New Hen, Lethargic, Little to no appetite/thirst, white poop with green in it.

[DenverChickenGuy]

Hello there! As the title indicates we are dealing with a hen that is not feeling so hot and as new chicken owners we cannot diagnose her even after hours of research on here and elsewhere. Thank you in advance for any help and let me know if any other info would benefit the post.

1) 7-8 month old Easter Egger, recently bought her so can not speak to weight loss, feels smaller than our existing girls and the other 2 hens we brought home.

2) 1 day after we brought her home I noticed she was sleeping a lot, lethargic, not eating or drinking, we separated immediately. She would just sleep all the time and would/could not open her eyes. We brought her inside the house with a heat lamp to keep the temp around 80* She had been very very occasionally opening her mouth but no sign of gapeworm down throat or worms in poop from our checking, also from what we can tell she is not eggbound (I also read that birds will usually pass 24-48 hours after being eggbound so to me that indicated she is more than likely not since this has been going on for 4 days at this point.

3) 4 days, although she has gotten slightly better in the last 24-48 hours energy-wise but still not eating or drinking on her own.

4) no other birds, including the 2 other hens we purchased at the same time and place have shown the same signs.

5) no sign of trauma at all

6) No idea what may have happened

7) We have started feeding her (by a small syringe and very carefully) a mush of greek yogurt, layer feed, and fly larvae that have been ground up and turned into a mash using hot water. We have also been force-feeding water that is treated with CORID (just in case it is cocci though they said she was vax'd for it) and apple cider vinegar with unflavored Pedialyte mixed in.

8) Her poop, which she only poops 2-3x per day, is a white-ish/yellow liquid with little green bits mixed in, no signs of worms. The colors are throwing me off and making it difficult to pinpoint what is wrong. A link to pictures is included.

9) So far we have been force-feeding/watering as described and relying on corid in case it is cocci. Without a diagnosis we are unsure how to treat going forward and progress has been minimal so far. I see no signs of worms so have somewhat ruled that out but like I said, we have no clue at this point. Her energy levels have gotten better as she is alert now when we walk in her room and can/has kept her eyes open all day. It is a warm day in Denver currently and she is sitting around outside and occasionally moving about (still kept separate from our existing flock)

10) We would prefer to keep this at home treatment if we can

11)Unfortunately it would not let me upload pictures directly but here is a link.

https://imgur.com/a/6UJB7Tm

12) Straw bedding in the cage she is currently in.

 

[DenverChickenGuy]

@azygous @Eggcessive @casportpony

 

[azygous]

Cocciciosis vaccine doesn't cover all nine strains of cocidia. But the incubation period to symptoms is five to seven days from exposure to new/different soil. Would that mesh with when she first showed symptoms after bringing her home? If not, she may then have a bacterial infection. The stress of a new environment can tip a borderline infection into something full blown.

Here's a tip on heat and chickens. They are far more likely to suffer from being too warm than too cold. Eighty is a bit too warm for a critter wearing a down jacket that she can't take off. I sick chicken does better at temps above 55 but not over 75.

Call your nearest Tractor Supply stores and ask for amoxicillin. You will need to divide the 500mg capsule in half as the chicken dose is 250mg once a day for ten days. I find it convenient to use a small bite of bread dipped in olive oil, then used to sop up the amoxy dose. Sprinkle with a little sugar to kill the bitter taste and let her take it from your hand.

It's fine to keep treating for coccidiosis at the same time. You can give her a drench dose at .5ml undiluted syringed into her beak once a day for three days in addition to the Corid water. It will expedite the killing off of live coccidia.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you know if she was laying eggs normally when you bought her? The green poop is from not eating much, and yellow mucus could be reproductive or liver, or even possibly coccidiosis. Can you feel of her crop to see if it is empty and smooth, or if it is full and hard, doughy, or puffy soft? It should be empty first thing in the morning, and then fill up gradually during the day while eating and drinking. Check her skin under the vent, belly, and body for lice or mites. I would continue to give her Corid. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5 days. Undiluted Corid can be given daily 0.1 ml per pound as a boost.

 

[DenverChickenGuy]

Cocciciosis vaccine doesn't cover all nine strains of cocidia. But the incubation period to symptoms is five to seven days from exposure to new/different soil. Would that mesh with when she first showed symptoms after bringing her home? If not, she may then have a bacterial infection. The stress of a new environment can tip a borderline infection into something full blown.

Here's a tip on heat and chickens. They are far more likely to suffer from being too warm than too cold. Eighty is a bit too warm for a critter wearing a down jacket that she can't take off. I sick chicken does better at temps above 55 but not over 75.

Call your nearest Tractor Supply stores and ask for amoxicillin. You will need to divide the 500mg capsule in half as the chicken dose is 250mg once a day for ten days. I find it convenient to use a small bite of bread dipped in olive oil, then used to sop up the amoxy dose. Sprinkle with a little sugar to kill the bitter taste and let her take it from your hand.

It's fine to keep treating for coccidiosis at the same time. You can give her a drench dose at .5ml undiluted syringed into her beak once a day for three days in addition to the Corid water. It will expedite the killing off of live coccidia.

It was within 1-2 days after bringing home that we noticed the symptoms start so that timeline doesn't exactly mesh. Stress may very well be the culprit. I will snag some amoxicillin and we will give that a shot and hope for the best.

I'll go ahead and take the heat away, the normal house temp should be fine for her from what you are describing.

 

[DenverChickenGuy]

Do you know if she was laying eggs normally when you bought her? The green poop is from not eating much, and yellow mucus could be reproductive or liver, or even possibly coccidiosis. Can you feel of her crop to see if it is empty and smooth, or if it is full and hard, doughy, or puffy soft? It should be empty first thing in the morning, and then fill up gradually during the day while eating and drinking. Check her skin under the vent, belly, and body for lice or mites. I would continue to give her Corid. Dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5 days. Undiluted Corid can be given daily 0.1 ml per pound as a boost.

No egg laying that I know of. She was in a batch brought to our local feed store.

As far as the crop, if I have located it correctly it has just remained empty and smooth, especially given the fact she is not eating at all really.

No sign of mites, forgot to mention I had done a thorough search for those. Will keep up the Corid, keep her separated and hope for the best.