sick hen (end of the road for her?)

I am so very sorry to hear that she is no better for your loving care for her... if it is an egg issue it may be a good idea to give her some vitamin D... it adds calcium... I am now going to contact somebody on BYC who may be able to help you further.....Casportpony has a wealth of information and may be able to assist you further.

Suzie
 
This is a copy-and-paste from another post of mine

You need to keep her in your house where it's warm, get her properly hydrated. She needs 30ml of fluids per kg of body weight 4-6 times a day. Once she is hydrated, she should be tube fed if she is not eating and/or losing weight. Unfortunately, she might have a disease like Mareks', so tubing might not do any good. You should probably also try an antibiotic like Baytril or Clavamox.

Great info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid#post_9910754

More on tube feeding:
http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?t=7933

If you suspect egg binding, read this thread and *all* of the links in it.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738201/goose-what-is-this-how-did-it-happen-what-do-i-do-about-it


When mine get sick, this is what I do:

  • Thorough exam which includes inserting a gloved, lubed finger into the cloaca to check for eggs, check externally for cuts, bruising lumps etc.
  • Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust even if I cannot see any. DE does not work.
  • Weigh on digital kitchen scale (see avatar), record weight and weigh daily. any weight loss is bad.
  • Place bird in a warm, quiet place on towel with food and water that it can't drown in.
  • De-worm with Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in 10 days.
  • Once warm, if not drinking, and crop is empty, hydrate with warmed Pedialyte or lactated ringers with a feeding tube - 30ml/kg every 6-8 hours.
  • If not eating after 24 hours and crop is empty, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte
  • Inspect poop.
  • If I suspect a stuck egg, treat for egg binding.
  • If I suspect a bacterial infection, treat with antibiotics.

From: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/07_emergency_and_critical_care.pdf
Supportive Care
SICK-BIRD ENCLOSURES
Sick birds are often hypothermic and should be placed
in heated (brooder-type) enclosures



b (Fig 7.7) in a quiet
environment (see Chapter 1, Clinical Practice). A temperature
of 85° F (29° C) with 70% humidity is desirable
for most sick birds. If brooders are not equipped with a
humidity source, placing a small dish of water in the
enclosure will often supply adequate humidity. A moist
towel that is heated and placed on the bottom of a cage
or incubator rapidly humidifies the environment, as indicated
by the fogging of the acrylic cage front.

FLUID THERAPY
Oral Administration
Oral administration is the ideal method of giving fluids.
This method is more commonly used in mildly dehydrated
birds or in conjunction with subcutaneous (SC)
or intravenous (IV) therapy. Oral rehydration (30 ml/kg
PO q 6-8 h) also may be used in larger birds (eg, waterfowl)
that are difficult to restrain for parenteral fluid
therapy.
 
I just checked on the sick hen and her comb is getting a little purple. also her wattles are light pink but at the ends they are a pale yellow.No swelling of any kind anywhere. She seems to be breathing a little harder now. Could this be some sort of disease?
Can you post a picture?
 
I'm not really tech savvy but I will see if one of my daughters could help me out and take a picture and post it.

I checked her for an egg this morning as you had described and there's nothing inside. Completely empty. She has not laid in more than 2 months because of molting (or age?).

She has been drinking and eating more today.

Thank you all for the help. I am really worried and feeling a little helpless.
 










These were taken using a nintendo dsi, courtesy of my youngest child. sorry not great.

the top of comb is a little purple and tips of wattles are pale yellow.
 
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Unfortunately the hen got worste. She was so weak and not eating that we decided it would be best to put her down. I hated doing it but felt it was for the best.
After she was gone I opened her up and noticed about a cup of fluid in her abdomine. The intestines were about 3x the size they should be with a blockage in the starting of them. The liver,heart,lungs and everything else was perfectly normal. She was very skinny. It look like something was blocking her intestines. The blockage was black & hard. I hope I made the right decision.
 
I had a hen that had similar symptoms (except her comb and wattles never changed color). She got really bad, where she couldn't move her legs much anymore, so my husband and I also decided the right thing to do was put her down. When I necropsied her (poorly, unfortunately), her abdomen was completely full of fluid, also, but one of her organs (likely colon or pancreas) was totally covered in white nodules. Weird. I think you made the right decision!
 
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Unfortunately the hen got worste. She was so weak and not eating that we decided it would be best to put her down. I hated doing it but felt it was for the best.
After she was gone I opened her up and noticed about a cup of fluid in her abdomine. The intestines were about 3x the size they should be with a blockage in the starting of them. The liver,heart,lungs and everything else was perfectly normal. She was very skinny. It look like something was blocking her intestines. The blockage was black & hard. I hope I made the right decision.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I think you did the right thing.
 
I too am sorry for your loss.. she is at peace now.

hugs.gif
 
Thank you all. I really appreciate that. I felt so horrible yesterday. At least now I have an idea of what made her so sick, and I don't think it was any disease that was contagious. So at least I can rest easy a little and not be so paranoid with the rest of the flock.

Bless all of you for all the help and kindness
 

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