Sick Orpington fluid from beak, listless, and unable to balance.

[lfcoats]

I have an 11 month old lavender Orpington that was found yesterday listing to one side unable to stand. She had her left wing was outstretched and on her side. When she was picked up, light brown smelly fluid dripped from her beak. She has only been like this for 12 hours. We have isolated her and have a bowl of water with ACV. After she was put in isolation she started to strain her neck as if she was gagging. Her poop is runny and she still can not stand. There are no signs of trauma. She drank a little water but is not eating. We are trying to stablize her before taking her to the vet. Everytime she gets picked up she has some fluid drip from her beak. Her crop is not hard but I guess could be impacted. She can grip with her feet but is still unable to stand.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she has sour crop, but there may be something else going on as well. Mareks disease is one thing to worry about. Sour crop usually has a bad or sour odor from the beak, and the crop would feel full and puffy. Sour crop can be a result of bacterial infection from a long standing impacted crop, and sometimes it is a fungal infection. Sometimes both.

Do not squeeze her crop or try to massage it because that may cause her to choke to death on her crop contents. A vet would be the best to help with this. Water with electrolytes and vitamins is very important to give her. She may be dehydrated or starving if her crop has not been working for some time. Remember, other diseases can cause a slow down of the crop function, and a slow down can lead to sour crop as well.

It is concerning that she is not moving well and has the wing out trying to get around. That sounds like Mareks, but weakness from dehydration or not eating may be a problem. If you see avet, I would also test her droppings for coccidiosis and worms, and taking a fresh sample in a baggy would be good.

 

[lfcoats]

I was concerned about Marek's as well. It is almost like she has vertigo.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have any Poultry NutriDrench or similar electroltes to give her? PND dosage is 2 ml daily given a few dops at a time. Do you have a regular or avian vet that you could see? Here is some reading about Mareks:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext...Preventing Mareks Disease in Small Flocks.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/marek-disease-in-poultry

 

[lfcoats]

I went back and checked all of our birds were marek's vaccinated. Can they get mareks if they have been vaccinated?

 

[Eggcessive]

It is possible if you had had a bird with it in the past, but the vaccine usually protects them if there hasn’t been Mareks on your property. It spreads through dander and dust of the chickens, and that can remain in the environment for months or years.

So then I would try getting her to drink some electrolytes water. Coccidiosis is usually rare in a grown chicken, but they can get that is they are run down or have a problem with their immune system. Sour crop, if long standing could also make her very weak. Both diseases could make her so weak that she couldn’t walk.

I would get some miconazole (Monistat) cream or suppositories and give them orally for sour crop. You can get Nystatin (Medistatin powder) online, which is also used ro treat sour crop caused by a fungal infection. I would really try to see a vet if possible. Here is an article to read that has dosages of miconazole:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[lfcoats]

She is doing much better. We gave her some soggy pellets with some no fat plain yogurt. Her stool is no longer just fluid and she is getting up an take a couple steps. She is still very weak but definitely on the mend.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that she if feeling stronger and taking feed. Can you check her crop every morning to see if it is emptying overnight? The miconazole (monistat) can be helpful with sour crop.

 

[lfcoats]

Her crop is not fully emptying be we are getting quite a bit more stool. I made the mistake of letting her roam outside and the other chickens decided to attack her. I am glad I was outside watching her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, when they are having problems, or if they have needed to be separated for care, the others may attack. Keeping her in a dog crate with food and water inside the coop if possible is helpful to stay protected, but a part of the flock. You might try refrigerated coconut oil cut into small slivers (a tsp) offered for her to peck. That can help move a blockage in the digestive tract. There are also certain worms that may cause blockages in the GITract, so perhaps worming with SafeGuard or Valbazen might be a good idea. If your vet can do a fecal test, that is also a way to find out if worms might be a problem.