New Hen Showing Signs of Illness

[BantyChickenLuv]

Hi everyone,
This past weekend, I went to a show and purchased a trio of bantam Wyandottes. They seemed healthy and fine at the show, and I checked them for mites/lice at the show as the breeder mentioned that two he was planning on bringing that morning had lice - but these guys were clean. So I brought them home and discovered the cockerel had a very loud voice, and the hens as well as the cockerel haven't been handled much. On Tuesday, I noticed that one of the hens was not being as active as the other hen and the cockerel, and sleeping lightly in a corner, and her comb and wattles were a little paler then usual - when I bought her she had naturally pale comb/wattles. Yesterday we moved them to a larger breeding pen. Cockerel/hen were fine, and even the one that had me worried was digging around and investigating as well as finding dried mealworms I had thrown for them, so I figured she was just stressed from the move and was calming down. Tonight though, she was doing what she was doing on Tuesday - sleeping in a corner, with a pale comb/wattles. She didn't even get up when I threw more mealworms. Now I'm very worried about her. I don't want to loose another bird this year, I've lost 6 to hawks, including Flo, my sweetheart Cochin frizzle bantam. Tonight, I noticed the other hen would go up to her and peck her for no obvious reason. I know about the pecking order but this was a mean peck when she was just sleeping. The cockerel is being nice to her, but not paying her much attention. Tomorrow I'm planning on separating her and giving her a nice, warm bath. But I still don't know what's wrong with her. If maybe I had missed lice on her, wouldn't the cockerel and other hen be doing the same thing? Anyone who has any suggestions as to what's wrong with her, please share... Thanks so much.

Picture of her with the other two tonight:

Edited because I added the wrong picture.

 

[BantyChickenLuv]

Also, she is eating/drinking, and all 3 birds are in quarantine.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I would separate her from the other two. See if she is pooping, if it is solid, just uerates, color, etc. That will help with diagnosing a blockage in the food tract. If she is pooping fine, I would treat for Cocci and mites. Other than that I got nothing at this point.

 

[rbaker0345]

You mean Coccidia? Coccidia is a possibility, especially when the weather is kind of damp. Stress may have brought on symptoms of whatever she has. First check her breathing and make sure you only hear breathing, that there are no "catches" in her breathing. Then check her poop (this is why its probably a good idea to separate her). If its coccidia, you will notice diarrhea or bloody poop. Coccidia are a parasite and any vet would be able to analyse a sample of her poop and tell you if she has parasites such as coccidia, roundworms, strongyles etc. If she is carrying a large parasite load, you will notice some lethargy. You should also smell her breath, it shouldn't smell foul (no pun intended) or sour.

If you don't notice any problems with her poop, her respiration or her breath then, being that she is a new chicken and showing signs of lethargy, if she doesn't have diarrhea, I would deworm her with some piperazine or (even better) if you could get a broad spectrum dewormer from a vet. Then I would put her on some tetracycline. I would also put her on some lactose free kefir or some other kind of probiotic just in case the problem is sour crop.

 

[BantyChickenLuv]

Through the night she seems to have gotten worse. Tonight I'm going to seperate her, give her a bath, and dust all 3 of them with Seven dust. I'm gonna put her on electrolytes as well to see if that helps.

 

[rbaker0345]

I wouldn't bathe her, that's very stressful. I would go with a worming, kefir or probiotics and some antibiotics.

 

[KMHunter]

I wouldn't bathe her, that's very stressful. I would go with a worming, kefir or probiotics and some antibiotics.

X2. Don't bathe her. I would use something like Eprinex to de worm her, but I might actually start out by giving her the tetracycline. I know a lot of show people put their birds on antibiotics after shows due to the stress of the show and travel and the possibility of them picking something up while there. Just my 2 cents!

 

[rbaker0345]

X2. Don't bathe her. I would use something like Eprinex to de worm her, but I might actually start out by giving her the tetracycline. I know a lot of show people put their birds on antibiotics after shows due to the stress of the show and travel and the possibility of them picking something up while there. Just my 2 cents!

That's true, I had a hen come back from a show and she started with a sinus infection the next day. After a day on the tetracycline, she was fine (though, you have to finish the full 7 days)

 

[rbaker0345]

If I had to diagnose her just by looking at her attitude and color in that picture, I would very strongly say coccidiosis. That thought jut keeps nagging me whenever I look at her. The color especially.

 

[rbaker0345]

I hope some of this helps so that some day I can get some of her eggs on the swap page. Love those little Wyandottes.