sick hen......please give advice! ****Update*****

[cdtrum]

Ok.....I posted here the other night, only recieved one post back....I really need some advice......3 days ago I noticed that one of my buffs (10 months old) was not herself...sitting off by herself with head tucked down into her chest....When I went out that evening to close the coop up, she was off in the corner of the barn all by herself.....the other hens and roo had gone inside for the night.....it is in the teens here at night......so I brought her inside and I have her in a dog kennel in my mudroom......she would not eat or drink the first 2 days of having her inside.....I took a dropper and gave her fluids....finally yesterday I gave her some liquid vitamins that I have and she finally started eating her layer (small amounts) and she is now drinking on her own...I have also tried olive oil,yogurt, mixing layer w/ warm water......she is pooping a whiteish watery w/ yellow poop......she has not laid an egg since bringing her inside....she was laying up until the day before I noticed her being off. She has always been very little...her sister is almost 2x's her size. She feels very boney, but has good color.....her tummy is soft and I can not feel her crop, maybe because she has not been eating. I had some Corid so I added that to her water thinking maybe cocci? None of the other chickens are acting funny, but I went ahead and added some to their water also......I have not wormed any of them, but they have never shown signs of worms....maybe I should? I did give them the pumpkins after Thanksgiving and they ate every bit down to the rine! I am stumped at this point and have read everything and anything I can find in past post on here and I'm still loss.......she seems pretty perky today, she is talking to us and seems to want to be with the family...she does not like the door to the mudroom shut...when I shut it she bangs on it with her beak....I even let her out of the kennel to walk around the mudroom.....she even got up on the kennel and roosted for awhile, I think she did that so she could see through the window into the kitchen where I was......... but she is still not eating or pooping normally.
Sorry for being so long......thanks for any advice!

Ok this is very wierd.......she has not eaten much today and I had finally decide to let nature take its course....I have tried everything except taking her to the vet which I would if she appeared to be in severe pain, but she doesn't.......just a few minutes ago I went to check on her and she had pooped a pretty normal looking poop except for the fact that it was in-cased like a sausage...it had a thick membrane around it....not like mucous, but very dry looking..she is now up talking up a storm and eating......she is even eating the apple that someone had suggested.....she turned her beak up to it a couple of hours ago......what could this mean?

 

[Opa]

What are her symptoms? Is she struggling to breath, lathargic, or what?

 

[cdtrum]

I would say she was sluggish the first 2 days, but has perked up some...I have been give her liquid vitamins....no breathing problems. She just won't eat normal or poop.....when she poops it is watery white with yellow in it. She is not walking funny.....she is steady on her feet.......she has quit tucking her head and her tail is up. I have noticed although she has good color, the tips of her comb are a bit bluish.

 

[birdlover]

I'm so sorry about your girl but I'm glad you rescued her in time. I am sorry I can't give you advice; I hope someone on here will help you soon. Have you put your ear to her chest to see if you hear wheezing. Sometimes, it's not real evident without doing that. Most likely she has some sort of low grade infection and the cold made it worse. Now she's better inside but that hasn't cleared up the problem. I HATE second guessing when my chickens got sick and would take them to our exotic vet right away. Expensive, yes, but trying to figure it out yourself can be exasperating, not to mention fatal. There are also some sites that have illnesses listed by symptoms. I like this one:

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

I can't get the actual article that I want but look at the list on the left hand side. Check out the one about "Care of sick birds".

Best of luck to you and your little girl.

 

[Nif]

I just lost my silkie hen to an illness the other day, and it is very frustrating because the symptoms overlap quite a bit.
My hen started out with pasty butt, then watery/white poo (didn't notice any yellow) and looking depressed.
When I brought her in (I think just paying closer attention to her) I noticed her eyes had white specks on the lids, and
then they turned foamy. Then she developed a respiratory problem and that is what ultimately killed her, I think. Not being able to breathe. I was giving her colloidal silver, and herbal drops containing echinacea and garlic...she seemed to perk up for a few days and then went down hill fast. I will keep a close eye on this thread to see if you get any answers.
Mine was "sick silkie took a turn for the worse" and I haven't really gotten a response yet either...new egg:/
My chickens really like apple, and I would think it has some good vitamins.
Good luck with your girl!

 

[Omran]

It does seem very odd about your 10-month old Buff. Is she still acting the same way? We had a similar problem just over a month ago. It happened with 2 of our Silver-Laced Wyandottes, but about 10 days apart. We tried treating ours with similar methods that you listed. We couldn't find much info either. But it did start out with them not being able to jump on the roost at night, and then they would just start sitting off by themself. Once we got them by themself in the garage, they would eat pretty good and drank fairly normally. Their poop was about average i guess. but then they started showing signs of extreme tiredness and droopy behavior. Within 3 to 4 days they died; they each just laid down in the most comfortable position they could and went peacefully in their sleep. We never did find out what was wrong, but we suspect it was a weakened immune system. And sadly we caught it too late.

Do you think your Buff may have a weak immune system? Our Wyandottes were only about 7 months old. So I would think by 10 months old the chicken would have a stronger immune system. Do you think she could have gotten injured?

I wish I could offer more advice or helpful info. If I find out anything else I think would be of help, I'll pass it along to you ok. I hope your Buff will improve and be fine again... Good luck.

omran

 

[Omran]

Quote:
====================================
Hi there!

We read that mashed apples are good for any sick birds. I have the full article I found on another site that i will post here as soon as i find it again okay. `omran

 

[Renee]

It's so hard to diagnose chicken illnesses. It could be worms, it could be sour or impacted crop, it could be she has a genetic problem.
I think you have done the right thing: separate her from the other birds, keep an eye on what she eats, drinks, and poops, and try to observe and describe any symptoms.
I believe cooked oatmeal, yogurt, and egg yolk are pretty easy on a sick chicken's crop and tummy.

If you believe she is dehydrated, you can make a 50/50 mix of Pedialyte and water for her. If you don't have Pedialyte, a little Gatorade in the water is okay.

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

I don't know what it is or how to treat it, but if she's perking up I'd say keep on doing what you're doing.

 

[Omran]

Hi there!
Here is that post I was tell you about. It has some useful info for treating sick birds.

omran

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Sandy
Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,370
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Try this formula

Sometimes its the food ... they just don't get the right things as they are growing...

This really does work..try it for a week and if you don't see any improvement let me know please..

Rickets using natural ingredients to help a sick bird

“” This amount feeds one bird””

Feed the birds once a day for 3 to 21 days or until you feel the bird is looking and acting better

I like to feed this to my sick birds for at least 3 weeks

Start feeding your birds this formula please: First thing in the morning.. also have their ordinary feed and fresh clean water available at all times: if it has not been fully eaten with in 12 hours throw it out... make another one the next morning.. don't add to it.. clean out the dish it was in also before adding the new mixture

Each serving consists of

1 x boiled egg yolk… crumbled into mixture….. give the whites to the other hens mixed into their seed or pellets (depends a lot on the size of the egg yolk)

1 small teaspoon honey…. .given for energy, only a small teaspoon

2 x tablespoons yoghurt…. Given for calcium and also to make the intestine go back into normal production – the one with no sugar or fruit in it .. it must be if possible the one with the active ingredient in it

2 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats or Rice Baby Cereal (easily digestable)…. To give substance to the feed, and they are easily digested by the bird also putting less stress on its system, when your birds become sick they find it difficult to digest grains

1 dessertspoon of beef tin cat food…… Not dog food …… the bird needs extra protein not carbs

A few grains of multi vitamin powder (only if you are not already giving it to them in their drinking water, don’t overdose) it is very strong.. so only a few grains into the mixture is needed – do not put a large pinch or a teaspoon you will overdose the bird and make it sick

2 tablespoons of grated apple and grated carrot…. .. do not just cut it up .. it must be grated for easy digestion…. Grated Apple is really good for any ailing bird

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny, if you have to roll into pellets and force feed, then gently massage the neck in a downward motion to get it down into the crop, then do it, the bird may be too weak to eat or have lost the desire to eat….

Don’t hold back….

The longer it goes without the worse it will get

If the bird is not drinking by itself:– only give drops onto the beak or use the crop tube to get fluids down the throat, don’t try and pour any fluid down a chickens throat, it will more than likely go into the air passage and into the lungs and end up drowning the bird

Always have fresh clean water available at all time for the bird and good quality food

The egg yolk will give vitamin D

The bird will be lacking in protein due to sickness.. they leach all their own proteins from their system.. by adding a dessertspoon of cat food (not dog food) tin / beef .. this is help to replace this loss and help in the healing process

NO WHOLE GRAINS

NO BREAD

NO CUT GRASS OR GRASS OF ANY KIND. . Its is very fibrous and hard for the bird to digest and can make this situation 100 times harder for the bird
__________________
Sandy
http://happyhenhouse.proboards43.com
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