Sick 4 year old hen, purple face and trouble breathing.

[Bach226]

I have a four year old hen who has been sick for the last week and a half. Her face and comb are purple but don't look swollen up and she's breathing very heavily, especially when she's sitting down. She's been acting sluggish but she's still been eating and drinking, although a little less than normal. She has green and whitish diarrhea. She's been getting out of the coop and walking around the yard with the other chickens, but after a while she will stop and sit down in the shade and close her eyes. She keeps getting these tiny little grey bugs around her butt and ive cleaned the coop throughly and applied diatomaceous earth and poultry safe pesticide. I gave her an Epsom salt bath to clean the poop off her butt and it cleared up the bugs. She doesn't seem wobbly and her legs look find. I can't find anything else the matter with her. She hadn't been sneezing at all but i can't tell if shes laying eggs or not. Another one of my hens seems to be showing similar symptoms, she doesn't look as bad but she is slightly purple and she is sitting out in the yard just like the sick hen so I believe it's something contagious or environment related. My regular vet couldn't see her so I took her to a vet that said they took chickens and they had me in the waiting for 3 hours to tell me they would to have to do an xray and talk to an exotics specialist and they quoted me $700. I love my girls so much but I don't have a spare $700 for them to maybe find out what is wrong with her. I have an appointment with my regular vet in 10 days but I'm worried she won't make it that long because I have no idea what is wrong with her. Anyone know what the problem could be? Or what I might be able to do to narrow down the possibilities?

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[fluffybuttfarmstead]

I have a four year old hen who has been sick for the last week and a half. Her face and comb are purple but don't look swollen up and she's breathing very heavily, especially when she's sitting down. She's been acting sluggish but she's still been eating and drinking, although a little less than normal. She has green and whitish diarrhea. She's been getting out of the coop and walking around the yard with the other chickens, but after a while she will stop and sit down in the shade and close her eyes. She keeps getting these tiny little grey bugs around her butt and ive cleaned the coop throughly and applied diatomaceous earth and poultry safe pesticide. I gave her an Epsom salt bath to clean the poop off her butt and it cleared up the bugs. She doesn't seem wobbly and her legs look find. I can't find anything else the matter with her. She hadn't been sneezing at all but i can't tell if shes laying eggs or not. Another one of my hens seems to be showing similar symptoms, she doesn't look as bad but she is slightly purple and she is sitting out in the yard just like the sick hen so I believe it's something contagious or environment related. My regular vet couldn't see her so I took her to a vet that said they took chickens and they had me in the waiting for 3 hours to tell me they would to have to do an xray and talk to an exotics specialist and they quoted me $700. I love my girls so much but I don't have a spare $700 for them to maybe find out what is wrong with her. I have an appointment with my regular vet in 10 days but I'm worried she won't make it that long because I have no idea what is wrong with her. Anyone know what the problem could be? Or what I might be able to do to narrow down the possibilities?

I just found this. Has your chicken improved? Have your other chickens become sick?

 

[Bach226]

I just found this. Has your chicken improved? Have your other chickens become sick?

Unfortunately, the one I took to the vet passed away. She just disappeared from the yard a few days before her second vet appointment and we've seen no sign of her for weeks so I can only assume something got her. We had a second hen pass away just this morning, she was looking lethargic around the same time that the first one did, but her symptoms were somewhat different. I ended up determining that the little bugs on them were mites so I washed them and sanitized everything in their coop and applied some Gardstar garden and poultry dust, and that got rid of the mites very quick. The second hen looked different than the first, her comb and face were pale and she was a little thinner than usual, but she wasn't breathing heavy. She stopped acting lethargic after I treated for mites, but a few days ago she started again, and this morning I took her onto the porch to try and get her to drink some electrolytes and she had a seizure and died. None of my other chickens seem weird at all, and I've been looking for mites ever since and haven't seen any.

 

[LTAY1946]

I do hope you find out the cause of your hens death.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Doing a home necropsy or sending one in to your state vet can point to a cause of death. Hens can suffer from reproductive disorders that can make them lethargic, have a poor appetite, become listless, have different droppings, but may still come out and hang around with their flock mates. Salpingitis, cancer, ascites, and egg yolk peritonitis are a few of the common disorders that are possible in hens over 2-3 years old. Mites can be deadly to chickens, causing anemia. They hatch out in 5-7 days, and then start to lay more eggs. Lice will hatch in 7-10 days. Permethrin dust is safe and effective if used once and in 7 days to get the newly hatched mites. Mites can hide in the coop cracks and crevices, under roosts, and in bedding. Remove all bedding after treatment and spray your coop, nests, and roosts with permethrin. Elector PSP, a more expensive product is also effective. Some people will also have to pressure wash facilities or do a heavy cleaning to rid these pests. Those who use straw may accidentally bring in mites, and bringing in new birds from others can easily infest your flock.

 

[fluffybuttfarmstead]

Unfortunately, the one I took to the vet passed away. She just disappeared from the yard a few days before her second vet appointment and we've seen no sign of her for weeks so I can only assume something got her. We had a second hen pass away just this morning, she was looking lethargic around the same time that the first one did, but her symptoms were somewhat different. I ended up determining that the little bugs on them were mites so I washed them and sanitized everything in their coop and applied some Gardstar garden and poultry dust, and that got rid of the mites very quick. The second hen looked different than the first, her comb and face were pale and she was a little thinner than usual, but she wasn't breathing heavy. She stopped acting lethargic after I treated for mites, but a few days ago she started again, and this morning I took her onto the porch to try and get her to drink some electrolytes and she had a seizure and died. None of my other chickens seem weird at all, and I've been looking for mites ever since and haven't seen any.

We just lost 6 of my girls, turns out the mites lowered their immune systems and coccidiosis killed them. We treated the whole coop for mites and then have been putting antibiotics (natural) see pic below for the antibiotic. Found on Amazon, and a medication called Coci in their water. We have been treating the mites with diatomaceous earth, anti-fungal spray for their feet, and permethrin. They are all recovering, very well, and have begun laying regularly. When talking to the vet, they said that the treatment that we’ve been giving them will not hurt them even if they don’t have coccidiosis. The recommendation was to use the treatment for five days. We also added Vitamin B complex to their water. I hope you don’t lose anymore. They become treasured pets and are so much fun to be around.

 

[ChickNanny13]

DE won't kill the mites/lice ... Treatment needs to be repeated in 7 - 10 days as the eggs hatch. If you're using straw bedding, you may want to change as the mites tend to bore in the hallow of it.

Lice - Ivermectin, 5 drops/hen, 6 drops/Roo or lrg, 3 drops/banty, repeat 10 days then 4 - 6 months, 8wk withdrawal (depluming - 1oz liquid soap, 2oz sulphur, 1 gal warm water, submerge chicken, spray coop/roosts/nest, remove all shavings)
Boric Acid bath for chicks - 1T/qt water, repeat 10days

Mites - Permethrin, Poultry Dust, Sevin
Boric Acid bath for chicks - 1T/qt water, repeat 10days

 

[fluffybuttfarmstead]

I am using the permethrin also. The mites are dead an no live. We use wood chips on the floor of the coop and fake grass mats in the laying boxes

 

[Bach226]

We just lost 6 of my girls, turns out the mites lowered their immune systems and coccidiosis killed them. We treated the whole coop for mites and then have been putting antibiotics (natural) see pic below for the antibiotic. Found on Amazon, and a medication called Coci in their water. We have been treating the mites with diatomaceous earth, anti-fungal spray for their feet, and permethrin. They are all recovering, very well, and have begun laying regularly. When talking to the vet, they said that the treatment that we’ve been giving them will not hurt them even if they don’t have coccidiosis. The recommendation was to use the treatment for five days. We also added Vitamin B complex to their water. I hope you don’t lose anymore. They become treasured pets and are so much fun to be around.

Thank you for the advice, the mites

We just lost 6 of my girls, turns out the mites lowered their immune systems and coccidiosis killed them. We treated the whole coop for mites and then have been putting antibiotics (natural) see pic below for the antibiotic. Found on Amazon, and a medication called Coci in their water. We have been treating the mites with diatomaceous earth, anti-fungal spray for their feet, and permethrin. They are all recovering, very well, and have begun laying regularly. When talking to the vet, they said that the treatment that we’ve been giving them will not hurt them even if they don’t have coccidiosis. The recommendation was to use the treatment for five days. We also added Vitamin B complex to their water. I hope you don’t lose anymore. They become treasured pets and are so much fun to be around.

Thank you for the advice, the rest of my hens appear healthy but I'm still worried that the mites lowered their immune systems like you said. I will definitely get some antibiotics for them and see if that helps at all. I will also try the Vitamin B in their water. Thank you again.