Sick chicken - need help now!

[Jacob42]

I have a three month old female Polish who is just not acting normal for herself. She is very weak appearing, walking with wings haninging low, shallow audible breaths, not drinking much, laying down with her head on the ground.

Should this hen be separated from our other two chickens she lives with? Any ideas on what we can do immediately for her care? Any ideas on what could be wrong?

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[pips&peeps]

I would seperate this bird from the flock immediately.

There are so many things that could be wrong with her, that I don't have an answer.

The only thing I can think of right away is possible coccidiosis. Get some corid from your feed store (9.6% solution) and put 9.5 cc/ml per gallon of water for 5-7 days.

Check to see if she seems thin and dehydrated.

 

[kathyinmo]

Look at the pictures on this link .... does your chicken look like this?


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219553

 

[Jacob42]

Hi Kathy-

We did just read your postings and are thinking it could be botulism. We separated her from the others and gave her the solution of Epsom salts and water.

Any ideas as what we can do next or how long it takes to tell if she will recover or not?

Thanks so much - Jacob and Kelly

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
That link doesn't show a chicken.

Are you thinking of the buff one that had botulism?

 

[kathyinmo]

Ooops, there .... I fixed the link.

Jacob and Kelly,
I don't know the "usual" recovery time. I think I caught it early in my bird, and as you can see in my thread, it was less than 24 hours to see a major improvement.

I gave mine both the Epsom Salts solution, and the Molasses water. I don't know if that is customary, but I did it. I did it 2 or 3 times, with probably smaller amounts. I also gave her electrolyte water after each flush.

Good luck, I hope you see total recovery.
Kathy

 

[threehorses]

Just to make sure we cover all bases, could you possible answer the questions in the second sticky post of the forum - only answer them into this thread so that we can get an overall picture of flock history, etc?

The sticky: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3569

These symptoms could be a number of things, and I want to make sure we get yours right.

 

[Jacob42]

Hi again -

Our chicken just is not doing well. It looks like she doesn't have much longer. Throughout the day today we have given her the antibiotics (Duramycin-10). We have been cup feeding her as she hardly has the strength to lift her head to drink. She has had some diarrhea on and off today as well. We did do one Epsom salt flush last night though which I am sure caused this. She is just listless though and sort of scooting around the perimeter of the tub we have her in now.

Her history is that she is one of six white crested Polish chicks that we purchased in mid-April at three days old from a hatchery in Missouri (I believe), though we ordered them from a local farm and fleet store. We reside in Minnesota.

Two weeks ago we realized that we had four roosters and only two hens. To prevent expected dominance issues we sold three of the roosters at an animal swap and got three more hens of a different breed which are younger. (We still have the two breeds in separate living areas though due to the size difference).

We do let the chickens free range while we are home and they are otherwise in a chicken run or in their outdoor pen.

Last week though we did have a terrible thunderstorm in which I did not have time to get the Polish chickens in their hutch to get them out of the rain. There was too much lightening to where it was not even safe for me to run out there to get them in. Therefore the three Polish chickens endured about ten minutes of steady rain. I felt terrible and it felt like an eternity until I could get out there to get them under cover.

Could that chick have gotten a cold or something like that from getting soaked in the rain? That night I did put the warming lap right on the bigger chciks to warm them up and help them dry off.

My husband and I did go through the yard thoroughly today to see if there is anything she could have gotten into that made her sick. We removed a wet hay bale and got rid of some mushrooms that were growing in the yard.

It has been a rough day though as the other two Polish chickens just know that something is up. When they hear her make a sound it immediately draws their attention. The rooster was crowing a lot today (especially this morning when we let them out). It seemed as if he were looking for his other girl. It just wasn't the same at all today watching just the two chickens walk around the yard without their third little friend. Very sad indeed.

I am not sure what else to do at this point. We want to feel hopeful for her recovery, but it just doesn't appear that way as of now.

Thanks -

Kelly

 

[threehorses]

Yes, it is possible that after enduring a 10-inch constant rain that their immune systems were lowered and something could have made them sick. The wet conditions that follow also invite illness (coccidiosis, fungus issues, toxin issues if there are puddles with stagnant water, etc).. And of course there are the mushrooms and other sorts of wet/decaying vegatation.

If you grasp some of this chickens feathers in your hand (around her neck or legs for example) do any of them come out easily? IF they do, then you have a case of botulism in combination with the other symptoms you've described. Botulism is VERY tricky to treat and the flushes that you use to flush the toxins absolutely must be followed up with electrolytes as dehydration is very rough on a bird, much less a terribly ill one.

However, this could also be one of a number of other things - including viral (brought on by the lowered immune system), or fungal (brought on by the environment), bacterial (respiratory and/or digestive - either of which could have been first), cocci (coccidiosis blooms in rain situations and diarrhea fits that as well), or just toxins - particularly if she had opportunity to drink from puddles that washed in toxins from others' yards.

First off, rehydrate the bird, correct her electrolyte balance by offering her vitamin/mineral/electrolyte solution for poultry. You must replace those electrolytes after using epsoms. You must also replace some of her good bacteria in her gut to help with the diarrhea. Personally I'd recommend acidophilis tablets from the vitamin section of a 24 hour store like Walmart. It will be less harsh on her system and a smaller amount thus easier to give. But in a pinch, you could alternately use plain yogurt. (Which reminds me - in a pinch you could use pedialyte or gatorade to replace some electrolytes).

Moisten the crumbles with the electrolyte solution before you offer them. Mix the yogurt into the water/electrolytes you use to do that. This won't cure her -it will help her system to readjust if it's possible to do so.

On the Duramycin, at what dosage are you providing it? When you say you hear her breathing, does it seem the noise is coming from her head/throat/nose, or her chest (use your ears and hands to locate the source of the vibration that causes the noise). If it's upper, duramycin might work. If it's lower, you might need a different antibiotic as lower respiratory infections (if this is even a respiratory infection) respond to different antibiotics.

Did these symptoms occur literally overnight? Or at all over a few days?

 

[Jacob42]

We are giving her a mix of about 200 to 300 mg dose/mixture of the Duramycin, however, now she is not wanting to drink anything. How do you get a chicken to take in fluids when it won't? I used a medicine dropper earlier and about ten minutes later she spit it all up.

This all started Sunday night around 5 or 6 PM. We were gone most of the day yesterday but when we came home around that time she seemed sluggish with low energy. By their bedtime (8 PM) she was sleeping by the lamp by herself (two levels lower than usual). She had no energy, listless, droopy feathers.

Yes, she has been losing feathers too and the breathing sounds are coming from her nose (upper respiratory area).