Pullet with diarrhea & moving slow & poor appetite

[themoldypeach]

My sweet lavender orpington is sick again. She got too hot over the summer & stayed inside with us a few days and she's back in the house again. I noticed she was hiding in the run when everyone else was out free-ranging. She finally came out to visit but ducked back in when the older chickens came up. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet so I put her in the dog crate in the den. I can't find any injuries ( we have some "eager" roosters ); neither she nor her hatch-mates have started laying. Yesterday I put apple cider vinegar in her water & today I treated everyone with Wazine (first time ever) but she doesn't seem to be drinking today or eating. She ate her scrambled eggs yesterday but not today. Her poop is runny but not bloody or dark. She is such a sweet little patient but I would appreciate any advice

 

[themoldypeach]

Still hoping for some advice. She is neither worse nor better this morning. I did catch her drinking some of her water with the wormer. But I can't see that she ate any feed. I have some oatmeal soaking now in hopes that she will eat that.

 

[FarmerJessie]

I have a bird who is having similar issues. This past spring, I lost a ben with the same symptoms. I tried treating her with tetracycline, but it did not help. I am thinking of calling my vet and asking if they might have another antibiotic I might try. I know when my hen was sick, some folks said she might have gotten into something while free ranging. This rooster hasn't free ranged for a while. I am hoping I can pull him through! Good luck with your hen. I will let you know if I find anything out!

 

[themoldypeach]

I lost a rooster last week but I chalked it up to eating something funky while free-ranging. But this is a hen that I dote over At least my kids can tell me where it hurts, these chickens are a lot tougher to doctor!

 

[cafarmgirl]

Well there are a lot of things it could be. So you need to start with the most obvious and easy to treat. I would pick her up and check her very carefully all over, check for lice/mites and see if she feels like she's lost a lot of weight. If she has any external parasites all the birds and the coop need to be treated. I would also run a course of Corid to rule out coccidiosis. After that I would deworm everybody with something safe and effective like Valbazen or Safeguard and do a repeat in 10 days. Wazine is only going to get rid of round worms and there are many worms a chicken can have. If none of those things help then obviously you are dealing with some other disease process and diagnosing can be very difficult without a visit to an avian vet.

 

[themoldypeach]

I have scorched her over thoroughly and nothing on the outside is wrong. I don't know if this matters but I know it is not usual, she curls her toes whenever I hold her. She seems to be wasting. Mostly runny, green poop. I made her get up & walk around today while I cleaned the crate. She waited patiently until I was done & then laid back down. Yesterday she was cackling but is quiet today. I put some yogurt, oatmeal & Nutridrench on the side of her beak but that only seemed to aggravate her. She has probiotics & electrolytes in her water and her regular Layena crumbles available but no go. No avian vet within a 100 miles of here.
The Wazine was all that I could find locally. Since I do have an indoor/outdoor cat, I thought roundworms the most likely culprit anyway. I treated the cat, too. I ordered Ivermectin pour-on and it should be in tomorrow - fingers crossed.
I have watched the rest of the flock closely & everyone else seems right as rain. I took down the poop hammock to look for anything out of the normal - lots of healthy looking poop.

 

[FarmerJessie]

I had sown left over Enrocin from my avian vet. I have been treating my rooster with it and he has improved significantly.

You have to get this antibiotic from the vet. If you call your vet they may get it for you. Mine is mixed 50mg/mL.

I hope she is still alive!! Good luck!!

 

[casportpony]

I had sown left over Enrocin from my avian vet. I have been treating my rooster with it and he has improved significantly.

You have to get this antibiotic from the vet. If you call your vet they may get it for you. Mine is mixed 50mg/mL.

I hope she is still alive!! Good luck!!

Enrocin is 5% (50mg/ml) enrofloxacin (generic Baytril) which you can get without a prescription online, just do a search for the Mexican version called enfloxil or search for "baytril for birds". Most of us use the 10% (100mg/ml).

-Kathy