Newbie with a listless chicken...need help, advice, miracle cure??!! :-)

[elizabeth1224]

I have an approximately 16 week old Buff Orpington (along with an Ameraucana and Buckeye) that I got in late June. Two weeks ago the little buff orp, who has always been on the sweet, shy, reserved side, just didn't look like she felt good. She sat perched a lot in the run, feathers puffed, just seemed listless. This was really her only symptom. Her poop looked/looks fine, she eats, although not as vigorously as the others, and she has no other external symptoms of illness/disease. I quarantined her for about 12 days, during which time the vet had me give her panacur to treat any potential worm issues, and I treated all the chickens' water with corid (for Coccidiosis). After that, I treated the water for 5 days with a vitamin/electrolyte supplement to replace vitamin B (per vet suggestion). She seemed to be acting slightly more normal. Two days ago, I returned her to the run/tractor thinking she might eat more if she were with the other chickens. But now I'm just not sure. She still appears listless. I see her eating and drinking, but she is very thin (breast bone protruding under her feathers). I described her the other day comparing her to a person with a heart defect or something. It's like she eats, drinks, free ranges (I let them out in the p.m.), but after a few minutes, she just has to rest and she will lay down for a bit, then get up and go eat, drink, etc. I'm at a loss at what to do. I've gotten sort of attached to her during her quarantined time. If anyone has ever had this experience and can offer some advice, I sure would appreciate it. I'm hoping she just needs more time to snap back (from whatever it is??). Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Judy]

I would probably try adding some powdered milk to their feed and giving a bit of yogurt mixed with a bit of feed (toss what's not eaten in a few minutes) as a snack for a few days, in case their guts are a bit upset by whatever -- cocci, meds, worms, etc.

 

[mithious]

Another option would be buttermilk, added to enough feed she can eat in about two hours then discard. It's going to take a while to build her back up, it sounds, from what you described, so be patient and give her as much as she can eat. When mine had cocci, and some were not eating, Fred's Hens suggested the wet mushy feed, and they LOVED it..even the ones off their feed were gobbling it down...best of luck and hopes for a fast recovery!!!

Oh, you might also want to pamper her a bit, while she recovers, and give her some alone time, to just rest and recoup...adding weight is harder than losing it, especially after all that poor girl has been through, but with lots of TLC and added rest and feed, away from the flock, I would hope, barring any unforeseen things, she should make a full recovery eventually!!! Poor dear!!!

 

[elizabeth1224]

Thank you for the replies and advice. I tried the yogurt and the buttermilk...she is pretty finicky. Won't eat it. I will keep trying though. She will eat the crumbles dry out of the feeder, just not as much as I'd like. And if I throw some cracked corn out, she goes crazy or about 30 seconds and inhales as much as she can off the ground (and will eat continuously out of my hand). I don't want her to eat too much corn though, do I? I went ahead and separated her again. Going to try to apple cider vinegar in her water after reading about the health benefits. I'm just trying to be patient. Thanks again for your help!