Please help, sick chicken, pictures enclosed

[slfiggins]

Saturday morning I found one of my light Brahmas dead in her hen house. I saw no signs of illness in her. She just mysteriously passed. Sunday I looked over all the girls ( I have 2 Brahmas, 3 Plymouth Rocks and 3 Buffs). I noticed that one of my Plymouth Rocks looked different. Her comb and waddle were a pale orange color and her eyes were yellow. She was secluding herself from the flock and was huddling in the corner.

I have had her in a tote in the basement for the last 48 hours. She looks to be drinking and eating only slightly. Today I put her out in the yard to free range with the other hens and she only stood there. She eventually climbed up on our deck and just stood in the corner. I noticed as she climbed the stairs her balance seemed off.

I posted pictures above. The first picture is of her and her pail comb and waddle. The next picture is of one of my healthy Plymouth Rocks, notice the blood red comb, the sick one used to look like this.

The bottom picture is of them together.

I am not sure what to do with her. I have no idea what is going on and if her sickness is related to the bird that died a few days ago. They are almost one year old and have seemed very healthy up to this point. I have been giving them Purina Layena pellets as well as some scratch every few days.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much.

 

[Judy]

I have no idea, sorry. Maybe something in here will help:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=15239

The only thing I can think of is to check the feed and the feeder for old or moldy feed. Anyone can find themselves with a bad bag of feed on their hands. I have to clean the crud out of the bottom cracks of my feeder regularly.

 

[kristen2678]

Does her poop look normal? Is she laying? I would keep her away from the others and warm. Maybe some electrolytes in her water, yogurt, scrambled eggs. Just something to get her going.

 

[slfiggins]

Since I have had her in the house (about 48 hours) she has not laid an egg. Her poop looked normal up until this morning. It is now runny and has streaks of green in it.

 

[kristen2678]

Runny with green... not sure. That might just be dehydration. Will she eat any treats or take any fluids if you give them to her? Any I've had in this condition have bounced back with isolation, fluids/electrolytes, and treats - yogurt,greens,corn,boss.

 

[slfiggins]

I just tried to give her yogurt and some green spinach. She won't take either right now. Will leave them in there for a bit and see if she takes to them.

 

[josebeth1]

I have a sick RIR with symptoms that sound identical at this point in time, but started out a little different. She's been in the house and very protected for 3 1/2 weeks after I discovered she was just a rack of bones one afternoon when she didn't leave the nestbox for treats. In addition to a frostbitten comb, for the first 4 days she drank incredible amounts of water. Just when I was starting to think diabetes (?), she stopped and I haven't actually seen her drink on her own since. She ate a very little bit at first, then very much on and off, and the last 3 days I've had to mostly force-feed except that she is still attacking tomatoes with gusto. I have tried lots of different foods and she was eating a little bit of some fruits and broccoli, but now it's down to just tomatoes. What I'm forcing in is ground up 20% protein feed mixed with a little honey and ACV (Bragg's) and water. I'm also forcing in a little extra water with ACV in addition to the food. Have ordered poultry Nutri-drench (we use the dairy formula with problem alpacas and swear by it) which should arrive tomorrow.

Same bleached out look on her face and I think her legs/feet look a little light compared to the other RIR's. Comb and waddle are lighter colored than normal as well. She really has no muscle/fat left and of course is asleep or lethargic all the time. Also seems to be a bit uncoordinated as well, but I wonder if that is just weakness from starvation.

Please does anyone have any other ideas? I've been reading the forum for three nights and lots of hours and am not coming up with anything!! This is a long time to have her be in this state with next to no change!!
thanks!

 

[Bleenie]

Is your Barred Rock hen thin? Have you checked for Parasites? Worms would be my first guess & they can cause paleness, weight loss & lethargicness, just liked you're describing.

I would seperate the pale hen, worm her & give her lots of yummy treats to get her to eat. ALSO worm the rest of the flock as a precaution. Piperazine is a good wormer that you add to their water, i believe you have to do a follow-up dose 1-2weeks after the first dose. Most feed stores carry it and it's not very expensive. Ivomec is best but it's pretty pricey.


ETA: because of weight loss, it can be hard for them to keep warm. So, if she's thin, it might be a good idea to bring her inside if possible or add a heat light, but I wouldnt trust that she'd stay under it... sick birds often don't act right

 

[GreenGoddess]

It may just be the way the picture makes it look but have you checked her crop? The pictures make it look like her crop is full but if she is not eating, it should be empty.. If her crop is full and you know she is not eating, she has an impacted crop and you will either need to fix the problem or cull her otherwise she will starve to death...

Goddess

 

[chicmom]

Would a yellowish look to the eyes and skin mean some type of liver problem? Perhaps they've gotten into and eaten something poisonous? I surely hope not........Good luck to you......