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!

 

[TillyPeeps]

I had a hen had the same problem. After I dewormed her, she started to eat in 24h and became much better in 48h. I would say if you don't see any improvement in 2~3 days, it might be a different issue. Also check if there are mites or lice around her vent. If possible, syringe feed her some water.

 

[crazychickenman007]

She seems to be showing a little improvement today! She got off the roost on her own this morning and was interested in drinking water on her own for the first time. Thank you both for your help! I’ll update more as the week goes on @TillyPeeps @coach723

 

[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?

 

[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".

 

[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.

 

[crazychickenman007]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!!

 

[crazychickenman007]

I had a hen had the same problem. After I dewormed her, she started to eat in 24h and became much better in 48h. I would say if you don't see any improvement in 2~3 days, it might be a different issue. Also check if there are mites or lice around her vent. If possible, syringe feed her some water.

Okay thanks that’s encouraging. No lice or mites. I have been giving her water and electrolytes with a syringe as well.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Okay thanks that’s encouraging. No lice or mites. I have been giving her water and electrolytes with a syringe as well.

Every symptoms my hen had were identical to yours: weak, not eating, not leaving roost, she's the only one chicken acted sick, dirty butt & runny yellow poo, etc. However, these symptoms could also caused by other illness, so if deworming does not work, try to find another treatment. I treated mine with Corid first, no luck. Then I dewormed her, she quickly recovered. I planed to try antibiotics if deworming failed, since I have respiratory disease in my flock. People here usually are very helpful to give you ideas for treatments. Good luck with your girl! You did great job to save her.

 

[coach723]

Glad she's improving, some probiotics can help get the gut back in balance. There are livestock ones, like Probios, there are Sav-a-chick probiotics that can be mixed in the water, or you can use human ones, or some fermented feed can help.
Good luck, hope she continues to improve. Make sure to complete the medication doses, no matter how good she looks. The meds kill the parasites, but not the eggs they lay, so repeated treatments are needed to get all those as they hatch, til they are all gone. Otherwise you will just go round in circles.