Ruffled feathers, lethargy, runny green stools - Diagnoses and Treatment?

[LuvRchix]

My two year old hen has developed these symptoms and has had them for a few days. Any suggestions on what this could be and how to treat it? I've given her some yogurt and she appeared to perk up a little, but still doesn't seem to be showing much improvement. There doesn't seem to be any respiratory issues and she doesn't have blood in her stools, but her stools have an 'off' odor to them. Any ideas for diagnoses and possible treatment? Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What type of foods/treats do you feed?
Can you post a photo of the poo and her?
Has she lost weight?
Green poo can be an indication of not enough nutrition or some type of bacterial infection. With her being puffed up, I would think infection.
Can you take her or even a sample of her poo to a vet for a fecal testing so they can help pinpoint of it is bacterial. If it is she will need antibiotics.
In the mean time see give her some vitamins/electrolytes in her water, if she won't eat her dry feed you can try it wet. A hard boiled/scrambled egg or tuna will give her a boost in nutrition. If she is wasting, you may need to tube feed her.
You may also want to pm @casportpony and see if she has any suggestions.


http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/625340/no-energy-and-bright-green-poop
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/diseases.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/101/necrotic-enteritis/

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It is really hard to diagnose poo without a photo as I'm not sure what you consider "green."

My first thought is it is likely a case of worms which can cause loose stools. Have you wormed them lately? Two years would definitely be time to do a good worming if you've never done one.

As to the green poo, it could be a number of things from food eaten to possibly bacterial, although that usually is foamy yellow in my experience.

It could even be a case of Coccidiosis as not all of that causes bloody poo.

I would put her on a wormer and possibly also a general broad based antibiotic. If you want to know what worked, you might worm first, see how she does then put her on antibiotic like Duramycin-10 or Tylan.

Here's a poo chart that may help with where she is as compared to normal.

LofMc

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html

 

[LuvRchix]

Thanks so much! I did talk to a vet this morning that recommended Tetracycline, so I'm starting that tonight in hopes it helps. I'll try to get a picture of the diarrhea. It is a bit yellowish tinged and watery, but has an off smell.

I will also try to get her to eat some scrambled egg to see if that helps. I know you can't eat the eggs after being on tetracycline (we're treating the whole flock) but can you still cook the eggs and feed them back to the chickens for nutrition?

Thanks for the links! I'll do more research.

 

[LuvRchix]

I forgot to mention, we have not wormed them, but I think it would be a great time to do that as well. I don't know if it's too much to worm them and have them on an antibiotic at the same time. We have some chickens three years of age, some two, and a couple that are one. We had a few to the flock every year. Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks so much! I did talk to a vet this morning that recommended Tetracycline, so I'm starting that tonight in hopes it helps. I'll try to get a picture of the diarrhea. It is a bit yellowish tinged and watery, but has an off smell.

I will also try to get her to eat some scrambled egg to see if that helps. I know you can't eat the eggs after being on tetracycline (we're treating the whole flock) but can you still cook the eggs and feed them back to the chickens for nutrition?

Thanks for the links! I'll do more research.

NO don't feed the eggs back to the chickens.
As @Lady of McCamley suggested worming would be a good idea as well. Since the vet suggested which antibiotic to use, he/she should be able to tell you if worming at the same time is a good idea or not.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree it generally is not a good idea to feed the eggs back due to the risk of antibiotic residue...although, admittedly, the residue is typically pretty small and the actual additional exposure is probably pretty minimal...but it is standard rule to not feed the eggs back as it can prolong the withdrawal period.

As to worming, it will depend on what you use. I do know that Hygromycin B (my personal worming favorite) was sold for years in Rooster Booster Multi Wormer with Bacitracin, an antibiotic, as a feed additive for worming and controlling CRD (chronic respiratory disease).

But tetracyline is a much broader based antibiotic than bacitracin (which is no longer FDA approved in the US).

I usually prefer to worm without any broad based antibiotics as it is a double whammy to the intestines...first with the antibiotic (which also attacks the good gut bacteria) and the wormer which is targeting the gut to rid worms, depending upon the type you use (some are systemic), but ask your vet and do what she/he recommends. (I actually hit with the wormer first when diarrhea arises if there are no other symptoms as that usually is the cause, then use the antibiotics if the bird is not rallying).

After the antibiotics, it is a good idea to feed probiotics either in yogurt or in a probiotic chick packet placed in the water as well as apple cider vinegar (which is good to always keep in the water, plastic containers only). I would worm at that time to rebuild the gut which has been blasted by the antibiotics and likely further entrenched any worm situation. A healthy gut is a chicken's first line of defense on worms, and that gut health is dictated by the healthy flora which the probiotics and ACV help maintain.

LofMc