Please help me save my favorite chick! Is this Coccidiosis?

[JayBird+16]

I thought she should thave digested over night as well. Her crop was not as full as when I'd fed her the night before. It had gone down a little, but it was fuller than I'd thought it should be. It definatly wasn't full before I fed her. Now I'm wondering if there is some kind of blockage.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Here's another link I found that may help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=242413

 

[Barrett Farm]

I came to BYC to get some help with my sick chickens. I have been cruising through many of these Emergency/Disease/Injury posts. There are so many chickens dieing this slow death from starvation. They are refusing to eat and wasting away, and eventually dieing. Some users of this forum suggested worms and another suggested canker.

After watching 6 hens die the long slow death and seeing 5 birds with lesions in their mouth and throat, I culled all the birds with lesions and sent the one with the most sores in for a necropsy. The preliminary results state she was a healthy hen, but the cultures are not ready to be read.

I then called our Wildlife Rescue in the area. They confirmed that our county has a predominant history of Trichomoniasis aka Canker this year. They say it is a year with more cases than they have seen in a long time.

It is very important that we do a very through physical examination, like a vet or doctor would perform, on a regular basis. This means looking over the bird head to toe and opening up her mouth and looking into her throat. Know what your birds look like when they are healthy so a sick bird will stand out and look wrong.

If you own birds, call your county Audubon Society or a wild animal rescue rehab group and find out what they are treating in your area.

I might not know what they birds are dieing from until the next one dies and I ship her into the state's food safety lab. I Googled USDA Food Safety, called and spoke to a clerk who directed me to the organization in our our state. The can help you get you dead bird tested. If money is an issue, in CA, if you house under 1000 birds, it is free. Remember...don't freeze the dead bird, and ship it as soon as possible. Start your homework now, know what you need to do before she has passed.

So sorry there are so many of us going through this same problem!

 

[JayBird+16]

She doesn't seem to have a lesions, her breath is kind of stinky. There is still food in her crop, but it is not bloated. She seems alert, she makes the purry chicken when I talk to her, but I'm not sure how much longer she can go on with out eating. I have been force feeding her. When I put food in her mouth she'll eat it, but when I put a bowl in front of her she pecks at the air. I'm just not sure what else to try.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

What we did with our chicken was we watered down her food to the point that she could drink it. If she's not digesting solid food, then maybe you could mash up her normal food with some yogurt and egg, if you can get it into small enough pieces.
It's REALLY GOOD that she's alert and purring at you and trying to peck. That's better than our girl ever was. Actually, even the fact that she has lasted this long is good, from my point of view. Our hen died the day after we discovered that she was sick.
How stinky was her breath? Was it overpowering or just moderate?

 

[JayBird+16]

I'm feeding her oatmeal with a digestive emzyme I use for my dog added to it. It is really helping her digest. Before I added the emzyme her poop had undigested food in it. Now it looks like poop, but runny. She is not eating on her own, I sit with her and feed her about a 1/4 cup of oatmeal, electrolytes and some water a few times a day. I will keep this up until I see a change it her one way or the other. She alternates between sitting and standing, she's sleepy, but I would be too. She does pick at her food, but really isn't eating it. I will keep you posted if anything new developes.

 

[JayBird+16]

I've been doing a lot of reading, does this sound like Coccidiosis to anyone?

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

I'm glad to hear that she's doing better! It's really good that she's standing and that she's digesting her food better! I'm glad to hear that she's getting that much food and digesting it! I don't know why she wouldn't be eating on her own. I also don't know anything about coccidiosis, but here are some links about that, maybe they'll help. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=251161
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=255161
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=251858
http://farmingfriends.com/coccidiosis-in-chickens/https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=245393
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4616

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

How is your chick?

 

[JayBird+16]

She is still hanging in there. Yesterday I thought she wouldn't make it, she spent the whole day sleeping and could barly open her eyes. But then she was up all night, so maybe her schedual got mixed up and this morning she's perky. I'm still force feeding her, I've gotten really good at it. I did see her picking at her food this morning, she doesn't seem to be drinking, so I'm takng care of that too. Like I said, I'll keep going until something happens one way or the other.