Poppy is Unwell - What am I Missing?

[Aunt Angus]

Poppy, my almost 4 yo Orpington, has been sitting down a lot lately - maybe the last week.

Poop has been 100% normal, but she's not eating much. She's lost weight and her crop isn't full at night.

Her crop feels a little doughy, so I started treating her for sour crop using Medistatin.

No sign of mites or lice.

Eyes and nares look great.

Comb is a little pale.

Feed is Nutrena all flock and nature's best organic starter. Oysyer shell and egg shell free choice. They forage daily, so she gets grass and bugs and things.

Unsure of the last time she laid an egg.

What am I missing?

 

[-Shade-]

I had a chicken who had a similar instance. At first, she was just lethargic and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. She got skinnier and skinnier until she felt like nothing but feathers and paper. I wasn't sure what to do and I thought maybe it was just cold weather until she collapsed in the yard. We gave her garlic water and apple cider vinegar and a while later she recovered and is doing wonderful now. My mother believes it was probably parasites or some kind of worms. My suggestion would be to cut up garlic and put it in a small jar of water and soak it overnight. If you have VetRX use that too, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Don't use the all at once, I'd advise breaking them throughout the day. If you can, give her the apple cider vinegar through a dropper.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Have you given a dewormer lately?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Is her crop functioning properly? Normal poops?

 

[AraucanaMama]

This exact thing happened with one of my chickens in the past, and while I still don't fully know what the cause was, I do know what helped in my case.
I would start by isolating the hen in order to more easily manage diet. If you have other hens who are currently laying, take a syringe and draw out the yolk of someone else's egg. This next part might sound weird; but just trust me on this:
Pull down the waddle in order to open the mouth and feed her the yolk. This will give her lots of good nutrients, and should perk her up.

I would also suggest trying to find her place in the pecking order if you don't already know it. If she is lower in the flock, isolate her and or the top bird if you have the resources to do so. Part of the reason I think this happened with one of my hens is that at the time she was the lowest in the pecking order, and the other birds weren't letting her eat as much.

If the egg yolk is helping, continue to give it to your bird once a week or so, or when ever/if this is a problem again.

I hope this helps, and wish you the best of luck. Hope your chicken is doing well.

 

[Aunt Angus]

This exact thing happened with one of my chickens in the past, and while I still don't fully know what the cause was, I do know what helped in my case.
I would start by isolating the hen in order to more easily manage diet. If you have other hens who are currently laying, take a syringe and draw out the yolk of someone else's egg. This next part might sound weird; but just trust me on this:
Pull down the waddle in order to open the mouth and feed her the yolk. This will give her lots of good nutrients, and should perk her up.

I would also suggest trying to find her place in the pecking order if you don't already know it. If she is lower in the flock, isolate her and or the top bird if you have the resources to do so. Part of the reason I think this happened with one of my hens is that at the time she was the lowest in the pecking order, and the other birds weren't letting her eat as much.

If the egg yolk is helping, continue to give it to your bird once a week or so, or when ever/if this is a problem again.

I hope this helps, and wish you the best of luck. Hope your chicken is doing well.

The egg yolk is a good idea. I may give that a go.

Poppy is near the top of the pecking order. She's #3 in my flock of 18, I'm fairly certain.

I'm feeling like it's the start of something serious, esp since she seems to have sour crop. Wondering if I should start antibiotics...

 

[Aunt Angus]

Goodness gracious. I had no idea it has been going on this long!

Poppy is still with us, but she's very thin and weak in the legs still. I have her isolated with a buddy. I have been supplementing her with b complex for a few weeks now, and I've started antibiotics again.

She still eats pellets, though not as much as she used to. I give her egg sometimes, and I take her out occasionally to forage, and she does well, other than getting tired. Her poop is fine. Her color is great. Her eyes are clear.ungs sound fine. No injuries. No one is laying, but I see no evidence of anything like parasites or ascites or crop issues. I'm thinking it's cancer or something similar.

I think I will start tube feeding tomorrow.

Anything else I should try?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Goodness gracious. I had no idea it has been going on this long!

Poppy is still with us, but she's very thin and weak in the legs still. I have her isolated with a buddy. I have been supplementing her with b complex for a few weeks now, and I've started antibiotics again.

She still eats pellets, though not as much as she used to. I give her egg sometimes, and I take her out occasionally to forage, and she does well, other than getting tired. Her poop is fine. Her color is great. Her eyes are clear.ungs sound fine. No injuries. No one is laying, but I see no evidence of anything like parasites or ascites or crop issues. I'm thinking it's cancer or something similar.

I think I will start tube feeding tomorrow.

Anything else I should try?

Did you try deworming?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Did you try deworming?

Yes. I did a fecal float, too, and I didn't see anything concerning. But I'm not a vet, so maybe I missed something.

Maybe I'll try a diff med. I used fenbendazole. I can try Valbazen.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have no personal experience with anything but Valbazen so I always suggest that, but I've always read that fenbendazole is another good dewormer. How long ago did you give it? I'm assuming you went by a dose you found here? I'm so sorry she's not doing well. I hope you can take comfort in knowing that you have went above and beyond trying to help her get better. Sometimes our efforts pay off and other times they don't. How much weight has she lost? Is she losing a lot quickly? Before you start tubing, make sure she's hydrated properly. You probably know this but I always like to mention it just in case