Sick Chicken? I just don't know

[Wyorp Rock]

Update - no egg is stuck. She has not been laying since the cold weather started and I am not sure if she molted as she always looks the same, kind of scruffy. Currently she looks prettier and healthier than ever which is weird. She is not drinking water. I will keep massaging her crop and trying to get her to drink water. Can I treat for worms and coccidiosis without spending the money for a fecal test?

Glad you were able to rule out her being egg bound.
When you were examining her, did you feel the abdomen for bloat/swelling or fluid? You may have to compare her to your other hens. Cup your hand and feel under the vent, between the legs.

Yes, you can treat for worms and Coccidiosis without getting a fecal float.

Corid (Amprolium) is used to treat Coccidiosis. You can find this in the cattle section of Tractor Supply. Dosage 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

For treating worms a broad spectrum wormer would be good. I would use either Valbazen or Fenbendazole (Safeguard liquid goat wormer) both will take care of most worms. These can be used with Corid.

Valbazen dosage is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeat in 10days.

Fenbendazole dosage is .23ml per pound of weight given orally for 5 days in a row.

In the photos her stance makes me think she has something reproductive going on. Internal Laying, Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, etc.

 

[jmcd]

Glad you were able to rule out her being egg bound.
When you were examining her, did you feel the abdomen for bloat/swelling or fluid? You may have to compare her to your other hens. Cup your hand and feel under the vent, between the legs.

Yes, you can treat for worms and Coccidiosis without getting a fecal float.

Corid (Amprolium) is used to treat Coccidiosis. You can find this in the cattle section of Tractor Supply. Dosage 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

For treating worms a broad spectrum wormer would be good. I would use either Valbazen or Fenbendazole (Safeguard liquid goat wormer) both will take care of most worms. These can be used with Corid.

Valbazen dosage is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeat in 10days.

Fenbendazole dosage is .23ml per pound of weight given orally for 5 days in a row.

In the photos her stance makes me think she has something reproductive going on. Internal Laying, Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, etc.

We checked for an egg and find nothing there. Yesterday she would not drink water on her own so we gave her water with a small syringe. We were standing in the kitchen talking to friends and my husband was massaging her crop when she started coughing a bunch of stuff up! I had seen this on youtube (so gross) but anyway she continued to vomit for about 4 minutes and then I was afraid she aspirated (from the funny sound she made) and was worried she might die overnight and checked on her until about midnight. Got up this morning and she is breathing normal I opened up the dog crate and she walked out on her own and straight to the water which I think is good. She drank a bunch of water before I realized I should have checked her crop first OOPS! SO what I need to know if what do you guys think I should do next? Treat for worms, treat for sour crop, and what do I do to figure out if its a reproductive problem?

 

[Eggcessive]

I see similar droppings occasionally in my old hens who no longer lay eggs who may have internal laying. There is not much that you can do for internal laying problems, and the other common reproductive problems, other than try antibiotics, worm when necessary, and if coccidiosis could be a problem, try Corid. Getting a fecal float could save you from medicating unnecessarily, or save some money. But it won’t harm her to go ahead and do those things. The fact is that hens do not always lay eggs forever, and reproductive problems are the most common cause of poor health or death. I have 18 older hens who range from 6 and 7 to 8 years old, and only 4 laid last summer. Now only 2 lay eggs so far this year. Crop problems do tend to happen along with other illnesses.

 

[jmcd]

I see similar droppings occasionally in my old hens who no longer lay eggs who may have internal laying. There is not much that you can do for internal laying problems, and the other common reproductive problems, other than try antibiotics, worm when necessary, and if coccidiosis could be a problem, try Corid. Getting a fecal float could save you from medicating unnecessarily, or save some money. But it won’t harm her to go ahead and do those things. The fact is that hens do not always lay eggs forever, and reproductive problems are the most common cause of poor health or death. I have 18 older hens who range from 6 and 7 to 8 years old, and only 4 laid last summer. Now only 2 lay eggs so far this year. Crop problems do tend to happen along with other illnesses.

Do you think I should with hold food or go ahead and give her some yogurt and probiotics? My other 3 hens seems fine although only 1 of them is laying (it is cold and they are coming 4 years old) I still have her inside and she seems much better today. She is alert and coming to the side of the cage when I visit her and still drinking water on her own. Thank you so much for all of you information. You have been really helpful.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her a tsp of plain yogurt (such as Chobani) daily or a commercial probiotic. I would not withhold food, but offer some egg and watery chicken feed. Do not feed whole grains or seeds. Make sure that she has granite grit available. Massage her crop several times a day.

 

[jmcd]

Update - So my chicken is not really doing much better although her crop is empty. After doing some reading I have started feeding her miconozale 3 suppositories cut into third. I have been giving her a third in the am and another in the pm. 2 more doses tomorrow and then another on Friday should conclude this try and I am hoping for a miracle I still have her in the house, living in a dog crate. She is not terribly interested in any food (not yogurt or eggs or tuna or anything else) or water so I have been feeding her water with probiotics with a syringe. I even bought live meal worms hoping the wiggling of the worms would pep her up. She pecked at them disinterestedly. Not really sure what to do now though. Will update again on Friday. If she gets better, are the other chickens going to give her a hard time when I put her back with them?

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you tried some vitamins? B complex can sometimes help stimulate appetite. Human B complex 1/4 tablet daily is enough to use. Glad the crop is emptying, but wish she apwas eating. How are her poops?

 

[jmcd]

Have you tried some vitamins? B complex can sometimes help stimulate appetite. Human B complex 1/4 tablet daily is enough to use. Glad the crop is emptying, but wish she apwas eating. How are her poops?

Hi and thank you. I will try B complex tomorrow if no improvement. Her poops are pretty liquid like but is that probably since she is getting more fluid than food? So you think I should keep her indoors or see how she does outside? I wish she would eat and get better. She really is being so tolerant of of all this. I am thankful it is this hen sick and not one of the others as the others are crazy!

 

[Eggcessive]

I usually keep my sick hens in the coop with the other chickens, so they can hang out with the others and will be more likely to eat and drink. Her droppings may be runny due to drinking a lot of water or from a crop infection. If you need to put plain yogurt, crushed B complex, and water in a pan of feed for her, it certainly will not hurt the others to eat it as well. Mix it all up well and change it once a day. Then offer some chopped egg to her in the late after noon so hopefully she will have something in her crop in the evening. You can buy some inexpensive store eggs to feed the chickens. I get so few laid eggs to eat right now from my chickens, that I will buy some dollar a dozen eggs to feed my chickens. Hopefully, she will get better, but if she has a reproductive problem, she could get worse. I treated a hen for 2 months for a slow crop, then sour crop, and she never got over it. She continued to eat, but lost weight and eventually died.

 

[jmcd]

I usually keep my sick hens in the coop with the other chickens, so they can hang out with the others and will be more likely to eat and drink. Her droppings may be runny due to drinking a lot of water or from a crop infection. If you need to put plain yogurt, crushed B complex, and water in a pan of feed for her, it certainly will not hurt the others to eat it as well. Mix it all up well and change it once a day. Then offer some chopped egg to her in the late after noon so hopefully she will have something in her crop in the evening. You can buy some inexpensive store eggs to feed the chickens. I get so few laid eggs to eat right now from my chickens, that I will buy some dollar a dozen eggs to feed my chickens. Hopefully, she will get better, but if she has a reproductive problem, she could get worse. I treated a hen for 2 months for a slow crop, then sour crop, and she never got over it. She continued to eat, but lost weight and eventually died.

Ok thank you. I just put her back in the run with the other 3 hens. At least she will have her sisters She is eating snow and pecking a little so maybe that is a good sign. I will do all of your suggestions in addition to giving her the final 2 doses of miconzole and keep you posted.