case:
- Approx 3yr old Sapphire Gem

- Initially presented with what appeared to be a foot/leg injury and was hesitant to walk (we kept her in a small space and she seemed to improve slowly)

- Symptoms now include lethargy, unwillingness to move very quickly, a halt in egg production, and a very poopy vent (we've given her two "butt baths")

- We initially tried giving ACV in her water and then moved on to keeping her in her own enclosure with Rooster Booster

- She starts to look better, and then declines again a few days later

- She acts like she wants to go lay an egg, but never does

- We haven't found any signs of a lash egg

- Her poops look relatively normal in the grand scheme of chicken poops

- She's still interested in treats (corn, mealworms, etc)

Any ideas? It has been about a month since she first started acting a little "off." We thought maybe she'd gotten better, but a few days ago she was back to being very reclusive. Salpingitis? Her belly maybe feels slightly squishier than normal...ascites?

Thank you guys so much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about the hen.

She may be having some reproductive problems.
I'd keep her hydrated and eating, see that her crop is emptying overnight. Look for lice/mites. Deworming her may be helpful. If she can eat/drink on her own and move about, then she may enjoy being outside. If she's been separated from the flock this whole time, she may have trouble being re-introduced.

 

[AzDuck]

I'm sorry to hear about the hen.

She may be having some reproductive problems.
I'd keep her hydrated and eating, see that her crop is emptying overnight. Look for lice/mites. Deworming her may be helpful. If she can eat/drink on her own and move about, then she may enjoy being outside. If she's been separated from the flock this whole time, she may have trouble being re-introduced.

Thank you

We originally had separated her because we wanted to make sure it wasn’t something contagious, but after awhile it began to seem very isolated to her.

Once we started letting her out with everyone, she was improving a bit. Around 3 days ago she started acting like her leg was hurting her and didn’t want to move, sooo she’s back in her large enclosure by herself. She has fresh water and is still eating snacks (corn mainly since it’s her favorite). Luckily the enclosure she is in, is open and the others can visit with her through the wire on the outside.

Hoping maybe getting her started on some antibiotics will help

 

[Wyorp Rock]

An antibiotic may help if there's infection or might help reduce inflammation for a period of time.
What are you going to give her?

 

[AzDuck]

An antibiotic may help if there's infection or might help reduce inflammation for a period of time.
What are you going to give her?

I know ideally there would be a culture and resistance to figure out what kind of abx would work best, but at this point…there really isn’t anything obvious to culture. I may try and see if the small animal clinic near me will run a fecal exam or fecal float.

We are using Oxytetracycline currently in her water. She started on it yesterday.