Sick Chicken... Don't Know What to Do

[casportpony]

We have 17 hens, 7 are Columbia Rocks and 10 are Red Rock Cross. One of the RRC hens has been acting lethargic for over a week now. I thought she might be egg-bound, and I could feel a lump in her abdomen, but I couldn't see anything. I separated her and gave her part of a TUMS tablet dissolved in water, because I read that calcium should help her pass the egg. I haven't seen her lay an egg in about a week though. Her vent is dirty, covered in poop, and she strains often but only gas comes out. I have been giving her Epsom salts dissolved in water as a laxative, to help her poo, but haven't seen any signs that it's working.

She will drink water from a syringe/dropper and from the waterer, but she doesn't want to eat any crumble. I've been giving her watery mash, but she only eats a little of that. I have also been giving her electrolyte water each morning, when she doesn't get enough to eat.

I've researched a lot, but I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong with her and what I should do to help her.

And today, I've noticed that her comb is looking a little purple at the ends... Not sure if that is part of what's wrong with her, or if it's something totally different...

We have had a lot of hens, and two roosters, die from various things (started with 25, down to 17 now). This is our first time having chickens, and we're still learning, so any and every piece of advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

-Sunshine

Next time one dies, send it off for a necropsy.

State vets


Labs listed by state


This is how I send mine:

How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy​

They need the whole bird, refrigerated, not frozen. If you live in CA there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for free. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, call them and ask for their FedEx account number, it will save a bunch on shipping charges.

CAHFS
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA 93274-9042
(559) 688-7543
(559) 686-4231 (FAX)
[email protected]


The other labs are listed here:
http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/services/lab_locations.cfm

If it's Friday, unless you want to overnight for Saturday delivery, I would suggest shipping on Monday for Tuesday delivery. What you need to do, if you haven't already done so, is put your bird in your refrigerator, NOT the freezer! Then you need to find a box, line it with styrofoam (I use the 4'x8'x1" stuff from Home Depot. You can also get smaller pieces at an art store like Michael's, but is way more expensive. Click here to see foam options. You'll also need at least one ice pack. Here are some pictures that I took of the last bird that I sent:

Box lined with foam on four sides and bottom. Seams of foam taped sealed.


Box, sides, bottom and and top.


Frozen ice pack in ziplock baggie.


Brown paper on top of ice pack.


Hen in ziplock baggie on top of brown paper.


Brown paper on top of hen.


Ice pack on top of brown paper.


Lid on top of brown paper.
​

Inside the box you should also include a submission form in a ziplock baggie. Do not tell anyone at FedEx that you're shipping a dead animal... that seems to really worry them. Just make sure that nothing will leak.

Hope this helps!

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

DE, garlic and pumpkin seeds are not wormers!

-Kathy

 

[KarenG53]

Hi I read somewhere a while back that you can use pumpkin seeds as a wormer ...
I dry roast then grind in pesal and mortar feed with crumb and I've seen it work with mine... Now as a preventative I add Apple Cider Vinegar to their drinking water not had worms since

 

[casportpony]

Hi I read somewhere a while back that you can use pumpkin seeds as a wormer ...
I dry roast then grind in pesal and mortar feed with crumb and I've seen it work with mine... Now as a preventative I add Apple Cider Vinegar to their drinking water not had worms since

Welcome to BYC!

Again, I mean this in a nice way, but how do you know that you have no worms?

-Kathy

 

[enola]

Hi I read somewhere a while back that you can use pumpkin seeds as a wormer ...
I dry roast then grind in pesal and mortar feed with crumb and I've seen it work with mine... Now as a preventative I add Apple Cider Vinegar to their drinking water not had worms since

I mean this in the nicest way I can think to say it. The OP has tried all of the "natural ways" she can find to try. If you have read this thread you can see they are NOT working. Her hen has been sick for a month and is more than likely not going to make it if she doesn't start listening to advice given. If you own chickens please do yourself and your chickens a favor and follow advice when asked for....... Just saying.......

 

[SunshineChick14]

Thank you all for your good advice. I am just trying to explore all the possible options before spending an excessive amount of money on a small bottle of dewormer. I live in Canada, btw, so I don't think it would help me much to have to send my bird to California for a necropsy. And I don't think the vet in my town would do a necropsy here. We live in a small country town, where people would rather put sick animals like chickens out of their misery than pay for an expensive vet bill that didn't help the animal anyway. I just don't have the money for that. However, I will look for Safeguard next time I go into town, and if I find it, I will do my very best to buy it.

I apologize for my ignorance and seeming hypocrisy... This is quite stressful, for a lot of us here. Thank you all again. And sometimes consideration needs to be taken about the circumstances and situations that affect the chickens and chicken owners from rushing the poor birds into emergency.

God bless you all for your kindness and wisdom.

-Sunshine

 

[casportpony]

In Canada you can get a less expensive tube of horse paste wormer.

Sorry if my post was confusing, I wasn't suggesting that you send and dead birds to California, it was just meant to show you how to pack one up. Talk to your vet, I'm sure Canada has similar necropsy programs, most countries do.

-Kathy

 

[enola]

None of us expected you to take your hen to the vet. It may have been suggested, but no one here thinks badly of you because you chose not to. I have never taken a chicken to the vet, and doubt seriously that I ever will. Kathy and I were just trying to get you to understand that worming chickens with Valbazen or Safeguard only poisons the worms not the chickens. Please understand that a lot of chicken illnesses are a secondary result of infestations of worms.

 

[casportpony]

In fairness, all of us Americans should know that Canadians cannot go to the feed store and get Valbazen or Safeguard liquid, they have to get that from a vet, but they can buy horse paste wormers.

This is an example of how it would have been beneficial for the OP to have their location listed.

-Kathy

 

[enola]

Very true!