Rhodie is listless, tail feathers down

[Romanov]

On Saturday, our Rhode Island Red was just standing in the coop yard with her tail feathers down. She was not walking around the yard, just standing there. She showed no signs of pecking at the ground, scratching for food or any other normal behavior. We separated her from the flock on Monday. Took her to the vet on Tuesday. He gave her Vitamin B and an antibiotic. Today is Friday and although she ate some angel hair pasta last night, she hasn't been eating very much or drinking water. We have tried to force feed her but very little was ingested.

We keep her in a cage that is large enough for a Doberman! At night, we keep her in the cage in the garage and bring her out onto the porch in the morning. I tried to give her more pasta this morning but she would not eat it. They LOVE pasta.

Does anyone know why she stands with her tail feathers down? Her eyes are clear. She doesn't look sick, but she obviously is not well. Listless, seems to struggle when walking.

Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you!

 

[ronnee27]

Hello i am new just joined as i saw your message rhodie sick i have one with same symptoms shes been like it a week took her to vets they gave her a multivit injection, then took her to breeder they seem to think she has been bullied by others and starved, i am hand feeding her. I cannot see any responce to your message, any advice

 

[Romanov]

Hi there - I am new to this board as well. I am sorry about your chick. I have not had any responses from this board except for yours.

I do know that my Rhodie has not been bullied. We have 3 Rhodies and 3 Buff-Orpingtons and the Rhodies rule the roost.

The vet said he really did not know what is the problem. He checked her out and gave her Vitamin B and an antibiotic shot. We took a stool sample in and there are no worms or other parasites. She seems to have improved a little since yesterday. She was laying down most of the time but today she is standing. But tail feathers still down.

Someone suggested that she is perhaps broody. I don't think so. She doesn't exhibit those kinds of symptoms.

Wish I could be of more help.

 

[ronnee27]

Hi how is your Rhodie, mine is up and down she just sits there im feeding her with layers meal mixed with water, my Ronne became ill the wednesday before yours, keep thinking of taking her back to vets then she picks up (I dont think vets really know about chickens) I am not having much luck at the moment this one, a light sussex with scaly leg and an ex battery hen who eats eggs. Gave her some with mustard today and a rubber one. Ducks are alot easier to look after, I have four of them two i've had for nine years. hope yours is ok let me know how your getting on.

 

[birdbrainbub]

i might be able to help u, dont know but what ll tell u wont hurt. first you might have a bug problem dust your birds and coop with seven dust or poultry dust. then give them a shot of tylon 50. a half ml, try warming your birds up and give them shot of b12 the next day and give them sugary foods to help perk up their energy. give them tylon for 5 days. ive had chickens that were down and tylon woke them up and b12 and sugar got their apptite up. none of these things will harm and they are cheap with amazing results.

 

[hrhta812]

She's uncomfortable or in pain, or just feeling lousy.

I had a hen with similar symptoms and after having her in a dog crate for 24 hrs, I realized she hadn't pooped at all. I gave her drops of olive oil with an eye dropper, as well as a couple drops of Nutri Drench. Then I was also giving her water that had electrolyte & vitamin powder mixed in [got at TSC].

I put her in a dishpan in the sink and soaked her up to her back in warm water with Epsom salts and massaged her crop a lot; I felt all under her belly while she was in the water and couldn't feel any hard spots or anything unusual. The next day, she started having very watery stool. After another day, she pooped more normal poop, and there was a big piece of hay sticking out of it - that hay had probably been impacted in her crop.

If you have seen her poop in the cage you have her in, try feeding her some scrambled eggs [no salt, pepper, etc.]. Usually they can't resist scrambled eggs.

 

[pjomega]

Sounds like it could be an impacted crop. I hsd a RI Red who showed these same symptoms, I took her to the vet, and it was an impacted crop.

 

[nestleaver1]

Have you felt her crop in the morning before she eats anything? If it is impacted then you will feel a lump on the top left of her chest. Normally the flat in the morning is flat then fills up as they eat. This can be caused by tangled grass or by gluten gathering from their food. This is a major evolutionary flaw in birds: there are no digestive enzymes in the crop so if something backs up here, it's not going to move by itself.
IF there is a lump there in the morning, you will need to break it up. This can be done by physically squishing the lump with your fingers (the windpipe is in the same area so be careful not to squish that!). Adding some proteolytic enzymes helps to break down the gluten and these are naturally present in pineapple, papaya and (I found out yesterday) kiwi fruits. My chicken was listless, tail down and reluctant to eat but no chicken can resist a mealworm so I pulped up some pineapple and kiwi with some mealworms, barley grains (less gluten than wheat) and her favourite budgie seed mix. Leave it to absorb for a while so she cannot help eating some juice. She might take little bits of fruit anyway if she fancies it. I did this over 2 days with crop massage as well. Put olive oil in the mix too, if you want. Try to get her to eat some before she goes to sleep and mush up the crop lump as much as you can. It can feel pretty solid and takes a bit of effort to squeeze it.
IF your chicken has a gluten impaction, this should clear it without needing to make her sick or using surgery.
I hope this is useful,
A chicken with her tail down is a sad, sad thing.
Good luck,
Kate

 

[fiddlebanshee]

How old is she? Was she laying? If she stopped laying for a while it could also be that she is laying internally, or that she is egg bound. Feel her lower abdomen just above the vent. I had a NHR like that and I felt a mass and a squishy balloon type area. I finally decided to put her down yesterday and did a necropsy. She had a lot of fluid in her abdomen and a mass of eggmaterial that had accumulated in her abdominal cavity.

But on the other hand, if you took her to a vet, I am assuming that he checked for that.

Did you worm them recently?

In stead of feeding pasta, see if she would go for something that packs a little more nutrition like a scrambled egg, or even a beaten raw egg. if she doesn't want to eat put some in a dropper and drip it alongside her beak, they will usually have a reflex to swallow that. Did you put electrolytes and vitamins in her water?

 

[Romanov]

Hi everyone - The Rhodie is much better. The vet gave her an antibiotic and some Vitamin B last week Tuesday. We kept her isolated until yesterday and then reunited her with her flock. While she was isolated she started eating her pellets, drinking water. We had her stool examined by the vet. No worms, no parasites. We also let her outside in another grassy area and she did just fine eating the grass, pecking for bugs, etc. Normal chicken stuff. The ONLY thing that has not changed is her tail feathers are still down often. Last night when I went to lock up the coop, I watched her as she tried to jump on the roost. Just didn't make it. I put her up there and she was there this morning when I let them out. Her wings seem to be working just fine; just can't seem to get enough lift!!! Maybe because of her tail feathers. She is acting normal with the exception of her tail feathers being down.

So good news - she seems over whatever was wrong except for the tail feathers.

Thank to everyone on this board for your help.

Regards,
Romanov