Potentially sick bird - poop photos

[HeatherKellyB]

Any chance you asked about tube feeding to keep her going while giving her time to recover? If not, it'd probably be worth it to call tomorrow and ask. Her fecal was clear for all parasites? Have you checked her really well for lice and mites, well after dark? I'm cheering for her to recover and for you supporting her

 

[6BeachChicks]

Could you ask the vet for something like this?

 

[Grey Gables]

Any chance you asked about tube feeding to keep her going while giving her time to recover? If not, it'd probably be worth it to call tomorrow and ask. Her fecal was clear for all parasites? Have you checked her really well for lice and mites, well after dark? I'm cheering for her to recover and for you supporting her

Ah, NO! I totally forgot about that while I was there, but, she has started eating and drinking a LITTLE better over the last two days. Still not back to by any means. If I bring the dish over to her, she'll eat a little or take some sips of water. But that's definitely worth asking about in case she declines at all.

Yes her fecal was clear of everything. And I have checked and the vet checked her over for lice and mites -- no sign of anything. The barium x-rays are sort of pricey... but.... I think I'm probably going to take her in tomorrow for them. I want to give her a shot. She's a great little chicken. <3

 

[Grey Gables]

Could you ask the vet for something like this?
View attachment 2889737View attachment 2889736

Thanks for this recommendation! I can definitely ask about this, especially since she's still not back to normal with her appetite and I am concerned she's not getting enough nutrients to really feel better.

 

[Grey Gables]

When I went back into the vet after the barium xrays on Monday, they had determined it wasn't GI. She definitely had a thickened proventriculus (I believe that's what I was told). No real answers but she had dropped weight since she had been there Friday, which wasn't good. Basically was told there were two options:
1.) Euthanize and send her body to the Dept. of Ag for a necropsy
2.) Give her 2-3 more days and tube feed to see if she can put on any weight, just in case she's just weak from lack of nutrition

I felt like I had to give her one more shot, after all of this. Opted for the tube feeding. Was taught how to do that and they were using the exact stuff that was recommended above (EmerAid IC Omnivore). She was to be fed 3 times a day and we'd check in on Wednesday to see where she was at. Unfortunately by Wednesday, she still had no improvement and I could tell she was uncomfortable. I made the decision to have her euthanized. Ugh. Immediately after, I took her to the Dept. of Ag, along with the paperwork from the vet. I'm learning a lot from this... even just in procedure, how all this works with the Dept. of Ag.

If anyone is curious, at least in my state, the vet has to contact the Department of Ag and you have to bring paperwork from the vet. When I got there, they told me to come in without the body because there was even more paperwork to fill out. And obviously they have to be careful with contamination/infectious diseases. A guy came out to ask some questions and help me fill out the paperwork. I think either he was performing the necropsy or was kind of in charge of whomever was doing it? Couldn't do too much talking as I was still pretty emotional (and still am...). He was surprisingly gentle and always referred to her as Rachel, which I thought was very nice. He asked if there was anything I specifically was hoping to find out from this. I told him my biggest concern right now was to find out what's going on and if I need to be worried about my other four hens, if I need to do any kind of sanitizing (which I pretty much have already done and do occasionally anyway), etc. I know I MAY not get all the answers but I hope to find out why this all happened and if it's preventable or treatable, or if I just had super bad luck with chickens this year. Eventually when he had all the info, I had to drive around to another area where he met me in a white lab coat. And then he took her inside. I know a necropsy is absolutely the right thing to do here, but it's definitely hard for me to give her up for that.

If I get any more info, I'll update this thread in case it's useful to anyone. I know I rely on other posts here to get info and learn, so hopefully this situation can help others somehow. I really appreciate all the advice and help and support you've all given over the last week or two.

 

[Sara Ranch]

Hugs

 

[6BeachChicks]

When I went back into the vet after the barium xrays on Monday, they had determined it wasn't GI. She definitely had a thickened proventriculus (I believe that's what I was told). No real answers but she had dropped weight since she had been there Friday, which wasn't good. Basically was told there were two options:
1.) Euthanize and send her body to the Dept. of Ag for a necropsy
2.) Give her 2-3 more days and tube feed to see if she can put on any weight, just in case she's just weak from lack of nutrition

I felt like I had to give her one more shot, after all of this. Opted for the tube feeding. Was taught how to do that and they were using the exact stuff that was recommended above (EmerAid IC Omnivore). She was to be fed 3 times a day and we'd check in on Wednesday to see where she was at. Unfortunately by Wednesday, she still had no improvement and I could tell she was uncomfortable. I made the decision to have her euthanized. Ugh. Immediately after, I took her to the Dept. of Ag, along with the paperwork from the vet. I'm learning a lot from this... even just in procedure, how all this works with the Dept. of Ag.

If anyone is curious, at least in my state, the vet has to contact the Department of Ag and you have to bring paperwork from the vet. When I got there, they told me to come in without the body because there was even more paperwork to fill out. And obviously they have to be careful with contamination/infectious diseases. A guy came out to ask some questions and help me fill out the paperwork. I think either he was performing the necropsy or was kind of in charge of whomever was doing it? Couldn't do too much talking as I was still pretty emotional (and still am...). He was surprisingly gentle and always referred to her as Rachel, which I thought was very nice. He asked if there was anything I specifically was hoping to find out from this. I told him my biggest concern right now was to find out what's going on and if I need to be worried about my other four hens, if I need to do any kind of sanitizing (which I pretty much have already done and do occasionally anyway), etc. I know I MAY not get all the answers but I hope to find out why this all happened and if it's preventable or treatable, or if I just had super bad luck with chickens this year. Eventually when he had all the info, I had to drive around to another area where he met me in a white lab coat. And then he took her inside. I know a necropsy is absolutely the right thing to do here, but it's definitely hard for me to give her up for that.

If I get any more info, I'll update this thread in case it's useful to anyone. I know I rely on other posts here to get info and learn, so hopefully this situation can help others somehow. I really appreciate all the advice and help and support you've all given over the last week or two.

I’m so sorry to hear that. Sometimes people and animals get sick. You did everything right. You can’t keep a bird with no will, or strength to get better. They want to run around and do all sorts of chicken stuff. I can tell that you care about your hens, and some people would just put her to sleep without even trying to help. Your hen would agree that you made the right choice. Big hugs.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very sorry for the loss if your pullet. Please post your necropsy report if possible.