Quiet and thin, I don't know what to do...

[Nixon's Chicks]

One of my girls is sick.
The rest of my flock does not display these features so I'm at a bit of a loss here, so I'm asking for help.
Judy, one of my Buff Orpingtons, is going down hill.
I picked her up today, and she's much thinner than she should be.
Her feathers seem to be a bit disheveled and she's not as perky as she used to be.
The thing is, the rest of the flock is fine.
I paid careful attention to the rest of the flock after I noticed that she was different, and everyone else is behaving normally.
Her sister, Jane, has always been bigger than her, but now, the difference is way too distinct.

As far as her environment goes, she lives in a coup with sand as ground(6-8" deep).
The shavings have Sevin in them, every time they are changed.
She has been vaccinated for coccidiosis.
She has been treated with Ivomectin 2 months ago. (this was due to a few flock mates having scaly leg mites, which Judy has never displayed, we treated all her flocks mates as preventative)
She only lives with chickens.

What could be wrong with her?
What can I do to help her?

This is Judy:


This is Jane:



This is the closest comparison shot I could get of the two of them:



This situation seems to have occurred in the last 2 weeks.

Thanks for any advice!!

Jessica

 

[Judy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/3569/have-an-emergency-disease-please-read-first/0_20

 

[Eggcessive]

Some things that it might be are worms, mites causing anemia, a crop problem (impacted or sour,) or coccidiosis.) Is she having any diarrhea, eating poorly, or being lethargic?

 

[Nixon's Chicks]

She's lethargic. But I did see her eating.
Tough to tell if she's eating less since she's with the flock.
My understanding was that that topical Ivomectin pretty much kills most mites and worms.
Since it's been 2 months, should I treat her again or with something different?
She was vaccinated for coccidiosis as a chick and the sand in the pen should eliminate that possibility as well.
I'd like to segregate her, but I'd also like to have a specific plan once segregated.

 

[ten chicks]

I would bring he inside so you can monitor her. Check her for lice/mites again,see if she is eating,check for any crop issues,look at her poop. There is something wrong you can tell by looking at her,tricky part is to determine what. So check her over top to bottom.

 

[casportpony]

She's lethargic. But I did see her eating.
Tough to tell if she's eating less since she's with the flock.
My understanding was that that topical Ivomectin pretty much kills most mites and worms.
Since it's been 2 months, should I treat her again or with something different?
She was vaccinated for coccidiosis as a chick and the sand in the pen should eliminate that possibility as well.
I'd like to segregate her, but I'd also like to have a specific plan once segregated.

Start by weighing her and Jane, that will give you and idea of how much weight she has lost. If you don't have one, get a digital kitchen scale from Walmart, Target, etc.

If she were mine I would:

• Weigh her daily
• Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust or 5% Sevin powder if stable
• Worm with fenbendazole 10% (Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste) at 50mg/kg (.5ml per 2.2 pounds) if stable
• Tube feed if not drinking or eating and/or losing weight
• Bring inside for observation and care
• Inspect poop

Once inside you can get a much better idea of what she's eating and what her poop looks like. If poop is not normal an antibiotic might be needed.

Crop feeding videos

These are using a crop needle, not a plastic tube.

This one uses a tube like I use

​

Crop feeding threads:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid#post_9910754
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-for-visuals-very-detailed-post#post_11652991
-Kathy

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Sorry you're both going through this. It's almost as tough for the chicken owner as it is for the chicken when they're sick as it's so difficult to figure out what's going on.

I would recommend that you take a stool sample to your vet. That can sometimes give you great insight as to what's going on and you're better able to treat the problem. If it's worms they can tell you and tell you what type so you can use the correct meds. Same with cocci. And there are other diseases that can be determined via a stool sample as well.

Any vet can do a chicken stool sample even if they don't treat chickens. Best of luck to you both!

 

[ten chicks]

After looking at her picture again,her crop looks rather full for one that isn't eating and is displaying weight loss. I would start with looking at crop issues such as impact. Check her crop in evening,after eating all day,should be full,check again in morning,before eating should be empty.

 

[Nixon's Chicks]

Thanks Kathy!
At 5 months old and only 2.5 lbs, an Orpington should definitely weigh more.
I dusted her with garden poultry dust, put her in a clean dog crate with fresh shavings. (when I say clean, I mean, I cleaned the whole thing and wiped it down with Lysol, so nothing should be alive in there)
I gave her .25 ml of Safeguard. I reduced the dosage because it said for goats to give .6ml per 25 lbs.
I figure at worst, I can give her more if the chicken dosage is that larger than the goats.
I checked her over and can't see anything physically wrong with her.
She did try to get away from me when I went to pick her up and she pecked at my hand when I put it in the crate, so that's a good thing.
She is not as active as she should be, but, could be alot worse.
I also gave her Heinz apple cider vinegar in her water. (1 tbsp/ 1 gal)
I'll do that for 3 days then switch over to water with vitamins, electrolytes and probiotics.
As I have her segregated, I can see what her bowel movements are.
And I will bring a sample to our vet. He's tested chicken poo for me before, even though he is not an aviary vet.

Thanks to everyone for your input and I'll report back with updates!

Jessica

 

[casportpony]

Goats and cattle do get less than chickens, they get 5mg/kg. Horses get 5mg/kg once or 10mg/kg for five days, just depends on the worm you're after. I read a study that showed Safeguard was very effective against most worms, including tapes and gapes when given three days in a row at 20mg/kg for three days. I think to get capillary worms it's 50mg/kg for five days, but haven't found the study that goes with that recommendation. All that said, you could do two more days of worming and feel pretty darn confident that you got all but capillary worms.

I'm on the iPad now, so will post more worming source stuff later from the computer.

-Kathy