Necrotic enteritis or coccidia? Vets could not diagnose and not seeing improvement with current trea

[casportpony]

I've been amazed by the stuff they pass. Last peahen I treated started passing whole grains and grit seven days after being fed nothing but Kaytee.

-Kathy

 

[Free Spirit]

Me too @Free Spirit ! After seeing all that on xrays I don't know what to think but at least she is better tonight as far as how she seems to be feeling. By the way I don't think I've posted this but my name is Heather. Free Spirit to you go by your first name? Anyway thank you ladies, I guess we will see how tomorrow goes. If she starts passing the rocks at least we will know her tract is clear but I can't imagine it would be comfortable in the state she is in.

Nice to meet you Heather my name is Alecia (aka Free Spirit)

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[Free Spirit]

Any news?

 

[txhall3]

Yes Alecia! I was so looking forward to filling you and Kathy ( @Free Spirit and @casportpony ) in because it has been an interesting day. I will post a pic in a separate reply because I have to do it from my phone. Last night I checked on her around 10:30 pm and there had been no change. I had already given the 4th doxycycline dose along with the Tylan. Still bloody watery diarrhea. I changed her paper towels and went to bed with a heavy heart because I knew in the morning the 48 hours would be up and I would have to make a decision. I woke up this morning and went in about 7:45 am. Guess what?!? NO BLOOD ON THE PAPER TOWELS! Her poop was much smaller , still totally liquid but with more white material than I have seen in a week ( yellow too probably due to doxy.) During the day she has had a little blood but I would say a 90% reduction ( or maybe more). Stools are smaller and lots less liquid though virtually no solid material. Given the fact that she is eating virtually no solid food I'm guessing this makes sense. I went back to the vet today and got more Tylan and doxy so we will continue to take it day by day. She is still crying out after each one but it is not as intense and is less in duration. She is very tired ( some of it my fault because I gave her a warm water sink soak then had to blow dry her underside) and her crop is still emptying more slowly than I would like. My concern is for the rocks because she didn't pass any today. Hopefully there is no mass pressing on her intestines and blocking the way. Too soon to give olive oil or anything like that since we are finally starting to get the diarrhea under control. I'm guessing she got coccidiosos and then a bad NE infection. I guess time will tell what is going on in her abdomen. I so wish I had known about them wanting to over eat rocks and grit when they have a GI disturbance.I will feel awful if that is what does her in because I let her have free choice oyster shell and grit when we got back from the original vet visit. She ate a ton but I thought she was just depleted. Lesson learned for sure! She has maintained her weight since Friday but is so painfully thin. I went to give her a pain injection Sunday and could not find hardly any breast muscle tissue because she is so emaciated. She is 2 lbs 1 oz and should be 4-5 lbs. If she survives I'm wondering if I may end up taking a chicken to Mississippi for Thanksgiving break! Well, I was fostering 9 kittens one time and they all had ringworm and needed antibiotics ( and not many friends will take THAT on!) and so I took all 9 on vacation with my extended family in Gulf Shore, Al. That was quite the trip!

 

[Free Spirit]

Thank you so much for the update. Anything other than blood right now is good news. NE can do a lot of damage but it sounds like your treatments are making a difference toward healing. Just make sure she is still getting plenty of fluids to help flush out any residual bacteria in her system (and hopefully the grit too). Feed her as much as your both comfortable with to keep up her nutrition. Preferably the bird formula because it has probiotics to help her digestive system. Seems that she got hit pretty hard with this illness and needs some time to heal.

Hind site is 20/20 so don't beat yourself up. You're doing good. Keep up the good work.

Looking forward to seeing her picture.

 

[txhall3]

Thank you! Also I have tried to post poop pics 4 times via my phone and they aren't showing up. Not sure what is going on. Oh well, will try again later. Just checked on Lilah and she is very tired. No perching and not interested in either of her 2 favorite foods. I tubed 12 ccs so she has only had she has only had about 36 ccs today of 3:1 Katytee via tube and/or syringe. She has been drinking on her own as well . Her crop is emptying slowly so I don't want to over do it. hopefully tomorrow is a bit better!

 

[txhall3]

So very sad to let you know that when I went in this morning Lilah had passed during the night. I did not expect that . I guess we ask and sometimes God says "no" and that is sad but ok. Thanks to you ladies I know I did everything I could and that she was one very loved Chickie. I will still try to post a poop pic from yesterday to see what y'all think. The vet will do a necropsy this afternoon and hopefully will have some answers. I hope it is nothing I did to her unintentionally but even so I will have learned. I cannot thank you enough for all of the advice, support, and encouragement.

 

[txhall3]

Poop pic from cage yesterday morning.

 

[txhall3]

Poop pic from garage floor last night.

 

[Free Spirit]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Such a sad update. You did all you could - don't second guess yourself. Unfortunately things like this can and do happen. Do not blame yourself. You did your best and made her as comfortable as possible. She will live on in your memories and photo's.

White poop like that can be attributed to the kidneys. But I don't know exactly what it means in her case (dehydration, failure, IDK).

Please do let us know what you find out so that the information could be used to help another in the future.

-Alecia