Severely dehydrated chicken

[jasonvanorder]

Tuesday we noticed one of our polish hens went missing. Not a trace of her. I figured an owl got her since she like roost outside. Well I found her this morning hidden between a post and the fence in a far corner of the run. She had to have been there since Monday night Tuesday morning. We have had temps in the upper 80s with high humidity. I know she is severely dehydrated. Right now I’m trying to get a couple drops of Gatorade at a time into her with a syringe. She can barely move. Any other ways I can help her besides getting fluids in her as quick as I can?

 

[jasonvanorder]

Another update. She’s doing great!!! She’s able to stand and walk a little. Still a bit wobbly but she can take a few steps. Drinking on her own and going to try a bit of softened feed for her. I’m very impressed. I wasn’t expecting her to make it past the first night.

 

[coach723]

You can tube fluids orally or you can give fluids subcutaneously. Fluids should be warmed, not cold. This thread has links with more info, subq fluids link is in post #1, tubing in post #2:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-new-tube-feeding-link.944381/#post-14545734
This is another good thread on tubing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/go-team-tube-feeding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/

 

[jasonvanorder]

You can tube fluids orally or you can give fluids subcutaneously. Fluids should be warmed, not cold. This thread has links with more info, subq fluids link is in post #1, tubing in post #2:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-new-tube-feeding-link.944381/#post-14545734
This is another good thread on tubing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/go-team-tube-feeding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/

Thank you I will look at those. Unfortunately I have to go to work soon so my daughter will take over till my wife gets home. She’s slowly taking fluid so I’m hoping she will slowly start to come around

 

[jasonvanorder]

Make sure that if you are forcing her to drink fluids that you don’t end up having it go down the wrong side of her mouth, because that end up putting fluids in her lungs.

We are. Plus we are giving her only a couple drops at a time then letting her rest.

 

[jasonvanorder]

Not sure if anyone’s following along but morning update. She made it thru the night. Wife has been giving her shots in the breast to hydrate her. She’s just a little better this morning. Trying to move just a little more. And the biggest thing I was worried about is she pooped! Never thought I’d be happy for chicken . But I was worried her organs had shut down and she just wasn’t going to make it. This gives me a little bit of hope again. She’s still got a long way to go. It’s probably going to be a couple weeks before she’s going to be able to eat and drink on her own again. But if she’s not giving up neither am I.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Tuesday we noticed one of our polish hens went missing. Not a trace of her. I figured an owl got her since she like roost outside. Well I found her this morning hidden between a post and the fence in a far corner of the run. She had to have been there since Monday night Tuesday morning. We have had temps in the upper 80s with high humidity. I know she is severely dehydrated. Right now I’m trying to get a couple drops of Gatorade at a time into her with a syringe. She can barely move. Any other ways I can help her besides getting fluids in her as quick as I can?

Will she eat? If she will eat, you can mix her pellets or crumble into a mash with a lot of water.

 

[jasonvanorder]

Will she eat? If she will eat, you can mix her pellets or crumble into a mash with a lot of water.

Nope. She can barely move at all. She just lays and occasionally tries to pick up her head. She’s in bad bad shape. Trying to help her.

 

[LostBoi73]

Just keep going brother, give her the best chance you can , she's obviously a fighter ,

 

[coach723]

How big are the syringes? Has she pooped since you started giving her fluids?
Normal intake of fluids for a chicken are 5.5% of their body weight per day.
When trying to rehydrate a dehydrated bird normally you would give 13ml of warmed fluid per pound of body weight, or 2-3 ml per 100g of body weight and then repeat that in 60 to 90 minutes. Give 2-3% of body weight total and see how the bird responds.
An non responsive bird should not be tubed. Food should not be tubed until the hydration has normalized. Hydration first, and make sure she's not hypothermic (sick birds can easily become hypothermic).
More info here that might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ceased-plucked-chicken.1069290/#post-16260509
This is a good one, info on how to assess level of dehydration etc.:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/
Another good one, general first aid info and info on dehydration:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...are-updated-01-17-2021.1048620/#post_16068451