REALLY WEIRD~she looked to be dying, but now is standing.

[kathk]

I have a Rhode Island Red who became lethargic & stopped laying in Nov/Dec. & spent $350 + 8 hours at the world renowned ISU vet. hospital. They gave me a sulfa med & "guessed" she had coccidiosis. While on the drug & after, no improvement. I gave her some rooster booster & in February she was back to her old self.

Then in May: stopped laying, pale comb, lethargic, lost a lot of weight, won't hardly roost, pooping neon yellow. She eats & drinks somewhat normally. Her crop felt impacted-large and firm/slightly squishy. I took her to an avian vet-$150 who "guessed" parasites & sent me home with a wormer. I wormed her and she became slightly more active, the crop feels more normal.

About 8 days ago I started Corid & I thought one of her wings looked less droopy (it drooped for about 3 days, I thought it was broken) & she was getting around & eating better, still not roosting at the top. She got up on the top roost to my surprise 2 nights ago.

Then last night she didn't roost, she was on the ground with her face in the dirt. I put her in a spare nest & this morning she looked dead. She couldn't keep her eyes open or stand, her head was flopping down. I tried to give her some sugar water & she couldn't swallow. I layed her down to die. Everytime I checked on her, she looked dead and twisted up, but surprisingly, when I touched her-she'd stretch a little.
When I was sure she had to be dead, I went out & she's just sitting there with her head up. I put her on the ground & she acts like she doesn't feel good, but she's STANDING! I got some baby vitamin & sugar water into her. I'm waiting to pick up an antibiotic, just to try.

 

[Eggcessive]

Bright yellow poop can be a sign of E.coli infection, common in internal laying, salpingitis, and egg yolk peritonitis. Antibiotics such as Baytril will treat E.coli, but most times antibiotics will not cure EYP. Crops become sluggish and slow whenever birds are sick. Most vets can confirm cocci with a fecal float--they don't need to guess. There are strains of cocci that can be chronic, and cause poor growth and laying. Here is some info about EYP and E.coli:
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...productive_system/internal_layer_poultry.html
http://www.hyline.com/userdocs/pages/TU_COL_ENG.pdf

 

[kathk]

My hen's still alive, but act like her eyesight is poor. She has diarrhea & sits around mostly. She will eat if I put it right in front of her. She's still on antibiotics & probiotics. Her comb looks a little better. We'll give her a little more time before culling her, which we've never done.