SIck girl...can't figure it out

[tlouiselle]

My little girl Roxy is acting strange. Sunday morning she was fine. Ran out of the coop like a crazy girl as always. Pecking at grass. Chatting and following me around.

When it was time to go to bed she was not herself. She came and followed me but very slowly. She is usually the first to come running. She seemed in a daze. Just stood at the coop door staring off into space. When I put her to bed with the others she just stood there...normally she runs to eat. Just very lethargic and zombie-like. When I hold her she is TOO content and closes her eyes.

As of today, she is the same. Yesterday I brought her onto our covered porch and put her in a pen. She will chat a little but just stands around in a daze. Slightly fluffier than usual. Last night she was drinking a little and picking at food but today she has NO interest in eating. She is normally a little piglet for food.

Last week I had 2 chicks come down with cocci and I was informed to treat the whole flock, which I did. All is well except for Roxy.

I am in no way a professional but I did feel around to see if she is egg bound. I was still unsure of what I was feeling for so I felt another hen to compare. She doesn't feel any different...

She DOES free range and I cracked one ofher eggs the other day and it was not as orange as the other egg yolks. She is young and does not lay on a schedule is seems.

I DID notice, however, that the chicken scratch went bad...and my husband had fed them some scratch when he went to visit them a few days in a row...

I do have antibiotics, vitamins/electrolytes, probiotics, a wormer...I just have no idea what this is and what to give her...IF I should even give her anything.

I'm so worried,

Any thoughts?

 

[cafarmgirl]

The history of chicks with coccidiosis is concerning and if this were my bird I'd treat for that even if just to rule that out as a possibility. The bad feed could also be your culprit but I do not know what you'd do as far as treatment so hopefully somebody else will comment on that issue. Meantime try to get some fluids into her, they go down fast when they stop drinking. Tube feeding/fluids is best if you are comfortable doing it that way.

 

[tlouiselle]

Thank you. I will do that. Her treatment for cocci is just about finished. I was told by First State Vet Supply to treat the entire flock for 5-7 days. No one showed signs of it except for the 2 chicks, which have bounced back. It is just her that is having issues all of the sudden (well after they had the meds).

I will get some fluids in her. I made her a mash that hse has no interest in. Poor girl.

 

[tlouiselle]

WIth further research she may have botulism from the chicken scratch going bad. I am going to treat her for that with epsom salts and see what happens...

 

[tlouiselle]

UPDATE: She is doing MUCH better!!!! I gave her the epsom salt water and there was not much change. I then read in my homeopathic book for chickens what to give her...15 minutes after I gave her some remedies she was walking around, eating (and I mean PIGGING OUT), and drinking. The remedies never cease to amaze me! It always takes my animals about 15 minutes after I give them to show a small sign of improvement.

 

[jkirkp5]

That's wonderful! What is the name of the homeopathic book you use? I'm having difficulty with one of my hens, dark red droopy comb and diarrhea. She is eating but has less interest in food than usual. I'm worried about her...

 

[tlouiselle]

Here is the book: Remedies for Health Problems of the Organic Laying Flock. Compiled and Edited by Karma E. Elos.

For some reason my computer won't allow me to copy and paste the link. It is 60 pages to print but it is a great book. My homeopath told me about it. This is the book she uses to treat chickens.

I have used homeopathics on myself and my animals for years. I have had better luck with them than at the vet most of the time. They always come through for me. I keep certain ones on hand for when my dogs are not feeling well. One of my dogs had 3 heat cycles before she was spayed. All cycles caused her to have false pregnancies and then mastitis. She would hardly eat and was really sick. The vet kept running tests, taking money, not helping, and telling me to bring her back if she doesnt get better. After 4 trips to the vet, a drained bank account, and a very ill dog, I fired the vet and used my homeopathics. 15 minutes later she went into the kitchen looking for food to eat. She had not eaten willingly in almost a month. I have cured demodex on my other dog with them, my cat has immune system issues so I use them instead of getting steroid shots...they really are amazing. I will only tell people about them because of my personal experience. I usually keep quiet because they are so controversial too LOL.

Did you google about the diarrhea and droopy comb? I just did and there are a lot of threads in BYC about it. I can't copy and past the links because i need to edit my settings and my husband isn't home to show me how though LOL!

 

[jkirkp5]

Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly. I would much rather use remedies from nature than man-made pharmaceuticals. I will look the book up now.

 

[tlouiselle]

You are very welcome