Sick Silkie Hen HELP!!!

[ACTWESTWING]

Hello,

This afternoon when locking all my Silkies up for the night i noticed one of my hens not going into the coop to roost. At first i thought she had passed but when i picked her up i noticed she moved some so i checked her over for outer wounds and found none. This morning when i fed everyone she acted normal and was eating. Now she isnt eating drinking and barely moving. I moved her into her own pin under a heat lamp with food and water near her.. i also put some antibiotics in the water. She still wont eat or drink or move.. any ideas as to what could be wrong with her? i dont want to lose her please help!
Thank You!!!

 

[bargain]

Suggest checking for lice, mites and worms. Was there by any chance any moldy food around her? Could she be going broody? Any recent changes to your grouping - new hens in? And what is the weather like there?

How is her overall weight?I'll keep an eye on this.

 

[casportpony]

You should bring her inside.

 

[ACTWESTWING]

No mites lice or worms and the food i keep fresh. Shes not broody bc she hasnt laid before. Shes 5 months old and has been housed with the same silkies (her brother and sisters all her life) the temp has been getting down in the mid twentys at night but they roost in an enclosed small cabin type coop. I change the bedding once a week with pine shavings. I just checked on her and she was standing and had a bowel movement which looked normal. I noticed she was breathing through her mouth not nostrils but she has no discharge coming from her nose or eyes and her breatjing was shallow and wasnt panting. We've had lots of rain now that i think of it and throof had leaked i noticed bc some of the shavings were damp but the others seem to be acting fine. Could this be the start of a resporitory infection and if so what to i do?!

 

[ACTWESTWING]

You should bring her inside.

I have her in an insulated building under a heat lamp. Do you think i should still bring her in?

 

[ACTWESTWING]

Also when i noticed some of the shavings were wet i removed them immediately and replaced them with fresh dry shavings.

 

[casportpony]

I have her in an insulated building under a heat lamp. Do you think i should still bring her in?

Let me put it this way... If you took her or a cat/dog to a vet and they wanted to keep her there, how would you feel if they were going to put your animal in a similar spot?

Right now I have two sick peahens. If it's warm during the day, they go outside, but at night, they come in my house where it's at least 72 degrees.

 

[bargain]

First there is a lot of Good info on poultry issues in the Learning Center Here: go here https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center and click on maintaining a health flock

She might have respiratory but apparently no signs of it. Have you checked her ears to see if crusty at all. Silkies are prone to ear mites and they are often invisable until they have done a great deal of harm, It could even be an ear canker, Is there warmth or swelling around her ear?

It is also possible gapeworm, I'm not able to see what she's doing, but there is an excellent utube demo of hen with gapeworm
Type that in the search and it is by rosesandtea1

Since I am not able to be with you and see and I'm not a vet or vet tech, it still could be respiratory, but is there nasal drainage, swelling, (When you breath her breath - does it smell aweful)

The thing is you don't want to treat for a lot of different things and that would exhaust plus some of the meds are powerful and would cause her distress.

I would examine possibility of gapeworm. It is real, it does happen often in poultry. Flubenet is recommended if it is gapeworms. there is a lucky hens gapeworm page if you need more information. I haven't used flubenet so I cannot speak for it. Is there any way you can take her to a vet or vet tech? or possibly someone locally who is a seasoned poultry owner could help... Sorry you are having so many problems!

 

[ACTWESTWING]

So today she has interacted with me a little more i checked her ears and they seem clear and fine no swelling.i dusted her over with Poultry dust and also her bedding incase of mites that i couldnt see. She clucked a few times and squirmed around while i checked her ears which i was thrilled about bc hey atleast shes moving!.. i smelled her breath and it wasnt great but it didnt smell awful. As of right now i have Sulmet in her water but i'm not sure if shes ate or drank she did knock her feed bowl over which made it hard to tell if shes eaten or not. I watched the youtube video for gapeworm and last night she was opening her mouth to breath but no wheezing and shes breathing more through her nose now that i could tell. The reason i dont want to bring her in the house is bc we have a very curious cat and 2 little girls that love to hold and snuggle animals so i'm scared they would annoy and stress her out more than she already is. As for her being in the same conditions as she previously was shes not.. i moved her into a small cage where she is alone with clean shavings under a heat lamp which is inside an insulated and quiet coop. Should i start her on a dewormer or keep her on the antibiotics?

Thanks for keeping track and offering suggestions i'm willing to try anything!

 

[ACTWESTWING]

Also where can i find flubenet?! my local tractor supply doesnt carry it. Hopefully tomorrow i can find a feed store around here that may have it.