Sick hen!!

[crazychickenman007]

Hey all,

So it appears I have my first sick bird. She’s got a very poopy butt and is lethargic as of today (not coming off the roost and then when she did just standing). I was originally thinking it might be vent gleet but after looking at more pictures I’m not sure as it isn’t white discharge, its pretty normal looking poop just stuck to her butt and on closer inspection her vent looks clear. Also her crop feels empty.

What I’ve done so far:
Given her probiotics and electrolytes
I’ve given her a 20 min epsom salt bath last night.

Could she be egg bound possibly?

The snow picture is her looking normal and the other picture is today. I realize the discharge looks white but it’s because she’s wet and her feathers are grey there, I’ll try to get a better picture later.

Please any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[coach723]

How old is she? Do you know when she last laid? Is her crop empty, full, hard ,soft & squishy, etc.? Also check it first thing in the morning before she's had access to food or water. Does her abdomen feel bloated? Any other symptoms, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, discharge from eyes, nares, beak?

 

[crazychickenman007]

How old is she? Do you know when she last laid? Is her crop empty, full, hard ,soft & squishy, etc.? Also check it first thing in the morning before she's had access to food or water. Does her abdomen feel bloated? Any other symptoms, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, discharge from eyes, nares, beak?

She’s just over a year old like 14 months. I believe it’s been about 3 days since her last egg(hard to be 100% because I have 16 laying hens). Crop feels empty. I checked her this morning around 8 and she hadn’t come off the roost. Haven’t felt her abdomen yet (will do this evening). No sneezing coughing or discharge symptoms (except poop on her butt feathers).

 

[coach723]

Whether or not she's laying could be important. Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Crop function is important also, empty in the morning is normal, when she goes to roost at night there should be food in the crop then.

 

[crazychickenman007]

Whether or not she's laying could be important. Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Crop function is important also, empty in the morning is normal, when she goes to roost at night there should be food in the crop then.

She definitely hasn’t laid the last two days so today is either day 3 or 4. I felt her crop last night as well and it was empty then too. She really won’t eat, she ate 3 meal worms yesterday but that was it while I was watching her. I have never wormed her, could that be it possibly?

 

[coach723]

Worms can cause runny droppings and messy butts, and if the load is heavy enough it can make them very sick. With out a fecal test to check, it's hard to say if it's that for sure. Every flock is different, but in my flock that has been an issue, and when I have one present like this, I treat for worms. If you have a vet that will run a fecal test for you, that would help, the test is not usually terribly expensive, but many vets won't do it for a chicken. There are a lot of things that can make them sick, if there are no options for testing, I would be inclined to worm her and see if it helps. How many other birds do you have? All others are normal?

 

[crazychickenman007]

Worms can cause runny droppings and messy butts, and if the load is heavy enough it can make them very sick. With out a fecal test to check, it's hard to say if it's that for sure. Every flock is different, but in my flock that has been an issue, and when I have one present like this, I treat for worms. If you have a vet that will run a fecal test for you, that would help, the test is not usually terribly expensive, but many vets won't do it for a chicken. There are a lot of things that can make them sick, if there are no options for testing, I would be inclined to worm her and see if it helps. How many other birds do you have? All others are normal?

My vet doesn’t test unfortunately. I have 16 hens and one rooster and a broody who hatched 11 chicks almost two weeks ago. Everyone else is normal, I had two hens acting weird for a day (about a week ago) until I gave them some electrolytes and they have been fine since. What do you use for a dewormer?

 

[coach723]

I use Safeguard liquid goat wormer (usually the easiest to find locally, you can also use Safeguard horse paste), fenbendazole. I also use Valbazen (labled for cattle, albendazole) but that usually has to be ordered on line. Those will take care of everything except tapeworm, which is less common.
The Safeguard dose is .23ml per pound of body weight, orally, for 5 days in a row.
The Valbazen dose is .5ml orally for a standard sized bird, two doses 10 days apart. Actual math for Valbazen dose is "weight in lbs / 2.2 X 20 / 113.6".

 

[crazychickenman007]

I use Safeguard liquid goat wormer (usually the easiest to find locally, you can also use Safeguard horse paste), fenbendazole. I also use Valbazen (labled for cattle, albendazole) but that usually has to be ordered on line. Those will take care of everything except tapeworm, which is less common.
The Safeguard dose is .23ml per pound of body weight, orally, for 5 days in a row.
The Valbazen dose is .5ml orally for a standard sized bird, two doses 10 days apart. Actual math for Valbazen dose is "weight in lbs / 2.2 X 20 / 113.6".

I’m going to run to tractor supply now thank you! Do you do egg withdrawal and how long?

 

[coach723]

Generally a withdrawl of 14 days following dose is the recommendation. Some people ignore that, little studies on residues in eggs. It takes about 2 weeks for any developing eggs in the pipe to be gone after treatment, so that's what it's based on. Unless you are allergic, it's unlikely you would have an issue. Do what you are comfortable with.