Sick or Injured?

[chickenlover0304]

Three days ago, I let my chickens out to free range and noticed one of my girls (a 3-4 year old Salmon Faverolle) wasn’t keeping up with the rest of the flock. I walked over to check on her & noticed she was having trouble keeping her balance. I supervised her for a few more minutes. She was still pecking the ground and eating but every 4-5 steps she would flap her wings to try and balance herself. When I put the girls back in the coop/run, I noticed she was just sitting in the run. I decided to separate her and put her in the garage for the night. I wasn’t sure if she had eaten during the day so I made her some scrambled eggs and added some electrolytes to her water. She ate almost all the scrambled eggs and took a few sips of water.

Day two- When I woke up, I took her out of the cage. She ate a bit of food and drank some water. She was able to walk back into her cage and sit down. At this point, I had to go to work so she was alone for the next 8-9 hours. I returned home to checked on her and I let her out of the cage to see how her walking was. She took about 8-10 steps and pooped the most stinky, green, liquid diarrhea. Then after that, she ate some more food and drank a little more water. I put her back in the cage for the night.

Day three- I woke up and went to check on her. She was alert and even clucked at me a few times. I was running behind for work so didn’t have time to get her out to check on her walking. I gave her a handful of mealworms and had to go. A few hours later, I returned and noticed she had pooped in the cage. Still green but not as stinky and not as liquidy. I noticed her rear was dirty from the diarrhea so I cleaned her up. She ate & drank completely normal and is now resting for the night.

I’ve done quite a bit of research but there seems to be so many things this could be. The odd thing is she hasn’t been lethargic or sick at all. She is alert, eating/drinking, and attempting to walk. I’m not sure if this is a leg injury and maybe she got dehydrated causing the green diarrhea or if this is an illness/disease. None of my other girls are showing any symptoms at this time. I’m open to any and all suggestions. I have various chicken medicines on hand and will do anything to save my girl. Please help!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

What do you normally feed, including treats?

Does she lay eggs?

Is she broody?

Have you checked her legs and feet for any signs of swelling, scrapes or bruising, any scabs or sores on the bottom of the feet, any raised scales on the legs or toes that may indicate Scaly Leg Mites?

I'd work on hydration as you are doing. See that she's eating her normal feed. The egg is a nice addition. A few mealworms are o.k.

I'd consider giving her vitamin therapy to see if that helps with the balance. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex. The egg will help with the uptake of E.

Green loose poop, can you get photos? (of her too!)

Have you dewormed recently? If so, with what and the dosing?

 

[chickenlover0304]

Welcome To BYC

What do you normally feed, including treats?

Does she lay eggs?

Is she broody?

Have you checked her legs and feet for any signs of swelling, scrapes or bruising, any scabs or sores on the bottom of the feet, any raised scales on the legs or toes that may indicate Scaly Leg Mites?

I'd work on hydration as you are doing. See that she's eating her normal feed. The egg is a nice addition. A few mealworms are o.k.

I'd consider giving her vitamin therapy to see if that helps with the balance. 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex. The egg will help with the uptake of E.

Green loose poop, can you get photos? (of her too!)

Have you dewormed recently? If so, with what and the dosing?

Hi! I normally feed 16% layer feed with the occasional mealworms and scratch for a treat.

She lays eggs once in a blue moon. Maybe due to age?

I’ve had broody hens before and I don’t think this one is.

I checked her feet and didn’t see anything. She doesnt seem to mind her feet being touched either. Although, she does have very feathered feet so I will look over them again when I get home.

I have the rooster booster Vitamin B12. Is that different than the B-complex tablet you are suggesting?

I haven’t dewormed but definitely can. What do you recommend?

I will get a picture of her & her poop this afternoon. I appreciate your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

B-12 is one of the B Vitamins, it's called Cobalamin. It can be helpful, but it's a good idea to get B-Complex which usually contains all 8 of the B Vitamins.
What we're looking for in the Complex is B1 (Thiamine) and B2 (Riboflavin). B1 will help work with the Vitamin E and the nervous system (balance/neurological) and B2 helps with legs.
But giving B12 for now, if that's what you have won't hurt one bit!

For deworming, you can use Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen).

To treat most worms that poultry can have except for Tapeworm:

Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

OR

Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10 days.