Sick Hen

[thytay&chickenmomma]

UPDATE: Along with my hen being sick I also have spent the day with my mom who is having emergency surgery to remove over a foot of her colon so I have not been able to tend to my sick hen like I need, cannot be in 2 places at once unfortunately. The Fish Mox has thus far shown no improvement at all. I have cameras that watch my hens and I watched her on the camera all day while I was gone, she refused to eat or drink and just stands all fluffed up. I stopped by TSC to get more electrolytes and etc. and a lady there told me to try Duramyacin 72-200 injection. She said to give 1cc but being unsure if she was right, I opted on the side of caution and gave her .5cc She is so skinny she has no breast meat, I have never given an injection to a chicken so praying I did it right, I just went under the skin with it. I stuck my finger in her vent and felt really good and she has no egg in there, nothing at all and she is not swollen at all. I honestly have no clue. She is weak from not eating/drinking so I used a dropper and tried giving her fluids and 1cc of Nutri-Drench as best I could. While doing all of this she pooped and I got a picture of it. It is slimy white poo now. What else can I do? What is going on with her? Afraid I will lose her by tomorrow she is in such bad shape. Wish I knew what to 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.

 

[thytay&chickenmomma]

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.

Thank You!! When giving the injection, I just went right under the skin as she has lost so much weight she has no breast meat and I was scared I would hurt her, is that the correct way to give it? Some of it leaked back out from her skin where I gave her the injection so wasn't sure if I did it right or not. Also, do you think the 1cc like suggested would be okay instead of me giving her half that? I have thought and thought what could be the cause, but nothing was changed or different. I control their environment fairly well since they can;t free range due to predators. Just hard not knowing though. Thank you for all of your advice and help, it is greatly appreciated!!

 

[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!