Sick pullet... Mystery! Thoughts about next steps?

[MichelleT]

I have... nothing.
But maybe I can’t see them?

I have some spray...

 

[MichelleT]

So she's wasting away still. I am struggling because I FEEL like there's nothing wrong other than she's not eating. But of course there must be!

This morning, after I woke her, she went to the grit bowl (not the food bowl) and ate some more of that. Why grit? Why not food? Or water?

I gave her a break from the tube feeding yesterday, to see if she would eat anything at all on her own (she didn't, other than 2 bites of oatmeal and some grit) and to give her throat a rest. I tubed her again this morning with Kaytee baby bird food, calcium and a little PolyViSol. About 50 ml...

I keep thinking that I'm going to be done with it, but then she perks up enough to make me believe she's still fighting and I keep trying.

She also seems depressed (I would be). She sits with her face in the corner until one of us checks on her. Then she'll get up, slowly wander toward us and cluck a little. Then she returns to the corner. I've taken her outside for a little bit of time twice this week to get some fresh air and maybe a dust bath (no). She stands under the stairs (to the deck) or watches the other girls in the run.

I checked (again) for mites and see nothing. At all. Anywhere...

 

[azygous]

If she's preferring grit over food, that may be an indication of trouble in her gizzard. Gizzard issues are often genetic. I had a young hen die of this just this winter. The chicken will fill up on grit instead of food because their gizzard is signalling it's not functioning and that sends a signal to the chicken to eat more grit.

As an extreme, but safe, measure, I would recommend trying to clean out the gizzard with some molasses, and for good measure, a stool softener. (one gel cap of docusate sodium such as in Dulcolax)

 

[MichelleT]

Thanks @azygous . I'll do a search on how to flush with molasses (I feel like I've read about it before) and I have the stool softener already. Here's hoping...

 

[RodNTN]

I am so sorry about your poor hen Hope she recovers quickly!! Rooting for her!

 

[MichelleT]

After arriving home late this afternoon, I am at the sad realization that she is giving up. I am not going to drag this on any more. She’s no longer rallying and i can’t watch her suffer.

This is not our first time with this decision and it just doesn’t get any easier.

 

[azygous]

No, it doesn't. I cherish each day that 22 chickens are behaving normally because the day when one is off at the edge of things, tail held low, and not voicing her opinion about things, I know that The Decision may be threatening the happy kingdom once again.

I'm so sorry it's arrived at your place.

 

[MichelleT]

Update:
on Wednesday night I had decided that we needed to euthanize Indie the next day. When I got up Thursday morning she was acting as badly as she was on Wednesday night. She did get up a little bit, looked at me, clucked twice, then turned away with her face in the corner. It was almost as if she was saying OK, goodbye.

By the time I was ready to leave, I couldn’t find my keys. Not anywhere. I only have one car key so all four of us were desperately searching everywhere in the house. I knew the keys were not in the bathroom with the chicken, but I had to check there, so I peeked in and looked around. There was Indie, standing over her food bowl. She had eaten all of the meal worms off the top of her softened feed. When I gave her a few more, she slowly picked up those as well. So I told my husband, as he was driving me to work, to hold off on the chicken job until I got home and was able to reassess.

She hadn’t really eaten much more by the time I got home, but I put down some tomato and she ate it! That was about all she ate, but she ate. This morning she had a couple of grapes. And a few more meal worms. And a little more when I got home.

I’m still feeding her the baby bird food once a day, and then encouraging her to peck at something else. If I sit with her and encourage it, she will take some bites. And, of course, grit. My spring break starts today, so I have about nine days that I can concentrate on paying more attention to her. Encouraging her a little bit more... Hopefully it will make a difference!

Call at superstition, call itt providence… I think I lost my keys for a reason. I hope I lost my keys for a reason.

Last night I did the molasses flush, figuring what the heck? Unfortunately, her tail/vent feathers are so so dirty. I have to wash her daily. I’m not sure it’s even making a difference most of the time. I’m thinking I might just trim those feathers a little bit… She’s really puffy back there, feather-wise.

Right now, she’s in the run. There’s a great Big sunny spot, a place to dust bathe, and food and water (not that she’s eating it). The other girls are out in the chicken yard hunting for worms. It looks like she’s enjoying the sun anyway. But she’s definitely still one sick chick.

 

[azygous]

Well, we've thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this pullet's symptoms. Perhaps the molasses flush cleaned out her gizzard. Has there been any improvement in her poop from the watery green stuff?

Have you given her any Poultry Nutri-drench? I don't recall mention of it. It's formulated for sick chickens so it might give her the boost she needs to step over the line into real recovery.

 

[MichelleT]

No on the Nutri-drench... I was reading about that but haven’t tried it. Tractor Supply?

She made her mini-turn-around BEFORE the molasses flush, so I don’t think that was the cause. Her poops are looking better for some, same for others. Overall I think we have about a 40-60 for the better-bad poop ratio. The “better” poops are brown smooshy piles; the “bad” poops are either 100% clear or green fluid OR a mix of liquid and green mass.