Sick chicken

[Oolala]

I have been treating my sick chicken with metoxyl for a week after the vet diagnosed cocci. She has been great all week, eating normally, was drinking a lot of water and happily following the other chickens in The garden looking for grubs etc, in other words a happy chicken but also yesterday and today her poo seemed normall again and not loose. She is also loosing a lot of feathers at the moment. We live in France and have had some lively warm weather for October, also she hasnt laid any eggs for two weeks. Today, she has been very lethargic, hardley eating or drinking and tucking her head under her wing and falling asleep all the time, she really doesnt look well so I have tucked her up for the night in her own nesting box and dread seeing if she will be alive or dead in the morning. I have no idea what is wrong with her as she has eaten and drunk the same as the other chickens and they seem fine.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Oolala

How old is she?
When you examine her - do you feel any bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

If you can revisit the vet or call them with your concerns, that is always best.

Was she a consistent egg layer before she became sick - any problems laying abnormal eggs?

It's hard to know what's going on with chickens sometimes - the lethargy is concerning. Offer her some poultry vitamins/nutri-drops if you have them. Depending on how old she is - the feather loss may be due to molting which makes them feel bad - a molting hen will usually stop laying eggs during this time.

Having Coccidiosis as an adult - if she is not new to your flock - could be an indication that she may have an underlying illness - did the vet perform any xrays?

 

[Eggcessive]

The sulfadimethoxine in Metoxyl will treat coccidiosis as well as some other types of infections, such as respiratory, ear, and intestinal ones. I agree with Wyorp Rock in that she could have other problems such as internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis, or a digestive blockage in her crop or gizzard. Sometimes we never know the problem until we look at the internal organs after death. I have lost a couple to gizzard impactions, and 2 more that have impacted crops found too late. Hopefully your hen will feel better soon, and you can help her with good food and vitamins.

 

[Oolala]

Sorry, I have only just read seen these messages. The good news is Geraldine is back to normal. She is a young chicken, I had her in May, and was a consisttant layer until The first time I noticed a problem her poo was very loose, not diarrhea, I left it a few days, didnt change her diet. The first thing the vet suggested was to try worming her but that didnt do the trick so I took a sample of her poo to the vet and he said he could see some blood in it so that is when he gave me the treatment for Cocci. A week of this sorted out the problem so that is why I got so frightened when all she wanted to do was sleep. She has been losing feathers for a couple of weeks but mainly bum fluff feathers not specifically around the vent. The day before she became very sleepy I had given the coop a good clean out of all the straw and sawdust to make sure there were no bacteria left after her illness and sprinkled a good dose of parasite powder everywhere and only put sawdust back where they perch at night. Strangely all the chickens were freaked out by this, especially the white powdered floor so I had to pick them up and put them to bed. The next morning they wouldnt come down as they kept looking at the white floor so when I ooened the door wide they flew right out and I wonder if Geraldine either inhaled too much powder or hurt herself flying down and that is why she was sleepy all day. Anyway the good news is she is back to herself, still not laying but that could be because our weather has really gone cold and is still moulting a little. Geladine by the way is my plymouth rock, the big bird in the photo. Sorry this is such a long post but I dont have anyone else to talk chickens too, I think my husband just switches off from me now ad I always have little stories to come and tell him when the girls are helping me in the garden!!!!!!

 

[Oolala]

Hi @Oolala
Sorry, I have only just read seen these messages. The good news is Geraldine is back to normal. She is a young chicken, I had her in May, and was a consisttant layer until The first time I noticed a problem her poo was very loose, not diarrhea, I left it a few days, didnt change her diet. The first thing the vet suggested was to try worming her but that didnt do the trick so I took a sample of her poo to the vet and he said he could see some blood in it so that is when he gave me the treatment for Cocci. A week of this sorted out the problem so that is why I got so frightened when all she wanted to do was sleep. She has been losing feathers for a couple of weeks but mainly bum fluff feathers not specifically around the vent. The day before she became very sleepy I had given the coop a good clean out of all the straw and sawdust to make sure there were no bacteria left after her illness and sprinkled a good dose of parasite powder everywhere and only put sawdust back where they perch at night. Strangely all the chickens were freaked out by this, especially the white powdered floor so I had to pick them up and put them to bed. The next morning they wouldnt come down as they kept looking at the white floor so when I ooened the door wide they flew right out and I wonder if Geraldine either inhaled too much powder or hurt herself flying down and that is why she was sleepy all day. Anyway the good news is she is back to herself, still not laying but that could be because our weather has really gone cold and is still moulting a little. Geladine by the way is my plymouth rock, the big bird in the photo. Sorry this is such a long post but I dont have anyone else to talk chickens too, I think my husband just switches off from me now ad I always have little stories to come and tell him when the girls are helping me in the garden!!!!!!


How old is she?
When you examine her - do you feel any bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

If you can revisit the vet or call them with your concerns, that is always best.

Was she a consistent egg layer before she became sick - any problems laying abnormal eggs?

It's hard to know what's going on with chickens sometimes - the lethargy is concerning. Offer her some poultry vitamins/nutri-drops if you have them. Depending on how old she is - the feather loss may be due to molting which makes them feel bad - a molting hen will usually stop laying eggs during this time.

Having Coccidiosis as an adult - if she is not new to your flock - could be an indication that she may have an underlying illness - did the vet perform any xrays?

 

[Oolala]

The sulfadimethoxine in Metoxyl will treat coccidiosis as well as some other types of infections, such as respiratory, ear, and intestinal ones. I agree with Wyorp Rock in that she could have other problems such as internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis, or a digestive blockage in her crop or gizzard. Sometimes we never know the problem until we look at the internal organs after death. I have lost a couple to gizzard impactions, and 2 more that have impacted crops found too late. Hopefully your hen will feel better soon, and you can help her with good food and vitamins.

All is good now, thank you. I have been giving all the girls multivitamins as well as home made spinach soup with garlic and yogurt, they love it, good for the digestive system, on cold mornings, a small bowl of warm porridge and a spoon of yogurt mixed in and for supper a warm mix of Ble, sweetcorn, raisins and pellets. They have access to pellets and mixed feed all day too as well as foraging all day in the garden and eating the wild bird seed. I have also been re feeding them back their eggs scambled as we were not allowed to eat them after the metoxyl. I did look this up first to see if it was ok and a number of people said they did the same and had even eaten them themselves. My husband ate one by mistake with no ill effects. Unfortunately only my little plymouth rock is still laying, so looks like i may have to buy eggs throughout the winter, or go without as they wont taste the same shop bought

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the update, I'm glad that Geraldine is doing better