Sick chicken -- gurgling breathing, lethargic, green stool

[chrishsu0]

Hi all,

have a Rhode Island Red hen with a variety of symptoms. First off, she hasn't been laying since I received her (over 3 weeks ago); I assumed it was the stress of moving and possibly the heat here in Maryland. In the past couple of days, she's had what seemed like on and off lethargy. Yesterday evening, she started limping a little bit and this morning checking on her, she had green, watery stool. She also has very gurgling breathing this morning.

I've tried to give her Nutridrench every day, now she doesn't even seem interested in drinking from a syringe. Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Hi and welcome to BYC; i'm sorry your first post is under these circumstances. Re the gurgly breathing, do you see any drainage from her nostrils or any bubbles at the corners of her eyes? Do you smell a foul odor or any discharge coming from her beak? Have you checked her crop? If she isnt eating it should be empty and flat against her skin. If her crop feels doughy, squishly like a water balloon or very hard, then she likely has a crop disorder which will contribute to her feeling unwell. Have you examined her legs including the bottom of her feet, and do you see any black scabs on her bottom foot pads? Is there any swelling between her toes? You are checking to make sure she doesn't have bumblefoot before considering diseases that cause lameness.

The green watery stool is likely because she isnt eating. Do you know about how old she is? You said she isn't laying, but her small pink comb appears as if she is still too young to lay. Where did you get her, and did you buy other birds at the same time? Sorry for all the questions, but answers will help give direction as to what you may be dealing with, and how we can help.

 

[chrishsu0]

Thanks for all the questions.

Unfortunately she passed shortly after my post.

She didn't have any drainage from her nostrils or bubbles at the corners of her eyes, and also no foul odor/discharge.
I did check her crop each morning over the past couple of days, and some days it seemed to be hard and I spent time massaging her. But I did see her eating as well over the past couple of days.
Her feet looked fine as well. Good to know about the comb -- I know she was a pullet, but not sure how old she was exactly. She and all the other birds were from the same farm.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. When I lose a chicken, I usually will do a home necropsy to look at the major organs for anything out of the ordinary. A move to new soil could cause coccidiosis, but she may have had a long term problem. Crop problems can be a result of other things, such as reproductive problems or infections. Make sure that your others have granite poultry grit available for digestion.

 

[chrishsu0]

Thank you for the information; digging into coccidiosis, I believe it could be a cause given that I found some blood in her stool (and am finding it in at least 1 of the other hens who is still alive). Going to try Corid with the rest of them.

Still very new to all of this so appreciate the insights.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you use Corid, the dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid or 1.5 tsp of the powder per gallon of water for 5-7 days. It should be changed daily and the only source of water.