pale comb and stumbling

[TheRoyals]

Hi
my 2year old hen (hybrid) has recently been falling over. I took her aside for some tlc and her comb is getting pinker, but she tried to run for some treats today and fell on her side, and couldn't seem to get up. What could be wrong. She seemed to be on the mend otherwise..

 

[TheRoyals]

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi
my 2year old hen (hybrid) has recently been falling over. I took her aside for some tlc and her comb is getting pinker, but she tried to run for some treats today and fell on her side, and couldn't seem to get up. What could be wrong. She seemed to be on the mend otherwise..

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

How long has she had a pale comb and been falling over?

Give her an over all exam, starting at the head. Look for any respiratory ailments like runny nose, watery eyes, listen to her breathing for any rattles in the lungs. Look for any bugs she may have....look at the vent area, behind the neck and under the wings. Usually mites leave the skin dirty looking, the bird may be shredding their feathers or even plucking them completely.

Has she been wormed recently? Feel her breast bone. Is she really thin? (you can compare her to the other hen) She could be overloaded with worms.

What exactly does her poop look like? Colors, consistency, etc...

Do an internal exam looking for a stuck egg. (not likely, but always good to rule egg binding out) Put on a disposable latex type glove. Lube up the index finger and gently insert it into her vent straight back. If she has a stuck egg, you will feel it within the first 1 to 2 inches.

Check her legs and bottoms of her pads for any bumblefoot or injuries.

Feel between her legs and back toward the vent, on the outside of her body. Her abdomen shouldn't be bloated or squishy. (feel the other hen for comparison.)

Could she have gotten into anything toxic?

Mareks Disease might need to be considered if it is none of the above. The bird will get weaker and weaker, continuing to stumble, using their wings to stabilize themselves as they hobble around.

See what you can find or think of after going over all these things I listed above.

Keep us posted!

 

[N F C]

Excellent tips on what to look for @TwoCrows !

 

[TheRoyals]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

How long has she had a pale comb and been falling over?
3 days but she is much more sterdy on her feet now and the colour is coming back in her comb

Give her an over all exam, starting at the head. Look for any respiratory ailments like runny nose, watery eyes, listen to her breathing for any rattles in the lungs. Look for any bugs she may have....look at the vent area, behind the neck and under the wings. Usually mites leave the skin dirty looking, the bird may be shredding their feathers or even plucking them completely. 
No breathing issues or runny nose, no mites or missing feathers

Has she been wormed recently? No she hasn'T i am waiting for treatment in the post as we speak probably at home right now.

Feel her breast bone. Is she really thin? (you can compare her to the other hen) She could be overloaded with worms.
she feels a little smaller than i remember. Shes a hard one to catch usually she loves running around

What exactly does her poop look like? Colors, consistency, etc...
It is runny and STINKS however has been getting more solid after a few dats of tonic
Do an internal exam looking for a stuck egg. (not likely, but always good to rule egg binding out) Put on a disposable latex type glove. Lube up the index finger and gently insert it into her vent straight back. If she has a stuck egg, you will feel it within the first 1 to 2 inches.
No egg found

Check her legs and bottoms of her pads for any bumblefoot or injuries. 
No sign of injury

Feel between her legs and back toward the vent, on the outside of her body. Her abdomen shouldn't be bloated or squishy. (feel the other hen for comparison.) 
Her vent is messy, and missing some feathers

Could she have gotten into anything toxic? Not that i know of, she has a oen but also free range in the top of the garden

Mareks Disease might need to be considered if it is none of the above. The bird will get weaker and weaker, continuing to stumble, using their wings to stabilize themselves as they hobble around. 
She appears to be on the mend ao hopefully not that.

See what you can find or think of after going over all these things I listed above. 

Keep us posted! 

Thankyou for your help

 

[TwoCrows]

Anything you can tell us more about her so we can figure out what might be ailing her?

Is she eating and drinking ok? Any blood in the poop and diarrhea?

 

[TheRoyals]

Anything you can tell us more about her so we can figure out what might be ailing her? 

Is she eating and drinking ok? Any blood in the poop and diarrhea? 

Hi! Camilla is 2 1/2 year old hybrid hen, she eats layer pellets and corn. She enjoys snacks such as weetabix, porridge and corn Amongst veg and some fruit occasionally. She has free range of the top of our garden with her housemate (who is fighting fit)
She has diarrhoea that smells really rancid. But is eating and drinking with no issues. She seems uninterested in bugs (which is unusual)
She occasionally falls on her side when running but is okay when walking around the garden. She struggles to get up once fallen. There are no obvious signs of trauma, and she has no palpable egg. Her vent is messy as are her tail feathers. Which some are missing.

 

[TwoCrows]

Are the feathers beneath her vent really gunked up? Do her feathers at her butt and vent stink really bad as well? If so, she could have Vent Gleet. This will cause weakness, lethargy and all that you describe her as. Here is a really nice article on Vent Gleet that you should take a look at. There are options to treat this and if you start these soon, she should make a full recovery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt

If you think this is something else, we can go from there. Did you check her breast bone to see if it is really thin or thinner than it normally is? This COULD indicate a few things...worms or coccidiosis. But look over the vent gleet article first and see if you feel this is more likely the case.

Keep us posted and I hope you can get her healed up soon!!

 

[TheRoyals]

Are the feathers beneath her vent really gunked up? Do her feathers at her butt and vent stink really bad as well? If so, she could have Vent Gleet. This will cause weakness, lethargy and all that you describe her as.  Here is a really nice article on Vent Gleet that you should take a look at. There are options to treat this and if you start these soon, she should make a full recovery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt

If you think this is something else, we can go from there. Did you check her breast bone to see if it is really thin or thinner than it normally is? This COULD indicate a few things...worms or coccidiosis.  But look over the vent gleet article first and see if you feel this is more likely the case. 

Keep us posted and I hope you can get her healed up soon!!

vent gleet sounds like it is! When bathing her do i just hold her gently in the water? (Ive never bathed a chicken before) i attempted to remove some of the gunk with water before but only for a minute or two

 

[TwoCrows]

Great! I think it is Vent Gleet too.

Fill up a tub or wash basin with some warm water. She may or may not sit down in the water, I find that many hens will sit down because the water is warm. The soaking helps to loosen up the dirt so as to clean all the yeast and bacteria's that might be on the feathers, vent and surrounding skin. I would also cut off some of her feathers below her vent too so this gunk doesn't build up as easy. Trim them to a 1/2 inch or so. Hold her in the water if you have too, you can add a bit if dawn dish soap if she is really nasty. When you have her all clean, get her out and you can use a blow drier on her to get her dry.

When she is dry, you can use some vaginal cream, if you have any, and rub plenty into the skin around the vent and just inside the vent too. This will help to cure the yeast infection. Do this every day after you bath her butt.

Put 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in a gallon of water or 1+ teaspoons of ACV in a quart waterer. Fill these with water. The AVC will help to raise the PH of her system and help to stop further yeast from growing.

If you have any plain yogurt or probiotics, add these to her diet or feed or on some special food she will eat. Do this daily. Probiotics consume yeasts and provide a health environment in her system to stop all yeast infections.

So....keep her butt clean with a once a day bath. Apply vaginal cream to her vent, area around the vent and you can also go into her vent aways if you want to. Use ACV in her water (change and make a new batch daily) offer up yogurt, powdered probiotics or some sort of cultured milk product daily. You can put these things in chopped hard boiled eggs, on bread or what ever her favorite food is.

Do all this daily for a couple of weeks. You should start to see improvement in a few days and probably can stop the bathing in a few days. Only bathe her when her butt is really messy. But keep applying the ointments and offering up the other stuff for a few weeks.

And keep us posted!! I sure hope this helps!!