sick chicken and I am clueless.... any ideas?!?!

[mommy4cdjm]

1) What type of bird , age and weight. araucana chicken about 18 mths old
2) What is the behavior, exactly. lethargic laying around acts like she can't get up
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? since yesterday
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? no
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. not that I can tell
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. nothing
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. She is eating crumbles, scratch and water
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Haven't seen her poop since noticing her behavior and couldn't tell which hen produced which poop
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? nothing
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? would only be interested in home treatment
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use She lives in a coop with some pine type bedding on the bottom.

 

[JansGirls]

could have eaten some wood chips i heard acv in water helps break them done just a guess

 

[mommy4cdjm]

what is ACV?

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

Hello mommy4cdjm - I haven't had chickens too long so I can't give you advice about your chicken. I'm sorry she is not feeling well. ACV is apple cider vinegar. If you search on this site you'll find more information about why people put this in their chickens' water. Hope your hen feels better soon!

 

[JansGirls]

any change in your chick? how she doing

 

[mommy4cdjm]

no change really. been sitting in a comfy laundry basket since yesterday. Keeping her inside. She had food and water but still lethargic.

 

[jeannieo]

any developments?

 

[jjthink]

It's a week since you mentioned she was obviously ill. Has her condition changed? (hoping she's improving). If she is the same or worse and needs particular treatment, a week is a long time in chickendom so time would be of the essence at this point.

Where are you? Someplace where laying is off at this time of year or somewhere warm/sunny where regular egg laying would be more in play right now? When is the last time she laid an egg? How is her weight compared to any others? Could she have worms? Or mites? Are you able to get her poop tested for parasites?

While not a cure by any means, you can give her 3 drops Polyvisol liquid children's vitamins (without added iron) daily to try to bolster her a bit while this is being sorted out. Administer via dropper gently along her beak line, so she swallows on her own and doesn't choke. Stuff seems to taste like CRUD so offer tasty treats afterward to get rid of the awful taste (cut up blueberries or anything else she really loves).

Some folks find that baby parrot formula is well liked and it's pretty nutritional so that may help her too. As with the vitamins it won't likely get at the underlying problem but building her strength cannot hurt and may help.

JJ