Shriveled comb, listless, watery stool

[CoralHouseCoop]

Hi everyone! My three-year-old Easter Egger was very sick back in February. Her comb was pale and she was extremely listless. My vet diagnosed her as anemic through bloodwork. The chicken began a round of Meloxicam and antibiotics to address the increased white blood cells. A few days in she was much recovered. Through weekly bloodwork we learned that the anemia persisted so we continued with Vitamin B as well as occasional subcutaneous fluids.

Around April, we had weaned her off all medication except for the vitamin B.

Through a group fecal test, we learned all of the flock (three chickens) had a rare tapeworm. The other two in the flock were not responding to the typical dewormer. So once my sick chicken was well enough, they all received an injection of Praziquantel on April 22. 10 days later their group fecal came back negative.

Other than stopping laying eggs (she had resumed in early March and stopped in mid-April), there hasn’t been any change in my previously sick girl’s behavior. I had noticed her crop wouldn’t be as full at night but we’re in Florida, so the temperatures have spiked and she’s been drinking more water. From what I’ve observed she’s still be interested in food.

This morning her behavior was normal. Today at 12:30 she was standing alone listless with her tail down. Her stool has been watery. Her comb is dark and shriveled (I attached a picture of both). Her crop is watery.

I brought her inside, gave her 0.5 mL of Meloxicam and 0.6 mL of Vitamin B. It’s been an hour since both. I syringed egg yolk to her. She’s still not interested in food on her own, even her favorites like spinach. My vet is out of town until June 9, so any guidance you can offer would be much appreciated!

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

After I posted this she did pass a stool that had a brown more solid element amidst brown water. I’ve been giving her water with electrolytes. She’s still pretty listless - currently sleeping in my lap. While she’s a mama’s girl, she’s not a lap chicken typically.

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

Her newest stool and her comb. I feel like her comb has shrunk further. I’ve continued syringing water with electrolytes and raw egg.

She hears one of her sister’s egg songs and is responsive. Still not eating and drinking voluntarily.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you checked for lice or mites under her vent, belly, and under wings? Mites can cause anemia. Is she eating? What do you feed? You might try feeding a little mushy wet feed, scrambled egg, and a spoonful of plain yogurt with live cultures. Many of my Florida friends with chickens worm their chickens pretty often because of the climate. Since you had tapeworms once, that could be an issue again since they get the tapeworms by eating worms, flies, snails, slugs, beetles, and even ice or moles that have ingested tapeworm eggs. Equimax horse wormer (contains praziquantel) from feed stores can be given 0.16 ml orally for a 5 pound chicken orally once and again in 14 days to treat tapeworms. For regular worms—round, cecal, gape, and capillary worms, use Valbzen 0.5 ml once orally and again in 10 days. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or horse paste can also be used 0.25 ml per pound orally for 5 consecutive days instead of Valbazen.

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

Thank you for your help!!

No sign of mites. They eat Purina Layena crumbles with Rooster Booster mixed in. I’ll try mixing the feed with the eggs to see if she’s more interested. She has eaten a few spinach leaves on her own. Her stool remains much the same (see attached image).

Do you think it’s more likely to be parasites over any sort of infection? I have some Panacur left over from last treatment (what didn’t work before and led to us trying the injection). Would it be worth starting with Panacur? Or better to go straight to the other dewormer?

Thanks again!

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

Is there any chance it’s her kidneys? Since she was ill a few months ago, what risk is there in giving her the Panacur?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any swelling of her lower belly under her vent? Are the urates a bit yellow in the dropping, rather than white? I was worried about possible water belly.

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

The urates are fairly yellow. No swelling that I can tell. I’m going to check her sisters for comparison.

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

I just compared her to her sisters. There is no swelling under her vent.

 

[CoralHouseCoop]

I was able to get her a vet appointment with a new-to-her vet for Tuesday afternoon. I want to make sure she has as much support as possible before then.