ODD SYMPTOMS..... :0(

[daoustaj]

i have a 14 month old Welsummer hen, who is in poor health. It started this summer. In July, the hen became very pale, and lethargic not eating any food or drinking. After bringing her into the garage with sugar water, and feed, she slowly began to eat (starting with an apple). She perked up after a week, so i put her with the rest of the group which contains 8 other hens. She seemed slower than the rest of the group, and remained pale, never regaining color. Yesterday when i went out for my chores, she was lethargic again, still pale (since summer), and became spooked and went to run and fell over. in the run, she proceeded to sit all puffed up and kept falling asleep while standing. she had only swollen ankle. not the most tame chicken, i picked her up, and the was listless and limp. i put her back into the garage in a crate with food and water. the next day the perked up a bit, and snacked on an apple slice. now both of her legs are swollen. she has no sores or cuts, or injuries to her body or legs. it is winter and i live in Michigan,

keys concerns:
- summer episode began in july
- it is now december and hen has been pale since july....
-became lethargic and pale in summer,
- perked up but remain pale and quiet
- yesterday became pale and listless, falling asleep standing with swollen legs
- the chicken can walk normally, does not seem to be in pain and is not limping or hobbling.
- its odd once she is in the garage, she seems to perk up????
- got the welsummers and some others from privett hatchery 14 months ago.

i feed Dumour layer, give grit, fresh chop feed, with some oyster shells. the snack on lettuce and apples depending on the season, and when i don't have time to let the out, i put grass for them to eat.,

no other chickens seems to be ill.

my only idea is a bad heart/weak circulation? i am stumped!!! please help!!!!

THANK YOU!!


i discovered a possum has been steeling eggs( caught him red handed) and i have a trap set, but have seen no sign of him since i spooked him.The trap is only set when the chickens are roosting, and has not gone off so i dont think she was injured. the chicken shows no injuries.

 

[gander007]

If she hung in there for five months it sounds more like she
could use some vitamins and turkey grow or hard boiled
chicken egg's would give life back ... I had a rir do something
like this last summer, slowing down so I took her aside and
fed her turkey grow 20% protein and gave her some hard
boiled chicken egg's out of the shell and smashed with a fork
so as not to resemble an egg and put it in with some rice
veggies in a couple of weeks she was back to laying egg's
but I still keep an eye on her ......
Hope she gets better .........

gander007

 

[gander007]

For trapping, I got a tube trap it is a trap inside a pipe 5" round
as some of my birds I have had for more then ten years .......
Happy trapping but be safe and check often ....

gander007

 

[daoustaj]

her comb and wattles are still as white as i am in the winter................

 

[seminolewind]

Has she been wormed? Have you checked for mites or lice? You can get some good vitamins and electrolyte packages from poultry places online and maybe Tractor supply.

I would think anemic. Swollen legs, maybe cardiac. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. Can you keep her warm?

 

[Michael Apple]

I'm having a difficult time understanding why these symptoms began in July and now you are seeking a diagnosis. Hopefully something can be done here. Pale combs are a sign of anemia. Intestinal worms, coccidiosis, mites, bad nutrition can all cause anemia. The swollen leg joints sound like a symptom of E. coli, a very common disease in chickens, turkeys, ducks, quail, etc. It is a bacterial infection caused by a pathogen. The joints can swell and contain a honey colored liquid. Not only can it effect the legs, it can effect the eye, the gut, the oviduct. Unsanitary water and environmental conditions can perpetuate it.

Gentamicin is effective against E. coli so long as it hasn't progressed for too long. 6 months is a long time for disease to progress. Gentamicin is an injectible that requires 1/2 cc injected into the breast muscle once a day for 5 days. alternate sides of the breast each day you inject to avoid soreness. If you cannot get Gentamicin, the only other one I can recommend is Cephalexin capsules given orally. The dosage should be 250 mg 2x a day for at least 5 days.

If the bird responds well to either treatment, it will be important to supplement drinking water with vitamin, electrolyte, and probiotic powder. Avian Super Pack and Probios are two good quality brand examples. Moisten feed, feed scrambled eggs to encourage eating. Do not give yogurt or other dairy product based supplements until antibiotic treatment is finished.

 

[daoustaj]

after july incident, she remained pale (not nearly as pale as now) but perked right back up, and was laying good.

 

[daoustaj]

no mites or lice, checked her out real good, the others girls are still acting fine. would the possum have anything to do with this recent issue?

 

[seminolewind]

Possums carry all kinds of disease and even EPM which can kill horses. Even mosquitos can infect them with encephalitis (EEE), and West Nile.

It's hard to say if she's sick because I never think of layers as sick. And chickens were never bred to live long, just to produce a lot of eggs. So all kinds of funny stuff can be going on genetically and we would never know. I would just keep her on vits, and in the summer I have a pan of water outside so if anyone looks really bad from the heat I hold them in the water for a while. Or I just run the hose and make a big puddle.

 

[MTLandscaper]

Did you ever find out what sickness your bird had? I have one with the same symptoms - lethargic, pale comb, falling asleep standing all the time, loss of appetite.