Pale comb/wattles, very thirsty, no appetite?

[jeronica]

One of my Black Australorps, Ripley, has gone very pale in the comb and wattles. Yesterday she was a nice healthy red and behaving normally, as far as I could tell, but today she was taken a sharp turn. She doesn't run over like the other girls when I open the coop, she was completely uninterested in her feed or the vegetable peelings I threw in for them (normally a favorite), and she occasionally ruffles up her feathers and shakes her head. Despite the lack of appetite, she drank a ton of water when I brought out some fresh, until her crop was bulging out. I felt it and it was very soft, obviously only full of liquid.

When I went to check on them at "bed time," the other girls immediately got up and came over to visit me, yet Ripley stayed in the corner, eyes open and alert, but tail drooping.

I have been sifting through the forum for the better part of an hour, trying to match her symptoms to any one ailment, but I can't find anything that really adds up. Could it be cocci? Blackhead? Plain old dehydration? They have been going through more water as it's warmed up here, but I dump the waterer and rinse it every day before filling it up with fresh, clean, cold water; twice a day if it's very warm. I have some amprolium leftover from when they were chicks; should I go ahead and treat their water?

The girls are all 9 months old and have been laying since January. We lost one at the beginning of March, with no warning or symptoms that we could detect, but all have been in good health since.

 

[subhanalah]

I'm not sure what it could be, but I hope she pulls through for you.

I hope it doesn't go this way, but if she succumbs I highly recommend a necropsy to see if you have anything in your flick that could continue to affect your numbers.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I am guessing but only guessing Aspergillus.

BTW, what kind of food do you feed your birds?

 

[jeronica]

I am guessing but only guessing Aspergillus.

BTW, what kind of food do you feed your birds?

I feed them Scratch and Peck Corn and Soy Free layer ration, supplemented with additional free-choice oyster shell. I also offer them crushed granite grit free-choice.

They get vegetable peelings a few times a week, and freeze-dried mealworms as a rare treat (they're too expensive!), but no mealworms for the past month.

Is aspergillus very contagious? How can I treat it?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Is aspergillus very contagious? How can I treat it?

Aspergillus is not really a communicable disease. It is mostly associated with a chickens' feed or living quarters being moldy.

I am curious however about what is used in your soy free layer ration in place of expelled soybean meal. A complete layer ration is usually 16% protein with about half or more of the protein coming from soy and animal by products.

As far as I know there is no treatment for Aspergillus. Besides I am the wrong person to ask about treatments for sick chickens because I usually go straight to the culling axe when I have an ill bird. Now prevention, and vaccination, well that is another matter.

 

[3riverschick]

Did you check her ...could she be egg bound? Have an egg stuck in her she can't pass?
Best Success,
Karen

 

[jeronica]

Aspergillus is not really a communicable disease.  It is mostly associated with a chickens' feed or living quarters being moldy.

I am curious however about what is used in your soy free layer ration in place of expelled soybean meal.  A complete layer ration is usually 16% protein with about half or more of the protein coming from soy and animal by products.

I just checked the label on the feed bag, and it does claim to be minimum 16% protein, coming from peas and fish meal. They have been on this feed since they started laying, and before that were on Scratch and Peck corn and soy free grower from 8-20ish weeks. And of course I had them on their chick starter before that. I choose this brand because it's free of GMOs.

As for the mold issue, the grain is good and sweet-smelling, and their coop is basically brand new. They got an upgrade last month to the fancy new hen house my boyfriend built over the winter, and the inside is all waterproofed to ease cleaning.

Edited to add: I should mention that I am probably the last person to go for the culling axe We only have five chickens, and they are more like pets than livestock. We enjoy the eggs, which just barely exceed our family of four's daily needs, and my boyfriend's two sons are very attached to the girls (hence my questions about treatment).

 

[jeronica]

Did you check her ...could she be egg bound? Have an egg stuck in her she can't pass?
Best Success,
Karen

Thank you, for some reason I hadn't thought of that... I just went out to see them this morning and was able to feel along her abdomen, but I couldn't detect any lumps. She did poop while I was out there, and it appeared reasonably solid, if a bit green, but I did give them dark green veggie peels yesterday.

Her attitude has perked up slightly, she was pecking around a little and being more social. Her color hasn't improved much, though, and now she's really shaking her head quite frequently.

I forgot to mention in my original post that she is the bottom hen of the pecking order, and over the last few weeks she has lost about half of the feathers from the top of her head, I assume from the other girls pecking her. But the skin isn't broken, I haven't seen any blood at all, and she doesn't have any scabs or raw-looking skin.

Could the head shaking be a response to new pin feathers growing in? Perhaps it's just stress?

 

[Green Beans]

if shes getting better and you want to give her a little boost try some VetRX on her comb and wattle and beak. maybe a little in their water. my girls really like the stuff.

 

[subhanalah]

I just checked the label on the feed bag, and it does claim to be minimum 16% protein, coming from peas and fish meal. They have been on this feed since they started laying, and before that were on Scratch and Peck corn and soy free grower from 8-20ish weeks. And of course I had them on their chick starter before that. I choose this brand because it's free of GMOs.

As for the mold issue, the grain is good and sweet-smelling, and their coop is basically brand new. They got an upgrade last month to the fancy new hen house my boyfriend built over the winter, and the inside is all waterproofed to ease cleaning.

Edited to add: I should mention that I am probably the last person to go for the culling axe We only have five chickens, and they are more like pets than livestock. We enjoy the eggs, which just barely exceed our family of four's daily needs, and my boyfriend's two sons are very attached to the girls (hence my questions about treatment).

I've heard a lot of people having issues with chooks fed on some of the organic feeds. Not sure 8th those are included in the list, but I would try to increase her protein. This may be the result of malnutrition/starvation over an extended period of time. I should have marked that post. Who was it that wrote about that? Was it @hellbender maybe @dawg53?