Poorly hen - please help x

[Rachy]

My orpington girl is very unwell.

It started with her squinting her left eye, I originally thought she had gotten something in it, as she showed no other symptoms of ill health. When it did not stop and actually progressed to keeping it mostly closed I took her to the vets. He gave her an antibiotic shot, as eye problems can often be connected to respiratory problems. When I took her back for her 2nd shot 4 days later she had started squinting with her right eye.

A couple of days after her 2nd shot she seemed miserable and had started scratching at her face, so I took her back again. The vet took a scraping of her face and discovered she had microscopic mites, which would explain the scratching, miserable demeanour and to a point, her closed eyes. She was given a drop-on mite killer then and two further doses to be administered 10 days apart.

Since then she seems more miserable, spends a lot of time asleep. When she eats she finds it difficult to get what she is aiming for. I had originally thought it might be because she didn't have her full vision due to her closed eyes but now I'm not so sure. Swallowing food sometimes seems hard work and often, especially with mealworms, it hangs half out of the left side of her beak and she doesn't seem to notice, or it drops back out.

She is still enthusiastic about eating treats and also drinking. I have booked her back in to see the vet on Wednesday but I am SO worried about her. Any suggestions would be VERY gratefully received.

Thank you xxxxxxx

 

[stargirl]

So sorry to hear your girl is poorly. You've already tried everything I would normally suggest! It breaks my heart a bit to read about her struggles eating.

Is it possible she has a fungal infection? I've been reading up on these today for one of my girls, & it seems they're quite common. Antibiotics can make it worse, and wouldnt clear it up. If she's been scratching her face/eyes it's possible something is infecting the skin there, & if it's spread into her eyes it could well be making her very poorly.
Maybe ask the vet on Weds? Do you feel confident she'll last til then? You could try feeding her live yoghurt in the meantime.
xxx

 

[Rachy]

Thanks for your reply x It is heart breaking to watch her but she does get some down so I know she isn't staving at least! x A fungal infection is something we haven't thought of, thank you. I am able to take her tomorrow if she worsens but it's just the vet that has been treating her isn't there until Wednesday. I shall see how she is in the morning and will suggest the possibility of a fungal infection and will try live yoghurt. Thank you stargirl

 

[stargirl]

Your vet sounds like he's taking it seriously, so she's in good hands. As long as she's eating something she's good. Mine are crazy for yoghurt anyway so it might be a good thing to tempt her with, whatever is going on.
Is she pooping normally, for the amount she is eating?

Do keep us posted, I'll be thinking of you two! xxx

 

[Rachy]

Luckily, my vet has been very good.I will defo try the yoghurt, thanks! She has been pooping normally but recently it's been greener and watery, apparently a sign of not enough food going through her system and a build up of bile. I am stuffing her with as much food as she will eat, though it takes a bit of time. Thank you stargirl and I will xxxxx

 

[Suzie]

I had a chicken that was showing similar symptoms.... it was suggested to me that she had maybe eaten something toxic - I treated her with antibiotics and she improved - do you by any chance have mushrooms or toadstools within the vicinity? It was suggested that mine may have eaten mouldy food - I don't take exception to such remarks - it is so helpful to know that anything could have caused the problem and my feed was inspected thoroughly to ensure all was fit for feeding my chickens. All feedstuffs were fine - no problems there. We do have a lot of fungi here at this time of year......

Just a thought....

I hope your chicken gets back to normal health very soon!

Suzie

 

[Rachy]

Hi Suzie, thanks for the idea. I don't 'think' there's anything in the garden but it definitely worth keeping in mind for tomorrow 'cause you never know with chickens!.

Thank you xxxxx

 

[seminolewind]

When I worry about one of mine eating, I make mush out of their feed. Sometimes I add some yogurt, or applesauce. But most love the mush.

I know that when babies get antibiotics, it sometimes makes them feel sick, vomit , have diahrrea.

Or maybe she needs a different antibiotic. Not all antibiotics are for all bacteria. If she had mites and rubbed her eyes, she may have something more of a dirt germ, like staph. Sometimes respiratory antibiotics don't work strong enough on non respiratory germs. See if your doc thinks she might have a non respiratory infection. Your vet sounds good.

 

[Rachy]

Hi,

Thank you for your suggestions x I had a long chat with my vet and discussed everything mentioned. He is confident that the antibiotic administered would combat pretty much all.

To be honest he is at a loss, she doesn't seem to be responding to any treatment. A negative reaction to the drop on? A stroke? All these things were discussed. His final course of action is a steroid injection, it can herald miraculous results but it also may not.

Then it's being passed onto an avian specialist vet but sadly that is going to be very expensive. I shall wait with fingers crossed 'till Friday, when I have to report back. Please keep your fingers crossed for us xxxxx