Sick Hen - No Appetite, Abnormal Stool & Possible Infection

[Sandistorm]

Hi everyone,

I have a Golden Laced Wyandotte approximately 1.5 years old that weighs ~4.5 lbs. A few months ago (July) her egg production declined, and she began laying soft-shell as well as a few no-shell eggs. Extra calcium didn’t seem to help. At that time we gave her a thorough exam and saw no sign of injury or illness. Last month (September) she was very sick. No appetite, loose and yellow colored stool, isolating herself from the flock, lethargic and no egg production. We had to tube feed her baby food a few times as she was not eating on her own. Thinking it might be an internal infection we started treating her with amoxicillin twice a day for 5 days. We tube fed it at first but then later she would eat the meds in egg yolk and/or plain yogurt. We were also giving her a few periodic Epsom salt baths. Halfway into treatment she improved significantly and had a fantastic appetite (eating regular food on her own!) and was acting almost completely back to normal. However, as of about a week ago she declined again. No appetite, isolating herself, and has abnormal poop. We put her back on the amoxicillin 3 days ago but so far we see no improvement and are having to tube feed her baby food with the meds mixed in. She is drinking very little water. I should note that the issue is specific to this poor girl as the rest of our flock appears healthy. We also don't have a Vet in our area who treats chickens.

I’m attaching some photos – so sorry a few of them are gross to look at but hoping someone can give me an idea of what we're dealing with. Is this an internal infection or something else? Is there anything more I can do to help my poor girl? Should I continue with the Epsom salt baths or leave her be? THANK YOU to those reading this and I’d appreciate any helpful advice!!

Sandistorm

 

[azygous]

The yellow poop is probably a sign of a reproductive infection, usually E.coli. This bacterium comes in many different strains, some being antibiotic resistant. So it can be hard to treat. This is probably why she seemed to respond well at first to the amoxicillin, and now seems to be resisting it.

You could try increasing the amoxy dosage, but the better plan would be to select an antibiotic that is strong enough to treat resistant E.coli bacteria. To do that properly would require a vet taking a culture of her poop to determine the strain infecting the hen and prescribing the appropriate antibiotic.

I'm sending a bat signal to @Eggcessive to see if she can help steer you to an online source for the drug, hopefully not requiring a vet prescription, that might have a better chance of treating the hen than pinning hopes on amoxicillin to fight it.

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in her poop are normally supposed to be white, and that can indicate that her liver is having problems. Reproductive infections are a frequent cause. I would give her some probiotics while waiting for another antibiotic to come in the mail. Enrofloxacin is banned for chickens, and vets cannot prescribe it, but it can help with an e.coli infection. So if that doesn’t bother you, and you wait at least a month or more to use her eggs, you could try it. Dosage is 10 mg per kilogram (every 2.2 pounds of weight,) given orally twice a day for 5 days. You can use the 10 mg tablets or the 10% liquid which is sold at jedds:
https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10?variant=40215712661693

 

[azygous]

Yay! @Eggcessive to the rescue!

 

[Sandistorm]

The yellow poop is probably a sign of a reproductive infection, usually E.coli. This bacterium comes in many different strains, some being antibiotic resistant. So it can be hard to treat. This is probably why she seemed to respond well at first to the amoxicillin, and now seems to be resisting it.

You could try increasing the amoxy dosage, but the better plan would be to select an antibiotic that is strong enough to treat resistant E.coli bacteria. To do that properly would require a vet taking a culture of her poop to determine the strain infecting the hen and prescribing the appropriate antibiotic.

I'm sending a bat signal to @Eggcessive to see if she can help steer you to an online source for the drug, hopefully not requiring a vet prescription, that might have a better chance of treating the hen than pinning hopes on amoxicillin to fight it.

Thank you so much for getting back to me with this information! I just haven't been able to find a local Vet or even one in our surrounding areas so any help here is greatly appreciated =)

The yellow urates in her poop are normally supposed to be white, and that can indicate that her liver is having problems. Reproductive infections are a frequent cause. I would give her some probiotics while waiting for another antibiotic to come in the mail. Enrofloxacin is banned for chickens, and vets cannot prescribe it, but it can help with an e.coli infection. So if that doesn’t bother you, and you wait at least a month or more to use her eggs, you could try it. Dosage is 10 mg per kilogram (every 2.2 pounds of weight,) given orally twice a day for 5 days. You can use the 10 mg tablets or the 10% liquid which is sold at jedds:
https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10?variant=40215712661693

Okay great, I will get this ordered TODAY! At this point all I want is for my poor girl to get better so will do whatever I can. THANK YOU so much!!