One hen not doing so well

[jayceesue]

I have seven hens - 3 for four months (red sex link) and 4 for two weeks (Cinnamon Queen). They are co-mingling very well in free range. I am in Mississippi and it has been in the upper 90s for most of the past week.
One of my original 3 didn’t come out of the coop when I opened up on Friday morning. When I went back in about 15 minutes later, she was still lying down inside with beak open. I petted her and then picked her up (the original 3 have never let me pet them or pick them up). When I set her on the ground, she sort of fell over and stayed there. I was super concerned at that point and came onto the BYC site looking for answers. I got some ivermectin and put that in the water for all the hens. I left this sick hen in the coop and put a fan up so air was flowing through the coop to help cool her off. She stopped eating. She barely drank.
Yesterday I put her into a crate and brought her inside my house where the air conditioning is running all the time. She hasn’t moved much at all. I used a syringe to get some water into her. I noticed that she won’t or can’t move. I placed a dish of water in front of her and a couple times her head would practically fall into the bowl and she would catch herself and get her head back up.

this morning I took the crate outside early but left her in the crate with the door open so the others could see her, thinking this would help. She perked up ever so slightly But when the heat started I brought her back inside. We went to tractor Supply and got the sac a chick electrolytes and made a batch for all the hens. I used a syringe to give some to the sick hen. Then I read on BYC about dipping the beak into water and the bird will swallow some so I have done that every thirty minutes or so.
Friday when she was in the coop she was lying with her wings open. Since I moved her into the crate, she just lies there.

I don’t see any injuries on her legs. The feathers on her breast area seem matted. She is no longer sitting with her beak open. I don’t know what else to do. I am sad because I don’t know what to do and I’m afraid she is going to die. I’m a novice at this and want to do the right thing.
Please give me some ideas on things to do for her or things to look for To help her

 

[azygous]

It sounds like heat stress. Do the elctrolytes have sugar? Sugar water should be given with electrolytes for shock and heat stress. The symptoms she has are compatible with heat issues.

If she doesn't respond to the sugar and electrolytes, then it's some other issue. It would be wise to check her crop for fullness and monitor her poop. Not eating, the crop should be empty.

 

[jayceesue]

The third ingredient on the electrolyte package is dextrose so I think I will say yes to the sugar question.
The crop feels empty. There hasn’t been any poop in 24 hours.
I just checked on her and she seems a little more alert I think. Still not moving but I put the crate in our guest room shower and left the door open just in case she does start moving. I would rather clean up after her then keep her locked in.

I will post in the morning with an update. Thank you so much for your response.

 

[jayceesue]

She is still with me! I hope it’s not my imagination but she seemed a bit more alert. I placed the crate outside for about an hour so she could see her friends and then set her back inside. I have been dipping her beak into the water bowl about once an hour.
I took a photo of her this morning.

 

[azygous]

Have you let her out of the crate to check her balance and mobility? Those should be improving. She looks pretty alert.

 

[jayceesue]

I juat took her outside for a few minutes. If I held her up she was looking around. When I let her go, She would fall over Slowly. She did fluff up her wings a little. This isn’t much but it’s better than it was yesterday. She still isn’t eating and I am dipping her beak into the electrolyte water every 30 minutes or so.
How long can it take for them to return to normal? I’m still very worried of course

 

[azygous]

It can take a few days. That she's showing progress, even small, is a good sign. Keep up the electrolytes with the sugar. It takes a while for the glucose and electrolytes to get back to normal.

Offer her some soft boiled egg or even raw egg. I sprinkle some dry crumbles in the crate to interest the patient into trying to eat by exciting the chicken urge to search for stuff on the ground.

 

[jayceesue]

I tried the food ideas and she wasn’t interested. She took a little more water but she not a lot.
This morning I took her outside in the crate and her balance is still the same. She won’t Or can’t stand up But does look around when she is outdoors. The other hens came up to greet her and a couple even got into the crate for a moment.

I gave her some more water and she took a little. Do I need to force her beak open to get food and water into her?

 

[azygous]

Yes, it may be necessary to tube feed and water her to get her strong enough to start to do it on her own again.

Chickens, like sick people, can reach a point where they're too weak to eat and need to be helped back from that brink in order to recover.

Tube feeding sounds technical and complicated but it's really very simple and easy once you have the right things to do it and understand how the food needs to go into the chicken.

Basically, the tube is inserted directly into the crop via the espophagus and then it's super simple to insert a syringe full of the liquid food and water into the tube. It's far less messy that trying to feed a chicken by stuffing food into the beak. (Think of a recalcitrant one-year old toddler.) Here's a picture of how to insert a tube or syringe into the esophagus.

 

[jayceesue]

I think I can do this. What sort of food should I put in the syringe and how much at a time?