Poor sick girl :(

[khloee]

I have a silver laced wyandotte hen. About a week ago i noticed she wasn't really being herself laying around not foraging with the others. She's not one to let me pet her or even walk near her. This time I was able to pet her and pick her up. Upon realizing she most likely egg bound or sick I started to gently feel her abdomen. Her abdomen felt squishy so no egg there. So in case of some sort of contagious illness I have separated her from the rest of my seven others. I placed her in my basement on an old dog crate. I put a heating pad down with a towel on top. Fresh water and a bowl of food. She would not touch the food ( I put layer pellets, non-medicated chick crumble, scratch feed and even some meal worms). What chicken could resist this? I started calling all of the vet offices in my area. It was surprisingly hard to find a vet that would see my chick. The doctor did and exam, she had a fever of 106, runny stool/poop, and lethargic and weak. The vet ruled out egg binding. She thought i could possibly be salmonella or E. Coli, so she gave me an antibiotic to use for 14 days every 12 hours, then withdraw eggs 10 days after. The medication was called Metronidazde if any of you know about this. About 2 days after starting the medication her stool/ poop look a little more normal, still runny but some solid pieces. She look as if she were starting to feel better. About a day after she started to go down hill again. I sent in a fecal sample to my local vet and she tested negative for worms or any parasite. So my brain went back to possible egg binding. I felt her abdomen and it felt bloated and hard. so immediately I drew a warm bath and gave her a calcium supplement. After about an hour i went to check on her and no egg so i felt her abdomen again and this time it still felt bloated but slightly squishy. Is it possible she could be constipated from the medication she was on? If so how can I relieve her pain. Or do you guys think it could be something else I've over looked. She has eaten little and I've had to syringe feed her water occasionally.

 

[topochico225]

I have a silver laced wyandotte hen. About a week ago i noticed she wasn't really being herself laying around not foraging with the others. She's not one to let me pet her or even walk near her. This time I was able to pet her and pick her up. Upon realizing she most likely egg bound or sick I started to gently feel her abdomen. Her abdomen felt squishy so no egg there. So in case of some sort of contagious illness I have separated her from the rest of my seven others. I placed her in my basement on an old dog crate. I put a heating pad down with a towel on top. Fresh water and a bowl of food. She would not touch the food ( I put layer pellets, non-medicated chick crumble, scratch feed and even some meal worms). What chicken could resist this? I started calling all of the vet offices in my area. It was surprisingly hard to find a vet that would see my chick. The doctor did and exam, she had a fever of 106, runny stool/poop, and lethargic and weak. The vet ruled out egg binding. She thought i could possibly be salmonella or E. Coli, so she gave me an antibiotic to use for 14 days every 12 hours, then withdraw eggs 10 days after. The medication was called Metronidazde if any of you know about this. About 2 days after starting the medication her stool/ poop look a little more normal, still runny but some solid pieces. She look as if she were starting to feel better. About a day after she started to go down hill again. I sent in a fecal sample to my local vet and she tested negative for worms or any parasite. So my brain went back to possible egg binding. I felt her abdomen and it felt bloated and hard. so immediately I drew a warm bath and gave her a calcium supplement. After about an hour i went to check on her and no egg so i felt her abdomen again and this time it still felt bloated but slightly squishy. Is it possible she could be constipated from the medication she was on? If so how can I relieve her pain. Or do you guys think it could be something else I've over looked. She has eaten little and I've had to syringe feed her water occasionally.

Internal laying or ascites jumps out at me. Did your vet rule that out?

 

[khloee]

Internal laying or ascites jumps out at me. Did your vet rule that out?

I have thought about internal laying. I'm hoping it's not that. My vet has prescribed a new antibiotic. if that doesn't seem to work I will have to put her down. weird thing is, is she hasn't pooped much maybe 3 times in the last 2 days. And it's still super runny.

 

[tripletfeb]

Hows her crop? Empty, hard, squishy? Any smell coming from her mouth?

 

[khloee]

Hows her crop? Empty, hard, squishy? Any smell coming from her mouth?

Crop is squishy no smell but that was as of about 1:00 pm yesterday for me.

 

[Wezdin]

Unless I'm missing something the reason that she isn't pooping a lot is because she isn't eating. If she hasn't eaten in 24 hours and there is still stuff in the crop that is a problem.

 

[tripletfeb]

@Wyorp Rock Can you chime in and help with a possible crop issue please?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The doctor did and exam, she had a fever of 106, runny stool/poop, and lethargic and weak. The vet ruled out egg binding. She thought i could possibly be salmonella or E. Coli, so she gave me an antibiotic to use for 14 days every 12 hours, then withdraw eggs 10 days after. The medication was called Metronidazde if any of you know about this. About 2 days after starting the medication her stool/ poop look a little more normal, still runny but some solid pieces. She look as if she were starting to feel better. About a day after she started to go down hill again. I sent in a fecal sample to my local vet and she tested negative for worms or any parasite. So my brain went back to possible egg binding. I felt her abdomen and it felt bloated and hard.

I have thought about internal laying. I'm hoping it's not that. My vet has prescribed a new antibiotic. if that doesn't seem to work I will have to put her down. weird thing is, is she hasn't pooped much maybe 3 times in the last 2 days. And it's still super runny.

Crop is squishy no smell but that was as of about 1:00 pm yesterday for me.

Normal adult chicken temperature ranges from 105-107F.

An abdomen that is bloated and hard, I would take a guess that she's having some reproductive issues. Peritonitis, cancer, salpingitis, etc. can be common in laying hens. Symptoms of Ascites can sometimes accompany these conditions too.

Re-check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat or drink. Checking the crop during the day when a bird has been eating/drinking is not a good indicator whether it's emptying or not.
Symptoms of a crop not emptying often accompany reproductive disorders due to inflammation and/or blockage so it's not uncommon to have symptoms of both.

Sadly if she is suffering from reproductive disorder, then often all you can do is offer supportive care. This may include giving an antibiotic to help with infection. See that they are drinking/eating and see how it goes.

 

[khloee]

Normal adult chicken temperature ranges from 105-107F.

An abdomen that is bloated and hard, I would take a guess that she's having some reproductive issues. Peritonitis, cancer, salpingitis, etc. can be common in laying hens. Symptoms of Ascites can sometimes accompany these conditions too.

Re-check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat or drink. Checking the crop during the day when a bird has been eating/drinking is not a good indicator whether it's emptying or not.
Symptoms of a crop not emptying often accompany reproductive disorders due to inflammation and/or blockage so it's not uncommon to have symptoms of both.

Sadly if she is suffering from reproductive disorder, then often all you can do is offer supportive care. This may include giving an antibiotic to help with infection. See that they are drinking/eating and see how it goes.

Unless I'm missing something the reason that she isn't pooping a lot is because she isn't eating. If she hasn't eaten in 24 hours and there is still stuff in the crop that is a problem.

Internal laying or ascites jumps out at me. Did your vet rule that out?

Hows her crop? Empty, hard, squishy? Any smell coming from her mouth?

UPDATE: Sadly my hen passed away this afternoon. She had rapidly gone down hill very fast the last two days. This morning I had called my vet to talk about putting her down. Of course I got busy and had to call back in the morning which of course by now was too late anyways. I just feel a little guilty that I couldn't help her out anymore than I was trying. I just wish I would have ended her suffering earlier. I suspect she had egg peritonitis. Before she passed her last bit of poop was runny and almost completely yellow. Now she will be free ranging the fields in heaven with my beloved Rob another adolescent hen who passed due to first egg complications. All of this just proves that this is a cruel hard world that will kick you while you're down when ever it pleases. Thank you guys so much for your help trying to figure this out with me. Seriously thank you!

 

[tripletfeb]

UPDATE: Sadly my hen passed away this afternoon. She had rapidly gone down hill very fast the last two days. This morning I had called my vet to talk about putting her down. Of course I got busy and had to call back in the morning which of course by now was too late anyways. I just feel a little guilty that I couldn't help her out anymore than I was trying. I just wish I would have ended her suffering earlier. I suspect she had egg peritonitis. Before she passed her last bit of poop was runny and almost completely yellow. Now she will be free ranging the fields in heaven with my beloved Rob another adolescent hen who passed due to first egg complications. All of this just proves that this is a cruel hard world that will kick you while you're down when ever it pleases. Thank you guys so much for your help trying to figure this out with me. Seriously thank you!

I'm very sorry to hear that she passed