Sick chicken

[schambo]

Lulu is around 1.5-2 years old, and has been under the weather for about 2 weeks. I was confident that I was dealing with vent gleet, as she had a poopy, crusty butt, feather loss around her vent, and the whole area was red and irritated, but I’ve been bathing her and treating her with canesten and am not really seeing any improvement. The last few days she’s been low-energy, just kind of hanging out hunched over by herself. She seems to have trouble jumping onto the perch at night. She isn’t currently laying and hasn’t since May due to a combo of stress from a predator attack followed immediately by a long, slow molt. She also has these loose green stools I have a flock of 4, and so far no one else seems remotely affected, so I don’t think it’s diet or a contagious illness. They are on layer crumble with daily treats of BSF larvae and occasional treats of veggies, and the often roam my small suburban backyard.

Any suggestions?

 

[coach723]

Is the white stuff in the third picture the medication you are using?
Is her crop empty, full, soft and squishy, hard, etc? Also check it first thing in the morning before she has access to food or water, it should be empty then, if it's not that can indicate a problem. Also feel her abdomen between the legs below the vent, is it bloated, very firm, or water balloon like? (Compare with others if you aren't sure) Feel her keel bone, is it very prominent or is it well muscled? Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Is she still molting?

 

[schambo]

Is the white stuff in the third picture the medication you are using?
Is her crop empty, full, soft and squishy, hard, etc? Also check it first thing in the morning before she has access to food or water, it should be empty then, if it's not that can indicate a problem. Also feel her abdomen between the legs below the vent, is it bloated, very firm, or water balloon like? (Compare with others if you aren't sure) Feel her keel bone, is it very prominent or is it well muscled? Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Is she still molting?

The white stuff is the canesten, yeah. I’ll check the other things. I think she’s still molting, but I’m not sure if the feather loss is just from whatever’s going on with her right now.

 

[coach723]

I asked about molt because her feathers don't look as pristine as you would expect from a bird that has just recently molted. Some birds can do a 'stress molt' triggered by illness also. Some of the feathers around her vent still look to have feather sheath material on them, so she may still be molting. But the droppings don't look normal, if they are all like that. The fecal would be a good idea, if you can get one done. Parasites could be a cause of runny droppings and a messy vent. Reproductive problems can also be a reason.

 

[schambo]

Is there a way to treat parasites without a float test? I don’t even know where I’d do that locally…

 

[coach723]

Not sure what wormers you have available there. Fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur) or Albendazole (Valbazen) are most often used here in the US for most common worms (Praziquantel for tapeworms), you may have to get from a vet there, not sure. They come in formulations for horses, goats and cattle and are used off label for chickens. If you can get one, someone here can help with dosing, depending on the product.

 

[schambo]

Is the white stuff in the third picture the medication you are using?
Is her crop empty, full, soft and squishy, hard, etc? Also check it first thing in the morning before she has access to food or water, it should be empty then, if it's not that can indicate a problem. Also feel her abdomen between the legs below the vent, is it bloated, very firm, or water balloon like? (Compare with others if you aren't sure) Feel her keel bone, is it very prominent or is it well muscled? Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Is she still molting?

I think her crop feels fairly empty? It doesn’t feel like a hard mass, it feels slightly squishy, but no gurgling or weird doors. Her abdomen may be bloated? It definitely feels firmer and bigger than the other chicken I felt, especially on the right side- kind of hard and stretched, like your cheek if you puffed it really full of air?-though that chicken is considerably smaller than this one. Her keel bone is pretty pronounced. I’m not sure if these pictures add any extra info.

 

[coach723]

If her abdomen feels bloated but her keel is pronounced then it sounds more like a reproductive problem. It's not uncommon after the age of two (sometimes earlier), especially in heavy laying breeds (as she is). They will often lose body condition but still feel heavy due the the abdomen bloat. It could be a cancer, an infection, or internal laying. If you want to worm to totally rule that out, it would likely do no harm. If she were mine I probably would. If it's reproductive then treatment options are limited for most of them, and some don't really respond to treatment. They just progress until they pass, or you euthanize. Sometimes vet care can help ID what's going on, sometimes not, and due to cost that's a very personal choice. I leave mine with the flock until they are obviously unwell. go off food and water, isolate themselves, or get attacked by flockmates. When they are no longer doing normal chicken things, I euthanize rather than let them suffer. Often the only way to know for sure what happened is to have a necropsy done after they pass. So, you can choose to worm her, or not, and then I would just observe. See how she's eating or drinking, monitor the crop (reproductive problems can also cause digestion to slow and crop problems can be a symptom also). They also become reluctant to eat if the crop is slow or stops emptying. Abdomen bloat may slowly get worse, she may waddle and develop a wide legged stance, it may get hard for her to roost. Dirty vent feathers are common as the abdomen pressure makes it harder for them to push droppings out. So you may need to trim vent feathers or clean her up to prevent irritation or flystrike.

 

[schambo]

I started her on Safe-Guard, but I also tried draining the bloated area, and it was this yellow stuff, which I figure is not a good sign…

 

[coach723]

No, that's from ascites, the liver is leaking fluid into the abdomen. It's also cloudy, so that likely means bacterial infection is present. The draining may make her more comfortable, relieving some of the pressure in her abdomen for a time. Once ascites has developed then generally the outcome is not good. Treatment options at this point are not really good, mostly palliative care, the underlying condition is advanced. If she seems to do better after draining, then you can repeat that again when the fluid builds up again if it helps, and she keeps going. Antibiotics are not likely to change the outcome, Maybe buy some time, but it's very hard to say. So sorry.
Honestly, when this happens, I try to keep them happy and comfortable as long as I can, then I don't let them suffer. They are so good at hiding illness that you can be assured that when she's acting like she's ill, she's likely very, very ill. Do consider a necropsy when she passes. It can often provide peace of mind and can be very informative. I've seen ascites in birds with fatty liver disease, reproductive infections and cancers, heart failure. Some times they will pass suddenly, sometimes not. Again, so sorry.