New to chickens and would love some help!

[Marschro]

Hey all-
I have a young white leghorn (she's about 8 weeks old) and I noticed she is sick today. She's still on the medicated chick feed. She's overall super lethargic and has no interest in eating or drinking. She's also passing pretty loose and bright green poop. I have her isolated from the rest of the flock and gave checked her over. Her crop feels empty. Her vent looks clear. Her breathing doesn't sound raspy or struggling. There are no signs of nasal discharge.

Any help for what might be wrong, what to look for, and how to care for her would be super appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[Pork Pie]

I'm no ER experts, but adding vitamin supplements to drinking water certainly won't do any harm.

@Wyorp Rock ?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hey all-
I have a young white leghorn (she's about 8 weeks old) and I noticed she is sick today. She's still on the medicated chick feed. She's overall super lethargic and has no interest in eating or drinking. She's also passing pretty loose and bright green poop.

Hi @Marschro Welcome To BYC

How is she this morning?
Can you take her to a vet?
Any photos of the poop?
How long have you had her?
Does she free range/have access to anything else to eat beside the chick starter?
Any chance she overheated, got too hot?
Is she fluffed up, losing balance, etc?

Bright green poop could be a number of things, from diet or not eating, to infectious diseases to bacterial infection - having a fecal sample tested for cocci, worms and bacterial infection would be best.

Do your best to keep her hydrated.

 

[Marschro]

Hi @Marschro Welcome To BYC

How is she this morning?
Can you take her to a vet?
Any photos of the poop?
How long have you had her?
Does she free range/have access to anything else to eat beside the chick starter?
Any chance she overheated, got too hot?
Is she fluffed up, losing balance, etc?

Bright green poop could be a number of things, from diet or not eating, to infectious diseases to bacterial infection - having a fecal sample tested for cocci, worms and bacterial infection would be best.

Do your best to keep her hydrated.

Thanks so much for your help.
-She's still pretty sluggish and not feeling well this morning. I've been closely monitoring her and the other girls. No one is showing any odd signs. I haven't seen her eat or drink yet, so this morning I made her a yogurt mash and helped her eat little amounts with water.
- I haven't found any local vets that will take chickens at this point
- Today it's more yellow and watery
- I've had her since she was a couple days old. She's about eight weeks now.
- She also ranges in a fenced off area and I give the girls veggie scraps such as lettuce (no tomatoes or nightshade plants, or anything like that)
- I don't think she's gotten too hot. The coop is in a cool spot and the girls always have access to shade and water when ranging. She started showing signs yesterday morning.
- She's all ruffled up, but still walking around okay. She's not falling over, just walking slowly. She tends to lean to the side a bit when she settles down.

Thanks again so much for your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Most vets should be able to test a poop sample for Cocci, worms and bacterial infection.

@casportpony? poop photo

Since she is 8wks, sluggish, ruffled up, not eating/drinking, I would treat her for Coccidiosis. You can usually find Corid at feed stores and online. It is important that you get fluids into her. Even if it's not Cocci, the Corid won't hurt.

Dosage is 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder per gallon or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

 

[casportpony]

Yeah, that's not good. Would be best to get her to a vet. If you can't do that, you could try intensive supportive care.

 

[Marschro]

Do I need to treat the other girls for coccidiosis then too?

 

[Marschro]

Yeah, that's not good. Would be best to get her to a vet. If you can't do that, you could try intensive supportive care.

Thank you so much for your help! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Would you mind elaborating on what intensive supportive care looks like? Right now, I have her separate from the rest of the flock with access to food and water. She's not eating on her own, so I'm coming in every hour to help her drink and every couple hours to help her eat a mash with probiotics.

Should I give the other girls Corid as well?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Since you have her separated and the other girls seem fine, I would treat only her with Corid. (Corid won't hurt the others, but why treat unless you need to).

Kathy (@casportpony) would need to elaborate on her definition of "intensive supportive care" but keeping her hydrated would be #1. It's sounds like you are doing good by helping her every hour, but Kathy may have better suggestions.

I hope you can get her seen or at least get the poop tested so if she needs meds you can get them.

Please keep us posted.

 

[casportpony]

Supportive care

First - They must be kept warm, and the ideal temp for most of them is 80-85 degrees.

Second - Hydration. This is the part most people have trouble with. A bird needs no less than 5% of it's body weight per day. That means 23 ml of water per pound of bird per day. That is the minimum, usually they need more. Hydration must happen before force feeding. I recommend tubing fluids.

Third - Tube feeding baby bird food.

I am willing to teach anyone that wants to learn.