Sick Hen-Upper respiratory? Mites?

KandiJane

Chirping
10 Years
Jul 16, 2012
7
0
67
So I have a girl who is only about 9 months old. She was an accidental hatch while I was trying to hatch guinea eggs under a broody hen so she's always been kind of a loner. I noticed her being less active than usual so I went to check her out and she was super skinny even though she didn't look it. I found mites on her and treated her ASAP, separated her from the others (none of which had mites) and I've been trying everything I know. I've wormed her, given her meds for Coccidiosis, just in case, given her vitamins, B injections, etc. Using VetRX on her, putting ACV in water, trying to give her yogurt (she won't eat it). I have ordered some Tylan but had to buy generic from Mexico which is a little scary and it's not here yet. She is weak and won't eat unless encouraged. I'm just sick. Short of taking her to the vet is there anything else I should be doing?
 
I found mites on her and treated her ASAP, separated her from the others (none of which had mites) and I've been trying everything I know. I've wormed her, given her meds for Coccidiosis, just in case, given her vitamins, B injections, etc. Using VetRX on her, putting ACV in water, trying to give her yogurt (she won't eat it). I have ordered some Tylan but had to buy generic from Mexico which is a little scary and it's not here yet. She is weak and won't eat unless encouraged. I'm just sick. Short of taking her to the vet is there anything else I should be doing?
In your title you mention upper respiratory, but I see no symptoms listed - can you give more information?
Coughing, wheezing, mucous, watery/bubbly/pus in the eyes...?
What does the inside of her beak look like?
What did you use to treat the mites? What did you worm her with?
How did you treat for Coccidiosis?

Did you give vitamins (b vitamins) while treating for Coccidiosis?

Does she lay eggs?
What do you feed?
Is her crop empty in the morning?
What does she and her poop look like?

You ordered Tylan50? Likely it's fine. You can also get Tylosin (Tylan) soluble at Jedds, you would have to order that online. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

If you feel she needs some yogurt, try stirring it into her feed - make a wet mash-some chickens like wet feed.
If she's not eating well, try some scrambled egg, bits of tuna or meat stirred into feed.

I know it's very hard to get supplies and even groceries right now. It sounds crazy, but if you happen to have some watermelon or even tomatoes, cucumber on hand - try that to entice her as well. These seem to be "popular" when a chicken is not well - maybe it's the juices from these things?
 
I have heard some gurgling sounds and a few sneezes but no coughing, wheezing, mucous, watery/bubbly/pus in the eyes. She sits with her beak open even when it's cool which seems odd. Her crop is always pretty empty unfortunately. She does not lay eggs at all right now.
I used pour on Ivermectin and then treated with poultry dust 7 days later and haven't seen any mites since. I've been putting Amprolin in her water for coccidiosis but her poop looks really good considering all she's been through. I've given her a few vitamin B injections but it's so scary since she's just skin and bones. She's not crazy about wet food and won't really eat much eggs. She does love cheddar cheese, lol! I've been offering her lots of things and digging worms and grubs as I can find them every day. She seems to eat only a little at a time. She likes dried cat food which I know isn't good for her but if I get her started with a few pieces of that she's more likely to eat worms and other food. She seems to do better if I participate in feeding her by holding the food in my hand or holding the container I'm feeding her from. She won't eat chicken feed at all but will eat cracked corn.

She'll seem to be better one day and then seem worse the next. Most people would cull her but I just can't. I'm just wondering if the mites took so much out of her that it's hard for her to recover.
 

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I have heard some gurgling sounds and a few sneezes
She sits with her beak open even when it's cool which seems odd. Her crop is always pretty empty unfortunately. She does not lay eggs at all right now.
I used pour on Ivermectin and then treated with poultry dust 7 days later and haven't seen any mites since. I've been putting Amprolin in her water for coccidiosis but her poop looks really good considering all she's been through. I've given her a few vitamin B injections but it's so scary since she's just skin and bones. She's not crazy about wet food and won't really eat much eggs. She does love cheddar cheese, lol! I've been offering her lots of things and digging worms and grubs as I can find them every day. She seems to eat only a little at a time.
Is her crop completely empty in the morning before she eats/drinks?
No sour odor on her breath?

What dose of Amprolium (Corid) are you giving?

I would worm her. You can use Safeguard or Valbazen. While Ivermectin is still pretty good for external parasites, it has lost it's effectiveness for treating worms.
The poop looks quite mucousy to me, so I would give a full 7 days of Corid (Amprolium) and also worm her if she were mine.
Since she's not laying eggs - she may be having some reproductive issues. Sadly, this can be common in laying hens.

I would still try to get her to eat her normal food as much as possible. Have you tried a different type of poultry feed like chick starter?
 
Is her crop completely empty in the morning before she eats/drinks?
No sour odor on her breath?

What dose of Amprolium (Corid) are you giving?

I would worm her. You can use Safeguard or Valbazen. While Ivermectin is still pretty good for external parasites, it has lost it's effectiveness for treating worms.
The poop looks quite mucousy to me, so I would give a full 7 days of Corid (Amprolium) and also worm her if she were mine.
Since she's not laying eggs - she may be having some reproductive issues. Sadly, this can be common in laying hens.

I would still try to get her to eat her normal food as much as possible. Have you tried a different type of poultry feed like chick starter?

I have just been putting a sprinkling of Corid powder in her water since I change it daily. I syringe feed her water at least once a day to make sure she's getting something. I did worm her also, about a week ago when I first noticed all this. I used Safeguard. She may have laid eggs in the past but in her current state I doubt she'd be able. She's a Langshan cross and is quite a large-framed girl. I attached a pic for reference. She was right at 3 pounds a week ago and she's gained a couple of ounces, so while not great, at least she's not losing weight. She looks so much bigger than she really is - she's just skin, bones and feathers. She'll stand up and start clacking her beak together. Not sure if that means anything. I've just noticed today that she starts trying to peck at her crop area. I tried to video and got the tail end (she stops when I start trying to video her) and I'm uploading it to YouTube. I'll share a link once it's done but my internet it incredibly slow.
 

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