Possibly eggbound hen? Help!

[Eggcessive]

That is good news. Hopefully, she is on the mend.

 

[micstrachan]

Did your girl seem to keep responding to the Corid?

 

[ChristinaMay]

Did your girl seem to keep responding to the Corid?

Im having a hard time telling. She gobbled scrambled eggs yesterday morning but wouldn’t eat anymore the rest of the day. She’s moving around a bit more but only to move in circles she won’t walk forward more than a step. She drank a ton of water yesterday though. Still pooping the same, lots of clear goo and it smells horrible. Still lethargic but seems a little bit more aware. Comb is unchanged. Should she have responded more to the Corid after a couple of days than she has?

 

[ChristinaMay]

Hope your girl is ok! I've got one too that I'm concerned with similarly. She wouldn't roost tonight. I put her up there and she ended up falling off. Brought her into our front garage that has heated floors and she's just standing there in the middle of the tote (has straw on the bottom of it) but what else to do??? She's only 9 months old!! AND do you try and feed them or give water when normally they would be sleeping right now?

Honestly I just tried to gather knowledge of what could be wrong and started the process of elimination. I checked to see if she was egg bound (feeling her abdomen and putting a finger up there to see if I could feel an egg), then sour crop (massaged her crop and made sure it emptied overnight). I went to coccidiosis because of what her poop looks like (clear goo/dark green/white) and because after I stopped focusing on her pelvis I realized she has no breast meat - she’s super underweight. Now I’m trying to determine if it really is coccidiosis but I read it’s not harmful to treat them for it even if they don’t hVe it, so I bought Corid and she’s on day 3/5 for that now. I bought nutri-drench that I’m going to start giving her after I’m done with the Corid treatment to see if I can get her To put some weight on. I’m still at a loss honestly of what’s wrong. She’s definitely become more bloated since I brought her in too so I’m not sure what that means! I hope your girl gets better

 

[micstrachan]

If she were mine, I’d probably start her on a broad spectrum antibiotic. Between the bloat and smelly poop, she could have an infection. The fluid in her abdomen could also be from organ failure, cancer or a reproductive problem, which is common in hens, but I’d give the antibiotics a shot. I believe @azygous has had hens with similar symptoms from GI infections from digging in soggy compost and amoxicillin saved them, if I recall correctly.

 

[micstrachan]

Sorry, I did not mean to be so blunt. I’m sorry she’s having trouble and wish you both the best!

 

[ChristinaMay]

Sorry, I did not mean to be so blunt. I’m sorry she’s having trouble and wish you both the best!

No worries at all I appreciate the advice! I have fishmox that I've used on a sick hen before (absess) - would that be ok to use? Is it ok to use with Corid? I need to get some calories in her asap she is wasting away to nothing. I'm honestly afraid to shock her system with too many meds at once at this point. Thoughts? Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Corid isn't really a "medication". It only blocks thiamine uptake. Antibiotics are very often used in conjunction with Corid treatment to guard against necrotic enteritis, a serious bacterial infection associated with coccidiosis.

So starting your hen on amoxicillin is entirely appropriate. 250mg per day for ten days, and do commence with the vitamins after the last Corid dose.

You do not need to wait to feed high protein supplemental foods. Your hen will be able to fight off the infection if she is bolstered by high energy food such as egg, tofu, fish, and I'm only now just learning that fresh bamboo shoots are practically a miracle food, high in protein and nutrients, if you have access to that.

Did you ever tell us where your location is?

 

[ChristinaMay]

Corid isn't really a "medication". It only blocks thiamine uptake. Antibiotics are very often used in conjunction with Corid treatment to guard against necrotic enteritis, a serious bacterial infection associated with coccidiosis.

So starting your hen on amoxicillin is entirely appropriate. 250mg per day for ten days, and do commence with the vitamins after the last Corid dose.

You do not need to wait to feed high protein supplemental foods. Your hen will be able to fight off the infection if she is bolstered by high energy food such as egg, tofu, fish, and I'm only now just learning that fresh bamboo shoots are practically a miracle food, high in protein and nutrients, if you have access to that.

Did you ever tell us where your location is?

Ok, I will start amoxicillin today. She isn't drinking much - is it ok to turn the capsule into a paste and syringe feed it to her? I have been trying to get her to eat scrambled egg but she was only interested in it yesterday morning and has lost interest since. I was going to try tuna fish today when I get home from work. I did mention I was located in NY. I'm worried that she may have EYP. Shes a 4 year old red sex link and I can't confirm 100% as I have 3 red sex links, but one stopped laying awhile ago and I'm starting to think it was her. It's hard to tell too because mine usually slow down laying dramatically around October. Thank you so much for your advice and time.

 

[azygous]

People often don't realize it's easier to pop a pill into the beak of a chicken than to try to take it apart and mix the contents of the capsule with something. Chickens do not have any problem swallowing even large objects as long as they can close their beaks and swallow. They don't need water like we do to get it to slide down their gullet.

With uncooperative chickens, I pull down on the wattles or neck skin to get them to open their beak, then I pop the entire 250mg pill back onto the tongue and close the beak. The pill is gone in a split second.