Sick hen, loosing weight, still eating, but weak

Thank you, all of you for your replies.. .and thank you casportpony for the link.. VERY HELPFUL!

Does anyone know where I can get Albendazole, or Valbazen ? I did have quite a bit of flies in the coop this year. Perhaps she has some tapeworms, but then again, I have not seen any visible (to the naked eye) evidence of worms in her fecal matter.

seminolewind... How did you find out it was Marek's? Did you have a post-mortem done on your hen? My hen's poo is bright green too right now- its been off and on now, but now that she's doing quite poorly even though still eating, I'm sure if I don't act soon she will pass. From what I've read is that green poo is a sign that the chicken is not eating, or not eating enough. Is that correct?

Happy Chooks... I have been worried with her in the past about egg yolk peritonitis- about nine months ago, her health took a dive. She had been laying soft shell eggs- this is right before she stopped laying. When she stopped laying, I figured that I didn't have to worry about that anymore. I would suppose if it is, then there is nothing I can do for her?
If it is EYP, you are going to know right quick actually. Her belly will look like its dragging, her legs will be more splayed out to the side... She should have constant poopy feathers on her rear, sometimes looking like yolk/egg white. Her belly will also feel squishy, almost like a how a sour crop would feel, only her belly. If it is EYP, then the antibiotics are clearing the infection, keeping her alive long enough for her to get the infection again, because she is internal laying still. You can keep going with the antibiotics. But if it is EYP, you may be better off culling her.

If it is parasites, You can also get Ivomec pour on... it is for cattle, but, works for both internal and external parasites. I use zimecterin gold horse paste myself, and that has worked very well, Just need a small pea size amount, directly in her mouth. You may want to bring her in, set up a hospital space for a few weeks, and feed her protein rich feed and supplements. You may also want to stop giving her antibiotics until you know for sure she has an infection. You are not doing her any favors by giving her antibiotics for something as simple as worms... IF you can get poop sample to a vet in order to check for parasite, or if you have a kid with a scope to look for worms... some kids do... anyway, if you can afford a vet visit maybe do that...

About the green poop... It is not only a sign of not eating enough, this is also a sign of organ failure, liver damage. Usually when it becomes constant, it is a sign of near death. Not saying that she's going too, but if she's had a severe case of worms, and you don't always visually see the worms in the stool, they have been consuming the food, her body starts to consume itself, just like a starving person... So, since the body isn't getting the nutrients, you can have a chicken pooping green since the food is not going to where it should. Again, a fecal check would be a good idea.

A fecal sample can also tell you if she's got ecoli... In which case, you also have the green poo, weight loss, stop egg laying. It can be a difficult and tricky infection to clear. Again a hospital containment with heat, would probably help....

What kind of hen is she? I have had bad luck with my silver laced wyandottes and EYP... I am culling one in the morning, I had her on antibiotics also, and she is still not getting better. There was some improvement, but tonight she took a turn for the worse, so... culling in the morning and burying her in the chicken cemetery in back...
 
Hi NovaAman,

First I just wanted to say I'm so sorry to hear about your silver wyandotte. Is EYP usually a genetic condition?

Thanks also for the information about EYP... It seems that she doesn't have hat. At least, she doesn't have the belly...'t is super skinny underneath. I can feel her bones. She does have poopy butt though- one the the first things I noticed that something was wrong. I have a few other hens now that have poopy butt too.
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I did have my sick hen in a hospital-like place inside the house, but the problem was that she just quit eating. It was like she got seriously depressed being inside. She absolutely refused to eat. Yet once I put her out with the others, she perked up and tries to do all the normal chicken things and eats. I think she really just lost the will to live when inside the cage. I may still bring her inside for the nights since it is getting colder.

I am concerned about Ecoli infection. We have a compost pile that the hens just love to eat from.. I know, probably a bad idea, we will be putting a fence up around it soon. I had read that normal antibiotics would not do the trick for ecoli- that you need something stronger. She was on Baytrill first...and now... Oh.. can't remember its name, but its a common type anti-biotic. This is her second round of it and my vet gave me about three weeks supply for this second round. (I'm so thankful- because that alone seems like it is carrying her through, albeit she is still loosing the battle, just at a slower pace it seems.)

I have some Ivermectin pour on. I think i'll be treating her today with it- I treated her with D-worm (piperzine?) last Wednesday. I figured that it should be ok to treat her with the Ivermectin pour on now... I hope. I figured too what do I have to loose? Do you think its too soon to try?



OH ...and, yeah, she's a Rhode Island Red. About 2 1/2 years old.
 
Thank you, all of you for your replies.. .and thank you casportpony for the link.. VERY HELPFUL!

Does anyone know where I can get Albendazole, or Valbazen ? I did have quite a bit of flies in the coop this year. Perhaps she has some tapeworms, but then again, I have not seen any visible (to the naked eye) evidence of worms in her fecal matter.

seminolewind... How did you find out it was Marek's? Did you have a post-mortem done on your hen? My hen's poo is bright green too right now- its been off and on now, but now that she's doing quite poorly even though still eating, I'm sure if I don't act soon she will pass. From what I've read is that green poo is a sign that the chicken is not eating, or not eating enough. Is that correct?

Happy Chooks... I have been worried with her in the past about egg yolk peritonitis- about nine months ago, her health took a dive. She had been laying soft shell eggs- this is right before she stopped laying. When she stopped laying, I figured that I didn't have to worry about that anymore. I would suppose if it is, then there is nothing I can do for her?

Bocktoberry

There were so many classic signs, I didn't do a necropsy at that time. My adults wasted away over a period of 1- 4 months, each one. That was after I had a roo that was classic, paralysis of legs, then wings, then loss of control of neck. One grey eye. Wasting. Could not aim at food and pick it up. All the while with a smile on his face and a crow now and then. Then a chicken wasting away every few months for 3 years with no explanation. Until last year, my hen hatched purchased eggs. The 8 chicks at 6 weeks old got paralysis, one a week. All had good appetites and wasting. Some had gasping as well. Bright Green poo was a sign that I needed to euthanize. I started realizing what I had when I had a hen with a "broken leg" I treated. Then a chick, (wow what a coincidence). Then with the third I knew what it was.

There is no cure. My adults I've lost one every 3-4 months. The chicks are now vaccinated. I had one chick that was vaccinated and at 8 weeks got paralysis. I could not bear it. I put her in the garage. She sat there like a princess. I moved her into my bedroom. Over 6+ weeks, I took her out daily and let her practice walking. Eventually she got better and is back in a flock.

I'm going on about Marek's because that's what I know. It does not mean that your hen has it. The proof would be in a necropsy And a good flock history , and symptoms, too.

The only other thing I can think of is that she has a tumor or an internal problem that can't be solved. It could even be a cardiac problem. It's difficult to know because most local vets can't diagnose a chicken.

I hope you find the cause.
hugs.gif
 
Hi All and thanks for your replies.. All has been really helpful. I don't have anyone that I know who has chickens, so when something like this happens, I feel I"m scrambling to get the facts.

My hen is still hanging on, but now I fear she is on her last. She is not eating very well. She has just become very weak and will loose her balance if she tried to move. She is limping. I'm afraid it could be Mareks. Not sure of course but troubled that she doesn't seem to have many other signs. I had put her in with two other hens in a large holding pen- no run, with sand substrate (poops can be cleaned out easily with kitty litter scoop). There is sunshine for them in there and a couple cat boxes (no litter) filled with some bedding material so they can find a quiet spot for themselves if needed.

She seemed to do we'll, but then just turned for the worse again. I have her inside now since the temps are getting so cold. She is basically skin and bone now. Her poop at times is watery, green, and quite strong ammonia smelling. (Something akin to what a cat with kidney problems- their urine- smells like) I've tried giving her some liquid vitamin E. I have given her a few Oxine AH "saunas".. which seemed to help a bit maybe. I am now giving her a treatment of Sulmet (for Cocci) in her water.. just in case the vet's antibiotics didn't nip anything in the bud. (I should say that I do put ACV in their water everyday, so I don't really expect it to be Cocci, but one never knows)


I just hate to loose her. She seems to still be in the middle of a molt.. one that is taking so entirely long to go through. I don't see lots of feathers falling off but I do see lots of pin feathers. I gave her a warm bath the other day because I had to get rid of the ammonia smell from the pasted on diarrhea. I cut her back feathers to prevent this from happening.

I have one other chicken who is doing the same... that is, molting but taking a long time, but she is still moving around and eating ok. Yet she also is loosing large amounts of weight. She used to be my fattest hen, but now is sized just like the other hens.

All were treated with D-worm and Ivermectin. I also have D.E. in the coop.

Anyway thanks all for the help. If anyone knows anything else I can try please let me know. I don't expect her to make it without some sort of turn around. I'd love to see her appetite pick up. Then I would know she was getting better.

Thanks again.

-Laura
 
I don't know a lot about chickens, but I do know with goats and cattle, if you overuse or overdose wormers it will fry the liver and they die. I am not in any way saying you did this, and I truly feel for you....it's awful having a sick animal and not know what to do for it. Can a fecal be done to see if she has worms? I do my own fecals on my goats, but have never done one on a chicken. Can the vet give an iv with fluids to help with the dehydration? We don't have any vets in my area that deal with chickens. It's hard to find a vet that deals with goats, say nothing to chickens. I do hope she gets better, you are going above and beyond what a lot of people would do and no matter what happens, you did all you could for her. Please keep us posted on how she is. Good thoughts going out to you and her.
 
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Anyway thanks all for the help. If anyone knows anything else I can try please let me know. I don't expect her to make it without some sort of turn around. I'd love to see her appetite pick up. Then I would know she was getting better.

Thanks again.

-Laura
She probably needs to be properly hydrated with a feeding tube or subcutaneous fluids.
 
She just passed.

She grew very weak this afternoon. By four o clock she couldn't hold her head up nor stand and she just passed at five o'clock.


Thanks everyone for your replies, concern and help.


RIP Ginger



 

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