Please help. Possible heat stroke, or sick?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

It's been pretty hot here. Nothing intense like I see some people post about, but high 80s with lots of humidity and very little breeze. Our coop/run is shaded and we offer plenty of fresh water and frozen treats, and will mist down the run at peak hours. Thus far they've been fine, albeit with some panting here and there.

Today, however, at the peak of the afternoon heat, we noticed that our 16-week-old ISA brown pullet was hiding at the back of the coop panting pretty dramatically. She did not run to greet us like the rest, even when treats were offered--this is very unlike her. Just a few hours before she was acting fine, eating and drinking and scratching around. We were thinking she could have been suffering from heat stroke.

We were able to mist her down with the hose and even partially submerged her in some water. That seemed to stop the panting. However she has still been acting listless, disinterested, and has just been standing very still, sometimes falling asleep in place. We now have her inside where it is about 74 degrees F. It's been about an hour.

She is still not herself and shows little to no interest in food or water. Here are my questions:

• Do you think this is heat stroke, even though she's not panting or showing other signs?
• Does it take a while from them to recover? Or, could she be ill? (Her comb and wattles are very red, but I know that can only capture so much).
• Is it possible that she's egg bound at only 16 weeks?

Anything else we can do? Their regular water has electrolytes this week due to the heat, but we can't get her to drink since we've noticed her ill.

Here is "Buffy" currently:

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes when getting a fecal test is not easy to obtain, one can just go ahead and worm and treat with Corid just in case. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer 0.23 ml per pound, given to each chicken once and again in 10 days is helpful to treat roundworms and cecal worms. But give it for 5 straight days to treat more dangerous worms such as capillary and gapeworm. Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Some chickens may have a puffy or slow crop with coccidiosis, but keep an eye on it, in case she develops sour crop.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My birds often pass watery poop when it's hot because they drink more water than normal. I not sure that's coccidiosis poop, but you can treat her with Corid if she's still acting really unwell. Maybe feeding her some egg yolk would help, too.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

***UPDATE 2*** She's now lying down napping but I've noticed her mouth is open again. It's cool in here so I'm worried it no longer has to do with the heat.

 

[Eggcessive]

How does her crop feel—empty and flat, full, firm, soft, or puffy/boggy? I would keep treating with the Poultry Cell 2 ml daily, and offering water often up to her beak with a small scoop or cup. I place drops of water on any foods I feed to a sick chicken. Mixing water into chicken feed is a good way to get water into them. Where is your general location? Is it a warm humid area where worms might be a problem? Have you wormed recently? Corid is really safe for all chickens, and it is not an antibiotic. It won’t hurt to treat them. It can be hard to know exactly what is going on without testing the droppings for parasites. In the pictures, her crop looks a bit large.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'd go with what Eggcessive suggests.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can treat just her or your whole flock. Here are 2 good articles that give a lot of info about how to tell if you are dealing with a crop problem:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

***UPDATE*** She now passed this yellow-green water poop. I'm worried if she has cocci I need to get her off Rooster Booster and start her on Corid. Any suggestions? Crop is soft, so she doesn't have much in her.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Thank you for responding. We will try scrambled egg yolk and hopefully she'll eat that. If not, should we syringe her food?

I hesitate to treat her and the whole flock with Corid if I'm not more sure, but I also know time is of the essence with that sort of thing. I feel so sorry for her!

My birds often pass watery poop when it's hot because they drink more water than normal. I not sure that's coccidiosis poop, but you can treat her with Corid if she's still acting really unwell. Maybe feeding her some egg yolk would help, too.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thank you for responding. We will try scrambled egg yolk and hopefully she'll eat that. If not, should we syringe her food?

I hesitate to treat her and the whole flock with Corid if I'm not more sure, but I also know time is of the essence with that sort of thing. I feel so sorry for her!

It won't hurt to treat with Corid. Syringe feeding is difficult imo because there is a danger of aspiration. Hydration is more urgent I think. Is she not eating or drinking at all?

Honestly, she looks pretty good. Her comb is nice and red and she looks pretty alert. Is her poop still bad? I'm wondering if a little TLC and cooler temps might not help. Unless she's taken a turn for the worse, you might be able to take the "wait and see" approach.