Sick Chicken-Pepper

[krayca]

8 month old Plymoth Rock has stopped eating and drinking abruptly Thursday evening. Since then I have been giving her water with Electrolytes , Keifer by syringe. I also have given Nutridrench. She has been sleeping in a hunched position and I have brought in her inside out of the heat. I have been giving her 0.250cc of Biomycin for 4 days now.... that helped me save a chicken last year. Yesterday and today i put Corid in her water.. She is not improving and just wants to sleep. She seems off balance when on her feet and i think one of her ears seems to have hard crust on it. I have put peroxide and neosporin. Her poop looks like picture attached or just small runny white or yellowish which is probably either nutri drench or kefir... She still will not eat or drink on her own. Her neck seems to rest to one side more than other.

 

[azygous]

Could she have gotten into something moldy? Mold toxin can make a chicken very sick and have neurological symptoms.

But her symptoms could be from any number of other things.

Have you ruled out a crop disorder? She would have a hard, lumpy crop if it was impacted, and a soft squishy crop if she has a yeast infection.

Could she have gotten into a compost pile that is wet and rank at the bottom of the compost? Any number of pathogens reside in compost piles requiring antibiotics to treat.

If she's suffering from mold toxin, you might be able to help her with vitamin E 400iu and selenium and B-complex. Feeding activated charcoal and giving plant material rich in chlorophyll both can help cleanse the mold toxin out of the chicken's system.

You may need to tube her in order to treat her.

 

[krayca]

No compost pile but the girls did get into bugs underneath a bird that had died in the yard. That was at least week prior to her getting ill. Her crop is not very big . I did suspect a impacted crop . I am a little confused how it should feel . there is a little lump size of a large grape that does not seem to go away. It gets fuller and squishy after i force water in her but never really protrudes. I have given her some olive oil and tried help her vomit with no luck.

 

[azygous]

The best way to confirm you are dealing with a crop disorder is to check the crop first thing in the morning before she eats. If you feel anything in the crop, you might assume you need to treat a crop disorder.

An impacted crop doesn't always feel full. A walnut size lump of material that refuses to break up, on the principle of a drain that is partially clogged, will invite further clogging until nothing will go down.

In addition, crop contents that do not empty each 24 hours will start to ferment and you will also be dealing with sour crop on top of impacted crop. Here's my article to make it clearer. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

It sounds like there's a chance she could have picked up E. coli bacteria from the dead bird. Insects feeding on decaying matter will become infected with the bacteria, and this is how chickens can get it. I would start her on an antibiotic such as amoxicillin right away.

 

[krayca]

Thank you azygous for being so helpful..I have been giving her Bio-mycin for 5 days as of today. I gave her the coconut oil last night and massaged and I feel like the lump has decreased in size. I took her outside afterwards and she pooped mostly white liquid. I made a runny paste of keifer and feed and gave her about 8 ml. She would walk around a bit but would and look around but she will not , no matter what she wont extend her neck or bend her neck to the ground. She will however move it side to side. I keep wondering if there is something wrong with her neck. I gave her more coconut oil this morning and massaged crop again. I took her back outside and she pooped white liquid and some green pellets. The pellets seem to break easily and it may be stuff from her crop?

 

[azygous]

Is she also drinking a lot of water? Chickens with crop disorders tend to do that.

It can require several doses of oil and massage to get an impaction broken up. You will know it's completely gone by checking it first thing in the morning.

If an impaction refuses to go down inspite of several doses of oil, the last resort is a stool softener - one capsule, wait a bit and massage. That should do it. If it doesn't, the impaction is likely foreign material that won't break down in the body and surgery would be required to remove it.

 

[krayca]

She is not drinking or eating a thing.. Only getting what I give her by 5ml syringe .i feel like i have got her crop emptied with the coconut oil. I will pick up some vitamin e and selenium today on way home and also something to treat the yeast. After that I dont know how to help her more as she simply will not eat or drink.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would be a little worried about possible Mareks disease with her neck problem, not eating, and looking obviously very ill. Does she walk normally if she is promtped? Has she been laying eggs recently? Her comb looks kind of pale in the picture. I would also look her over for mites and lice, under the vent, wings, and neck. Is there a vet nearby where you could get her seen or buy a feeding tube and syringe to tube feed her?

 

[krayca]

She will walk a little ways and but only to find a spot to sleep. Her comb is paler and limp. Her eyes and nose clear. no eggs for over a week. I do not see any mites or lice.. I really think something has happened to her neurologically.. I will read up on Mareks now. I was not able to find a vet in my area that will see chickens this time last year. Is there something to give chickens for inflammation? I do have prednisone at home that was prescribed for dogs.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is her ear swollen or look like there is an infection? You can try some QTips and peroxide to try cleaning it out, and then apply some neosporin in the ear. Do you have the liquid or powder Corid? I would give her 2-3 drops of undiluted Corid twice a day, and try getting her to take the Corid water often. To make the same concentrated Corid like the liquid Corid, you would add 2 tsp of powder to 10 ml (2tsp) of water. Try offering some chopped soft egg and wet chicken feed to tempt her to eat.

It looks like she may not survive, so I would contact your state vet or poultry lab to get a necropsy and testing for Mareks if they suspect it, if she dies. Here is some info on contacting your state vet:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm