Pale & lethargic pullet, company is comming!!

[blueberrychickens]

1) What type of bird , age and weight. GLW, almost 1 yr, no idea on wt.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. she was still on roost @ 10am, pale looking comb, looks shaky, took her off roost & she walked over to the corner & layed down
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? just this am
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?no
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. no
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. no idea, they were all free ranging ystrday...
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. IDK
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. IDK
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? None, I have company on the way from out of state & have been getting ready for that.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? No vet available in area that I know of treats chickens
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use in coop, pine bedding, DLM

I can't seperate her from everyone else right now & bring her in as I have company comming from out of state for brunch & I don't think the aunts will be too cool w/ a chicken in the dining room!
EVeryone was fine & running free yesterday, didnt notice anything wrong w/ her last night. Right now she's just sitting in the corner of the coop, not doing much, not being bothered by anyone. should I try to feed her? There is h2O in the coop, so she has access to that along w/ food. I'm not sure what I can do for her since I don;t know what is wrong w/ her!! Help!!

 

[dawg53]

I recommend you visually inspect her for lice/mites. What does her poop look like? Have you wormed her? When was the last time she laid an egg? Eggbound is a possibilty.

 

[hmmcc123]

I just had the same problem with one of my Australorps the day before yesterday. I went out to check on the chickens free ranging in the yard and I couldn't find her. When I did, she was just sitting by herself behind the coop. My chickens are about 12 weeks old and not laying yet. Anyways, she was lethargic and pale also. I took her in the house and straw fed her water. (I didn't have a dropper.) She ended up vomiting for quite a while. (I had to help her with this by tipping her head down and away from me.) I gently massaged her crop (that felt a bit mushy) and helped her vomit everything up. Throughout this process, I made sure to dip her beak in water or giver her a bit of water with a straw to keep her hydrated. I also comforted her by keeping her cool while she vomited and blew on the back of her neck. (Think about how you feel when you vomit.) Then I just let her rest overnight. I honestly thought she was going to die. I let her sleep on a pillow next to me on the couch. (Sounds crazy, I know, but I was so worried about her.)

The next morning she looked alot better so I gave her some plain yogurt and dipped her beak in the water. By the afternoon she was full of spunk and squaking to get out with her sisters! I ended up letting her back with her sisters later that evening however I would recommend a longer quarantine to make sure it isn't catchy. What I think happened to my pullet is she either just ate something bad while free ranging or she got sour crop. She slept in the coop last night and roosted with her sisters and is completely fine today!

Since you are short on time with company coming. I would separate her from her flock. Offer her water and try to help her vomit everything up. (Took about 1/2 hour.) Don't let her eat until her crop is empty. Then offer her plain yogurt. She should gobble it up. Then you can slowly add her regular feed to the yogurt.

Good luck! I hope your chicken feels better soon!

 

[ChickLover98]

I was thinking eggbound, too. Those are the same symptoms poor Chica had, too. She may be overheated, too.

 

[blueberrychickens]

well, she is out in the run w/ the others, pecking around looking for morsals of food, still seems a bit "off" but at least shes out w/ the group, I'm not sure when she last laid an egg, & she hasn't been wormed ever, but she has no mites that I can see. Do you think I need to worm them all???

 

[blueberrychickens]

Crop feels fine, not impacted or hard. How can you tell if she's egg bound???

 

[hmmcc123]

Quote:
Does her crop feel almost kinda mushy and empty? Like an inflated balloon?

 

[blueberrychickens]

Yes, kinda mushy, why? what does that mean?

 

[blueberrychickens]

Dixie is better today, eating & out w/ everyone else, maybe she just ate a bad bug or something.....?

 

[Anianna]

Is her crop still mushy? If it is, it may be sour crop, but if she is feeling better today, she may be getting through it. Put some apple cider vinegar in her water to help clear any mucus she may have in her system that could make it difficult to clear the crop. Also, make sure she has grit available to aid in digestion. There is a little more information on sour crop and treatments in the first link in my signature.