need help with a sick chicken

[son-n-lawschicks]

i have a golden campine bantam that i baught at the chicken sale friday. it is acting weak but his craw is full.when he breathes in he has to lift his head and open his mouth. he closes his eyes so it may hurt to breath. anyone had this problem? if so what did you do? can my chicken be helped?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I hope you have this bird isolated from other chickens. As for what might be the problem, i don't know but maybe someone more knowledgeable will show up soon.

 

[Yoko]

i feel so useless!oh wait! i just remembered, once someone had a hen that was eggbound,it got really weak,they geve it suger water,i dont know how much though,but after that the hen was up and popped that sucker out!
hope it helps

 

[sammi]

"the craw is full"...

if he isn't eating and his crop (craw) is full, he might have an impacted crop..feel the crop and see if it feels lumpy or grainy..or hard like a balloon..
also, check for odor..

are you sure it's the 'craw" and not an air sac injury?

is he eating or drinking at all?

does he wheeze, or have a gurgling sound when he breathes?

describe his droppings..color and consistency.

there are several things it could be..but will wait for your reply..

in the meantime, do you have any poultry vitamins on hand?
or any Avian/poultry electrolytes?
try and get them asap..
until you are able to get them, you can use Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand, no iron..using an eye dropper, give 3 drops on beak once a day for a week or so, tapering off for a week..
in a pinch, until you can get electrolytes, you can give a little diluted unflavored Pediolyte or red Gatorade..(drops on beak if necessary)
see if he will eat some egg..

you can get the Poly-vi-sol vitamins at any pharmacy, and some grocery stores.

is there a TSC near you?
or a feed/farm store that sells medicines, such as Tylan 50 injectible?

this roo sounds very sick.

 

[son-n-lawschicks]

the craw is full and is grainy. he is eating just fine and drinking. i put teramycin(?) in his water yesterday. he acts like he is feeling better but he has trouble crowing. its almost like a sinus infection if chickens can get a sinus infection.

 

[tiki244]

well dont liisten to my advice here its wrong

 

[sammi]

keep us updated..
he might need some Tylan 50 injectible..
you can get it at most farm/feed/livestock supply stores in the livestock section.
and 1cc syringes with 22-25 gauge needles, alcohol swabs.

and yes...they can get sinus infections and respiratory illnesses..
give him some vitamins and extra protein such as cooked egg.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Crop stasis (that is when the system fails to move the feed out of the crop) can be caused by many things including an impaction. (grit is for a good functioning gizzard > avoid grit or grains and be sure remove any bedding they might be tempted to eat as this will only complicate matters when eaten) When this is the case a bird will often become dehydrated also so be sure not to forget to add electrolytes to the waterer when you are having crop problems.
The first thing you want to do is to temporarily stop feeding them (if it is not moving through out of the crop it often makes things worse) massage the crop and offer water with electrolytes and see if there is any improvement the next day. If the crop has totally stopped functioning and nothing has moved thru you are in a pretty sever situation .
Separate your bird and watch for other symptoms also and try to think back on any other symptoms or illness etc your bird may have had previously as many things can result in crop stasis ... here is some more info:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1161893898

 

[son-n-lawschicks]

he is doing much better but he still does not feel good. now i have a white faced black spanish bantam doing the same thing but she sounds alot worse. i have her isolated and am giving her teramycin also. she is not eating well but she is eating and drinking. she is very weak. i hope i didn't get someone elses problems from the sale barn. she is about 5 mths old.

 

[nnbreeder]

Also check inside their mouth for any white or yellowish sores, that could be canker. while checking the mouth take a flashlight and look as far as you can down the throat. If you see any red stringy looking things that is Gape Worm. Just a couple more things to check.