Sick Golden Sexlink Chicken - Need Ideas on Cause

[NwChickOwner]

We have a Golden Sexlink Chicken that is at least 30 weeks old. She was purchased as a "coop-ready 6-11week old" chicken back in June. We noticed she would sleep on the floor of the coop while the other chickens slept on various levels of the roosting bars (more than enough space for everyone, some even empty). Yesterday, we found her on the floor of the coop not moving. We quickly got her in with an avian specialist in our area because we are new to chickens. She said there was no egg issues, no respiratory, and no mites or skin issues. She started deworming her and tube fed her because her crop was empty. Today, she was about the same but did not eat or drink so we went back to the vet to learn to tube feed and add another medication. The vet was honest that she doesn't fit any one illness perfectly so she isn't sure what is going on. The chicken seems to be alert and looks around and then falls asleep, very lethargic. She seems to try to eat a few times but doesn't get close enough to the food to actually get it. I thought I would post here to get ideas from you on what could be happening. Any insights are greatly appreciated. These chickens are like pets to us and the kids are very worried about the chicken. We have already begun to prepare them for worst case scenarios since we have no prognosis from the vet. Also, there are nine other hens that are acting normal. Fecal testing was done but we won't have results until Monday.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to hear she's not doing well.

Does she seem to be able to see?
Photos of her and her poop?

If the vet isn't able to nail it down, then she may be suffering from disease like Marek's.
Hard to know what's happening.

I'd continue to work on getting fluids into her and follow the vet's directions for care.

If you lose her, then send the body to your State Lab for diagnostics, this will hopefully give you the best answers as to the cause of her decline.

 

[gtaus]

Yesterday, we found her on the floor of the coop not moving. We quickly got her in with an avian specialist in our area because we are new to chickens.

That does not sound good, especially for such a young hen. I try to treat all my chickens at home. Sometimes I get lucky and they recover, sometimes not.

These chickens are like pets to us and the kids are very worried about the chicken. We have already begun to prepare them for worst case scenarios since we have no prognosis from the vet.

Keeping small animals is a life lesson, especially for young children. Even under the best conditions, a chicken does not have a long life. I have been raising small animals for about 50 years. It's never a good day to lose an animal under my care, but I also don't treat my chickens as pets and suffer all the emotional loss when one dies. I guess I'm old and hardened to the fact that not all my animals will live as long as I wish they would.

I don't have children, so I won't pretend to know how to deal with the loss of one of their pets. I would only suggest that you might be able to tell the children that most chickens have short lives and that your pet had a good life while she was healthy. When I have a death in the flock, it helps me to refocus on the needs of the remaining, healthy birds.

Any insights are greatly appreciated.

Before I even got my chickens, I decided that I would only treat them. Our local vets are not known to be very good with poultry, but they still charge a fortune to look at a sick bird. For the price of one vet visit, I could replace my entire flock of 10 chickens 3X over. To me, it just does not make any economic sense to take a sick chicken to a vet. But, again, my chickens are not my pets.

So, my strategy has always been to focus on the basics of good food and clean water. A clean coop and run are also important. That will go a long way to keeping most of the chickens healthy. I purchased 10 baby chicks with the hope of at least 5 surviving to egg laying age. If I lose a few birds along the way, it's all part of the plan.

At a very young age, I learned how to treat my small animals as something other than a pet that might live with you for many years. In my case, I started off with meat rabbits that were going to be butchered in a few months. Knowing that, it gave me some emotional distance when the time came to harvest them. Then I got meat chickens which I harvested after about 8-10 weeks. Laying hens live longer, and I find myself growing more attached to them, but still, I have in my mind that they will be replaced every 2-3 years with new chicks.

Don't know if any of that was helpful, but it's what has allowed me to enjoy raising small animals for over 50 years.

 

[NwChickOwner]

Sorry to hear she's not doing well.

Does she seem to be able to see?
Photos of her and her poop?

If the vet isn't able to nail it down, then she may be suffering from disease like Marek's.
Hard to know what's happening.

I'd continue to work on getting fluids into her and follow the vet's directions for care.

If you lose her, then send the body to your State Lab for diagnostics, this will hopefully give you the best answers as to the cause of her decline.

Thank you.

The vet mentioned Mareks because she said she always keeps that on her mind when there is a mystery illness. Do you know how long Mareks lasts before the chicken dies?

The vet saw her poop and said it showed she was digesting food and was also hydrated. So that was good. She was slightly underweight but the vet said only slightly. Her body condition was good overall.

Her pupils were reactive and she is still moving her head around. I think that means she can see?

I can send a picture tomorrow. I hope she is getting some rest now.

Thank you again for responding.

 

[Eggcessive]

Pictures are always helpful. Sometimes we can see things that may point to a problem. Pictures of her standing if possible from the side and front, showing legs, chest comb, etc. Occasionally we all will get a chicken with issues. I hope it is not Mareks. Sometimes we can only find out answers with a professional necropsy done by the state vet lab who do them daily. I also will do some home necropsies on a chicken I lose, and open the belly to look at organs.

 

[NwChickOwner]

These are from today. She hasn’t stood up today but she did move herself in her crate last night. I tube fed her and she was a little more feisty about it today than she was yesterday. Her crop is full now. Her fecal is the same as yesterday.

The vet said the flock fecal test will be back on Monday. Hopefully, that will give us an answer!

 

[gtaus]

The vet said the flock fecal test will be back on Monday. Hopefully, that will give us an answer!

I hope it will be good news, or at least something that can be treated. She sure is a pretty girl. Good luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

These are from today. She hasn’t stood up today but she did move herself in her crate last night. I tube fed her and she was a little more feisty about it today than she was yesterday. Her crop is full now. Her fecal is the same as yesterday.

The vet said the flock fecal test will be back on Monday. Hopefully, that will give us an answer!

Has she laid any eggs yet? I'd feel of her abdomen below the vent between her legs for any bloat of fluid.
Hopefully this is something treatable, keep us posted.

 

[NwChickOwner]

Has she laid any eggs yet? I'd feel of her abdomen below the vent between her legs for any bloat of fluid.
Hopefully this is something treatable, keep us posted.

Thank you!

The vet checked and couldn’t feel anything. She said the abdomen felt good. I don’t think she has laid yet.

I hope she isn’t suffering.

 

[NwChickOwner]

Vet just called. Flock was positive for coccidiosis and a nematode. She wants us to treat the coccidiosis with corid for the flock. The sick chicken is still not walking. The vet said to give her a few days but she thought we should already see improvement if the parasites were the only issue. We haven’t ruled out Mareks, unfortunately.