sick chicken HELP

[RachB]

Hi, I need some guidance! I came home yesterday to find an olive egger not acting right. she didn't want to stand up. I noticed that morning she was up on the rooster longer than anyone else, but didnt think much of it. By lunch she was lying down and didnt get up when I brought treats into the coop. I immediately separated her (she is currently in a rubber maid storage container in my garage with koop clean in the bottom). Her poop looked abnormal (yellowish like there was milky yolk in it). I family friend suggested we get Tylan 50 and inject 1/2 to 3/4 cc into her breast daily. My husband went to tractor supply and bought it along with a bag of vitamins and electrolytes you mix into water. I did inject her last night and cleaned her up (bottom had ooz of the yellow stuff). she is standing and moving around a little today. heard her scratching the floor of the container. she has taken small amounts of water (with electrolytes) and picking a little at food. I checked her for being egg bound (gloved up with a small amount of lubrication) and didnt feel anything index finger deep. No runny eyes or nostrils. small sneezes last night (not much). bottom felt swollen and squishy. After some reading online Im worried about Egg Yolk Peritonitis. she is 26 weeks. Her first several eggs (maybe 3) a few weeks ago were shelless ones i found in the run. she then laid a very wrinkled looking one. after that everything seemed ok. normal eggs, a few very large double yolkers. They eat mainly organic layers feed. very few treats. free choice grit and oyster shell available. I dont know what to think. Im new at chickens (this is my first group of girls). I have 6 total and got them in March. Im hopeful that she appears to be getting a little better (although that maybe false hope if it EYP). Anyone have some suggestions? Help. How long do I keep her separated? If she recovers will i ever know if she was sick vs EYP? Im going to attach some pics of her bottom and poop in case anyone has seen this (sorry they are graphic....) I decided to treat her as contagious and cleaned out the coop of all material and bleached everything. other girls seem ok..... PLEASE HELP

 

[Beth77]

I have no idea. But after loosing a couple of chickens myself because I didn't take them to the vets, I'd take her to the vets as soon as possible.

 

[Eggcessive]

That second picture is very interesting with the tube of dropping containing all of the different colors with a gelatinous look to it. Any bright yellow droppings as in your pictures are abnormal, and could be egg yolk material. Yellow stools can also be a sign of E.coli infection that can go along with egg peritonitis. A vet could give you some stronger antibiotics, and Baytril or enrofloxacin, which is illegal to use in chickens, may be used to treat her. So long as you don't use her for meat, or sell her eggs, it would be okay. They can also Xray her to look for EYP. There's not much to be done, except antibiotics, or if you spend lots of money, hormone implants or spaying. Here are some links to read, and a link on buying enrofloxacin:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/959119/baytril-enrofloxacin-sources
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

 

[casportpony]

That second picture is unlike any dropping I have seen. In addition to what Eggcessive said, it might be worth de-worming her with Safeguard or Valbazen and possibly treat her for coccidia. Any chance you can have a vet check her poop for worms, coccidia, bacteria and yeast?

-Kathy

 

[Eggcessive]

That second picture is unlike any dropping I have seen. In addition to what Eggcessive said, it might be worth de-worming her with Safeguard or Valbazen and possibly treat her for coccidia. Any chance you can have a vet check her poop for worms, coccidia, bacteria and yeast?

-Kathy

When I fist looked at the second picture, it almost looked like a section of intestine, although I'm sure it wasn't. My pathologist husband just made the same comment when he looked at it.

 

[casportpony]

That second picture is unlike any dropping I have seen. In addition to what Eggcessive said, it might be worth de-worming her with Safeguard or Valbazen and possibly treat her for coccidia. Any chance you can have a vet check her poop for worms, coccidia, bacteria and yeast?


-Kathy

When I fist looked at the second picture, it almost looked like a section of intestine, although I'm sure it wasn't. My pathologist husband just made the same comment when he looked at it.

I've seen slimy poop, but never something quite like that. That's one that I would put on a paper towel and inspect very closely. I suspect that there is some blood in there.

-Kathy

 

[RachB]

I gave her a second injection tonight. She ate several meal worms (eagerly) and her BM's are starting to look ore normal. Nothing like the first few I saw. She is actually standing up more, scratching the floor, making chicken noises, and preening herself. Not sure what's going on but I'm cautiously hopeful. I hear there is a vet 1/2 hour from here that treats chickens. I may just keep her on the antibiotics for a few more days and see what happens. I haven't seen worms in her poop. Would you always see them? Should I wait to finish antibiotics before deworming?

 

[casportpony]

I gave her a second injection tonight. She ate several meal worms (eagerly) and her BM's are starting to look ore normal. Nothing like the first few I saw. She is actually standing up more, scratching the floor, making chicken noises, and preening herself. Not sure what's going on but I'm cautiously hopeful. I hear there is a vet 1/2 hour from here that treats chickens. I may just keep her on the antibiotics for a few more days and see what happens. I haven't seen worms in her poop. Would you always see them? Should I wait to finish antibiotics before deworming?

I usually worm them with Safeguard at the same time I give antibiotics. If she seems to be responding to the Tylan it could be infection from clostridia, which I think usually goes hand-in-hand with coccidiosis. Eggcessive probably has some good links on that.

-Kathy