Please help. She's not moving or eating.

[Dora'smom]

Don't be hard on yourself. You worked really hard to try and figure out what was making her ill, and I'm sure she knew you loved and cared for her a lot.

 

[HayesBartonBiddies]

I have a hen that we just brought back from the edge of death. I think she got too weak/uninterested n food/something. After taking her to the vet, we had to force feed her with a tube/syringe several times a day with this "remedy" food that you mix up like pancake batter. I think they get really low-energy once they're undernourished. So, my only idea would be to force feed her to get her energy back up- several small meals a day. make sure not to get it in the little slit/hole that is her trachea - don't want to drown her.

 

[HayesBartonBiddies]

I'm so sorry- didn't see that she had died before I responded. Ton's of people's chickens die. We all do the best we can. I'm sure she got more love and attention than 99.999% of chickens in the world so don't be hard on yourself! You tried your best!

<3

 

[Miss Lydia]

Don't beat your self up you did everything you could for her. Now just focus on the ones you have left and take care of them as best you can. We all learn from our experiences. So sorry it had to end the way it did. I have lost 2 in the last month, it's very hard.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

bawkbawkbawk, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It's hard when you don't know what caused it, and therefore, what to do. I wanted to suggest a potential problem that your might look for and it's poultry ticks. They can cause paralysis. I just discovered them in my coop a few days ago and the way I found them was by droplets of blood feces from the ticks (your description of blood made me think of this). They are apparently very common in the southwest. You can easily check for them by going into the coop about 30 min. past sunset and look for them on the roosts your birds are standing on and surrounding areas. Here's a link with pics of them: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=401831

Here's what the Merck Vet. Manual says about them:

Argas persicus is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical countries and is the vector of Borrelia anserina (spirochetosis, Avian Spirochetosis: Introduction). In the USA, the A persicus complex has been divided to include A sanchezi and A radiatus in addition to A persicus . These ticks are particularly active in poultry houses during warm, dry weather. All stages may be found hiding in cracks and crevices during the day. Larvae can be found on the birds because they remain attached and feed for 2-7 days. Nymphs and adults feed at night in ~15-30 min. Nymphs feed and molt several times before reaching the adult stage. Adults feed repeatedly, and the females lay 50-100 eggs after each feeding. Adult females may live ≥4 yr without a blood meal.
In addition to being vectors of some poultry diseases (eg, spirochetosis, aegyptianellosis), fowl ticks produce anemia (most important), weight loss, depression, toxemia, and paralysis. Egg production decreases. Red spots can be seen on the skin where the ticks have fed. Because the ticks are nocturnal, the birds may show some uneasiness when roosting. Death is rare, but production may be severely depressed.
After houses are cleaned, walls, ceilings, cracks, and crevices should be treated thoroughly (using a high-pressure sprayer) with carbaryl, coumaphos, malathion, stirofos, or a mixture of stirofos and dichlorvos. Cracks and crevices should be filled in.

You'll know if you have them within minutes of looking, so it's definitely worth the effort. Hang in there, I'm sure a lot of us are hoping for the best for your other two birds.

 

[Jenski]

Oh crud. I am so sorry to hear about your hen. You and your vet sure worked hard to save her.

As others have said, please don't beat yourself up over this. While it is always appropriate to review our poultry husbandry methods and ask ourselves how we can improve, I have found birds to be the most challenging animals to keep. Don't get discouraged! There are a lot of things at play here, including genetics of the particular lines of birds. Keep enjoying your poultry, keep learning, do your best, and wish your lovelies a swift Journey when their paths lead elsewhere.