Sick Hen

[thytay&chickenmomma]

I have a RIR hen who is sick. I have 10 hens, all 1 yr old, all healthy until now. I noticed today she didn't take part in eating sunflower seeds I threw in the coop, she is my biggest hen and is the 1st to come running, not today. She looked unhappy, stood around with her tail down. I picked her up and looked her over. There are no obvious signs of what is wrong. Did not feel an impacted crop, no respiratory issues, nothing wrong with eyes, no mucous from nose, did not see anything in mouth or throat, I did not feel anything near her rear, nothing felt different to me. She LOOKS perfectly healthy. I was watching her and noticed all of a sudden ALL the other hens went racing behind her and ate something. 2 minutes later, same thing. I thought sure they are not eating her poo!! They have NEVER done that. I immediately separated her and stood watch to see what her poop looked like. When she pooped, I had to fight HER to keep her from eating her own poop too, which I have never seen them do, guessing because it was diarrhea and different to them maybe is why they ate it??? Her poo was slimy, slightly bubbly or frothy, pea green color diarrhea. I instantly knew something was not right. She is the only 1 pooping this way and acting off, so far. I did not see worms or blood in it. I tried getting a pic but was impossible.The pic I posted is NOT my hen, it is from online but looks just like my hens poo only hers is pea green color. She is not eating. I boiled her an egg and she did eat some of it, not a lot though. I have seen her drink some water, but something is wrong. Anyone have any ideas where to start? I live in a rural small town,no vets at all within hours driving that deals with chickens, I have called. I have electrolytes started but any ideas what I should start doing now? I have no clue where to even begin in way of treatment or for what and afraid whatever it is will spread to my other chickens. They aren't free range due to too many predators. They have not been exposed to anything new or different. Same feed as always, same "treats" as always, water is automatic and we keep it clean. They are not overcrowded. I have had some issues the past 2 weeks with eggs being cracked and ate on a daily basis. Seems all 10 hens like the same nest box, they have 8 to pick from and all pick the same 1. Eggs get cracked then they eat it. This is the only thing different lately. Any ideas?? Thanks

 

[azygous]

To be honest, the pea green frothy poop has me stumped.

However, from all the other information you've provided, I'm guessing your hen has a stuck egg, perhaps a soft-shelled egg or an egg that has collapsed inside. One of the clues is that all of the hens were excited by what came out of the sick hen's rear. There were likely bits of egg in the poop that attracted them all. Chickens are not normally interested in poop.

Two things I would do. First is to give her some calcium citrate 400 mg crushed up in her favorite treat, once a day for the time being. The other is to start her on an antibiotic in case infection is starting from a collapsed egg. The sooner an antibiotic is begun in the case of oviduct infection, the better her chances of recovery will be.

If she's squatting and trying to poop, and she does it frequently, I would put her in a crate on moist heat, a heating pad with a moist bath towel on top of it. Between the moist heat and the calcium, these may help her pass the remains of the egg.

Now, I may be totally wrong and there's something else entirely going on, but from my experience with similar symptoms, this would be my best guess.

 

[azygous]

If you have a vet who can prescribe some amoxicillin, 250 mg capsules, that's the one I recommend. If not, you'll need to go to a feed store and see what they have. Get a broad spectrum antibiotic. You may need to get injectible penicillin.

I've had hens that have had soft-shelled eggs hung up, and they feel pretty sick with it. Sometimes, two eggs are going down the oviduct at the same time, and that's what causes one to get stuck.

When your hen finally passes the egg, it may be deformed and not even resemble an egg. Recently I had a hen pass one of these that looked like a conch shell. Since the egg collapses inside, it's very, very hard for the hen to pass it. The calcium helps with this. So does the moist heat. It's important to do this so she can pass it as soon as possible. The longer it remains inside her, the more trouble she'll be in.

 

[azygous]

The best is the Cephalexin, but keep that in reserve. I use the fish mox myself. I'm glad to hear you have it on hand. I would go with that. Use one 250mg capsule per day. If you have the time and don't mind dividing it in half, giving half the dose in the morning and the second half at night is the best way to treat.

When I have an uncooperative patient, I just give the 250 mg dose once a day. It seems to work okay that way. I would go ahead and give her the first dose, the entire 250mg capsule, immediately and get it working. It can make a big difference in whether she will survive this.

Have you rigged her up with the heating pad and damp towel yet? If not, it would be best to let her sleep on the heating pad, lowest setting. And give the calcium if you haven't already. She may be able to pass the remains of the egg by morning.

If that happens, complete a 10 day regimen of the amoxicillin to kill any infection that may have taken hold.

 

[thytay&chickenmomma]

The best is the Cephalexin, but keep that in reserve. I use the fish mox myself. I'm glad to hear you have it on hand. I would go with that. Use one 250mg capsule per day. If you have the time and don't mind dividing it in half, giving half the dose in the morning and the second half at night is the best way to treat.

When I have an uncooperative patient, I just give the 250 mg dose once a day. It seems to work okay that way. I would go ahead and give her the first dose, the entire 250mg capsule, immediately and get it working. It can make a big difference in whether she will survive this.

Have you rigged her up with the heating pad and damp towel yet? If not, it would be best to let her sleep on the heating pad, lowest setting. And give the calcium if you haven't already. She may be able to pass the remains of the egg by morning.

If that happens, complete a 10 day regimen of the amoxicillin to kill any infection that may have taken hold.

Yes, I gave her the heating pad on low, but she refuses to sit or lay on it, only stand. She has stood all day, seems very uncomfortable to walk, that was the 1st thing my daughter noticed when feeding them today, she was walking very slowly and very little and just standing so she came and got me to check on her. I will have to get the calcium tomorrow I do not have any on hand right at the moment. I will give the capsule of fish mox right now. Trying to figure out how to get her to take the fish mox though, she isn't drinking enough water to put it in her water and she isn't wanting to eat....Thank you so much for all of your help!

 

[azygous]

The standing is one more symptom of trying to pass a stuck egg. If you can, put a glove on and lube a finger and run it into her vent up to the middle of your finger and see if you feel an egg. It must be fairly close to make her feel like standing to push it out.

Squirt some warm water on the vent to lubricate and moisten it. Let her stand as that's probably more comfortable. Keep her on the heating pad even if she just wants to stand.

I just stick the whole pill onto the chicken's tongue and they will swallow. Sometimes they spit it out, but keep trying. You need to get the whole dose into her, not waste it in water. I will sometimes mix the dose in a small dab of peanut butter if your hen loves that as much as my chickens do.

 

[azygous]

The bad news is we don't know for sure what's wrong with this hen. The good news is that if it's a bacterial infection making her sick, the antibiotic should start to make a difference soon.

I had a hen take suddenly sick and die in less than one day three years ago. I was reasonably certain she had a bacterial infection, but it's taken all of these three years for it to dawn on me what killed her.

It had been a very wet and warmer than normal winter, and I had been disposing of spoiled, moldy squash in the compost pile. Come spring, my chickens were gleefully digging in the compost and this one hen was an exceptional excavator. She got all the way to the bottom where I had dug the spoiled squash under to hide it from the chickens. She had eaten the moldy squash which is highly toxic. Another hen of the same breed and age got sick exactly one week later, and I knew the symptoms earlier and was able to treat her with an antibiotic and save her.

It's not really important to know precisely what is making your hen sick. From her symptoms, it's likely an infection. Keep doing what you're doing for her and keep her warm and hydrated, and give the antibiotic a chance.

I know what your poor mom is going through, and I sympathize. I went through surgery like that myself around 25 years ago, and it was no walk in the park. I'm hoping both of your patients see some light at the end of the tunnel real soon. Hang in there. Take care of yourself, too.

 

[azygous]

1 cc is the recommended dosage for chickens. It's also recommended to give it in the breast tissue. Muscle tissue metabolizes the medicine more efficiently than when you inject it subcutaneously. The course is for three days.

An injectible is more potent than an oral antibiotic. So I would give the hen one more .5 cc dose to bring her up to the proper dosage, then tomorrow the 1 cc dose. Under dosing won't do the proper job, even though she may be skinny. You want it to work.

Don't worry about overdosing her. It's not going to happen in just three days. Long term overuse can do damage to the kidneys, but you aren't going to be doing that.

 

[thytay&chickenmomma]

I will give her the 1cc tomorrow and make sure I am giving it in the breast tissue and do it for the 3 days. Thank You again!

 

[thytay&chickenmomma]

Two things I would do. First is to give her some calcium citrate 400 mg crushed up in her favorite treat, once a day for the time being. The other is to start her on an antibiotic in case infection is starting from a collapsed egg. The sooner an antibiotic is begun in the case of oviduct infection, the better her chances of recovery will be.

What type of antibiotic do you suggest? I have bene-bac plus, thinking if I do an antibiotic it would be good to start that too maybe? I will start the calcium citrate today. I thought too there had to be something in her poo the other chickens were seeing and that is why they were eating it because they have never done that before, ever. Thank you, this is a start. Wish I knew what exactly was wrong.