Panting and wasting,on Di-Methox for 2 days already. Ideas?

[openheartnp]

Hi

My 26 week old pullet became lethargic 6 days ago, small green poop, poor appetite. My newbie mistake I waited, but after 3 days of force feeding and water by dropper I put the flock on Di-Methox for possible coccidiosis. I know she has been drinking it. Appetite and mood improved slightly, 2.5 days later. BUT, she is panting and it seems to be getting worse. No wheeze. I still have to make her eat.

I've noticed more cecal-type poop in the run also.

Also, she hasn't laid an egg in quite a while. I felt her all around, there doesn't seem to be an egg in there.

Thoughts?

 

[Alfred's Mama]

If it's not some kind of infection you might want to check for gapeworm as the symptoms can cause severe respiritory problems, the problem is that sometimes antibiotics need a good few days to kick in and improve the situation if it's an infection; but, if it's gapeworm and you don't treat them for it right away it gets up in the trachea and suffocates them - ideally you should find a good antibiotic that can be used in safely in conjuntion with a gapeworm treatment, if possible always try to run these things by a good vet, it can be costly but saves alot of heartache, especially if like me you're a beginner to keeping chickens. My silkie Alfred is currently ill with a very up and down appetite, I found that he couldn't manage the size of his grains because he was too weak to open his mouth wide enough for them and kept dropping them - it might be useful to try your hen with some some wet food, I mushed up some garden peas, finely chopped bread, some long grain rice (boiled), millet seed (boiled til soft), all mixed up to make it like a porridge consistency, adding a little water at a time until it's just right, serve it slightly warm in a shallow dish, a plastic coffee jar lid washed out is perfect, deep enough to hold the food and shallow enough to encourage her to eat by herself - if you can get your hands on some dried meal worms try adding those too; just always remember to keep an eye on any sick chicken around food and water dishes. And keep her incubated, I use a reptile's heat mat under a fleece blanket - a little warmer than room temperature. Good luck with her, it's horrible when they get sick

 

[Alfred's Mama]

I almost forgot, try using some dioralyte childrens powder mixed in water, it helps keep them hydrated when they have loose droppings