Recovery from possible avian flu?

[BlueHenDel]

Ok, I kept myself from screaming HELP in the title line, but HELP! My 1.5yo PBR's comb was looking purplish, she's skinny, don't think she's laying (was a good layer), extremely lethargic, eyes closed. Looked like every chicken I've ever seen die/had euthanized. I put her in a small dog carrying crate in the bathroom with Rooster Booster electrolyte/vitamin water and a pellet/oatmeal/seed mash. I turned the light off. When I returned about an hour later and turned on the light, she was standing up, guzzling the water, and eating the mash. Her comb was no longer purplish. I gave her some plain scrambled egg and she chowed down. She did a stinky poop but I couldn't tell whether it was just a cecal poop or what. I have her on puppy pads. Yesterday, and last night, same regime. Today when I cleaned her cage there was a lot of watery diarrhea (but she's been guzzling that electrolyte water) that stinks.

My question, because I'm scared to death she has avian flu, is: Would a chicken that sick with avian flu rebound so quickly? I've already spent hours trying to find an answer to that online. Her comb is red and and she is alert, scratching and pecking, etc.

Update: She is back inside in her pet carrier, and I had prepared another oatmeal/seed/feed/kitten milk replacer/water mash for her, as well as wetting some of her pellets. She dove into the watery mash and knocked the little container over. I saw some pretty normal poop in the dog crate outside today: maybe she had knocked over the watery mash last night/early this morning and I thought it was watery-diarrhea? I don't know. Maybe I'm grasping at straws...but my co-pet-chickeners will understand.

TIA

 

[lbgreenfield]

That's good she is eating, drinking, and pooping now! I don't have experience with the avian flu. I thought purple combs hinted at possible circulatory problems, but I could be mistaken.
Have you checked her over for parasites/lice/mites? Very small, come out at night, around the vent/under wing/behind head. Has she possibly been getting chased from the food/water too, hence why she hasn't been able to eat/drink?

 

[Eggcessive]

I doubt that she has avian infuenza. You would have probably been notified if there was an outbreak in your area, and it is extremely rare. Heart disease could cause her comb to suddenly darken and then pink up when she is resting. Look for dehydration, and check her crop to make sure that it is emptying. Look her over for lice or mites. Try to get her drinking some water, and if you have some Poultry NutriDrench or other electrolytes, give those. Offer scrambed bits of egg, wet chicken feed, or canned cat food in small amounts to get her eating and hydrated.

Since she is young, but is no longer laying, she could be suffering from some reproductive disorder or even cancer. Let us know how she is getting along.

 

[BlueHenDel]

That's good she is eating, drinking, and pooping now! I don't have experience with the avian flu. I thought purple combs hinted at possible circulatory problems, but I could be mistaken.
Have you checked her over for parasites/lice/mites? Very small, come out at night, around the vent/under wing/behind head. Has she possibly been getting chased from the food/water too, hence why she hasn't been able to eat/drink?

Thank you so much! I do think she has slipped down the pecking order; the dominant hen can be quite aggressive. I haven't checked her for lice, mites, etc. because I can't see well enough. Usually I give an ailing hen a nice soaky bath and that may have gotten rid of parasites on some of my sick birds that I've nursed back to health in the past. Right now I physically need help to give her a bath. I have an appt with a vet on Thursday.

 

[BlueHenDel]

I doubt that she has avian infuenza. You would have probably been notified if there was an outbreak in your area, and it is extremely rare. Heart disease could cause her comb to suddenly darken and then pink up when she is resting. Look for dehydration, and check her crop to make sure that it is emptying. Look her over for lice or mites. Try to get her drinking some water, and if you have some Poultry NutriDrench or other electrolytes, give those. Offer scrambed bits of egg, wet chicken feed, or canned cat food in small amounts to get her eating and hydrated.

Since she is young, but is no longer laying, she could be suffering from some reproductive disorder or even cancer. Let us know how she is getting along.

 

[BlueHenDel]

Thank you! My anxiety just went down quite a bit! She is drinking lots of electrolyte water, and I gave her scrambled egg the first night and yesterday. Also I added a couple of pinches of dried kitten milk mixed in with her oatmeal/feed/seed mash yesterday. Today I put her in a regular dog crate outside and she was eating grass. She ate a small handful of their regular layer feed I put in there, so I added more in a bowl so I could determine how much feed she is really eating as opposed to fake eating.

Hope I have happy news to share after her vet visit Thursday.