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

[Guinea Goonie]

Chickens unfortunately get diagnosed too late. Thier symptoms usually are a result of the disease, not the root cause.

When a bird gets sick and finally shows symptoms, it is to the point of a serious problem. The white/yellow poo is a true symptom, but one that I have never been able to pin point. You can look an a ton of sites and still you do not have the answer you really need.

As you probably know, the white portion, either being solid or watery is the urine of the bird. Birds do not have a bladder and therefore pass the urine in the stool. I mean a white watery poo can be from stress, excitement, too much water or a very serious and strange disease that really should not occur in your hemisphere.

So diagmosing the poo is a problem, unless it is bloody or a very dark color.

In the end a necropsy or a bacterial culture may be the only way one can diagnose the problem.

 

[Nif]

Thanks for the info on feeding sick birds, Omran. I was totally wondering if grass was good or not, I did not give it to my sick silkie that ended up dying.
I have another silkie that was with the sick one, and I am keeping her quarantined in the garage. She shows no sign of sickness, her poop looks perfect (if poo can be!) and she's eating great. I have been making her wet layer feed and her normal chicken scratch, and a piece of fairly soft (room temp) apple, she goes crazy pecking at it. Also the herbal drops in her water. She doesn't seem too terribly stressed about being by herself, just a little confused and maybe missing her friend. (I know I do)
Regarding your comment on age, the one that died was just a year old and the one who is not sick at all is 3 years old.
(both silkies from the same breeder)
How long should I keep her separate, someone suggested 7-10 days.

 

[cdtrum]

Thanks for all your input and adivce......she seems to be the same this morning.......we had a horrible ice storm last night into this morning so I have not really had time to spend with her yet.....we have been out trying to get barn doors de-iced in order to take care of the other animals and chickens........I told her this morning on my way out the back door that she is the lucky one right now getting to be in the house........this hen is so very people friendly, she isn't even scared of our two pups......she does not want to be in the kennel......she is loving being loose in the mudroom! I did just give her some more vitamins before getting on here.......I 'll try the diet suggested.....as soon as power comes back on! I think I'll go chop up some apple for her now and see what she does.......someone said BOSS is good for chickens, so I did give her a few last night and she loved them. I really don't think it is an impacted crop.....I can not feel anything, of course I'm no expert. Maybe it is genitecs.....she is and always has been so small.....I have told my DH before that I could not understand why she wasn't growing.........well, I am doing the best I know how for her so time will tell.......she is not acting sick at this point, but is still not eating or pooping normal.....I keep thinking she will start going down hill.
Thanks again from frozen northern Indiana

 

[cdtrum]

BUMP......see update on original post!

 

[silkiechicken]

Are you sure what you saw was a poop and not a passing of a growth in her reproductive tract? Growths can happen and things do get stuck, and will make a hen feel miserable till it passes or ends her.

 

[cdtrum]

It looked like poop to me.....it had what looked like a piece of grass or straw sticking out of the end......I'm am no expert though......my husband just hollered upstairs to me and says she is eating like crazy! If it was a growth what will happen now?

 

[silkiechicken]

As bad as it sounds, do you have a pic of the thing?

Maybe it was a poo and she just ate something that was hard to pass?

If it was a growth, it could happen again, or she could live out her life like nothing happened. Hard to say, and really... can't say.


Good luck.

 

[banter]

Sounds like she;s going to be OK- All breeds of birds which are sick need to be kept very warm (90 degrees but ventilated) and need clean water.

 

[birdlover]

That is such good news! Pat yourself on the back for bringing her in where it's warm. That probably saved her life. If you still have the thing, you could take it to the vet for analyzing or, as silkie chicken suggested, post a photo here. I hope she continues to gain strength and improve for you!

 

[cdtrum]

Call me crazy......but I think she was constipated! Since she passed the very wierd looking poop (no, I didn't think to keep it.....I flushed it)......she is pooping normally, several bowl movements within an hour and is eating as fast as she can and everything she can get to.....while we were eating dinner tonight she was talking to us up a storm from the mudroom.....she has eaten probably 1/2 an apple and some laying mash, BOSS and is drinking like crazy! So hopefully she will make a full recovery! I think she is liking being a house chicken.....I might have a hard time getting her to go back out to the coop!
Thank you all for your help!