Sick Silky Banty

[w8tn4fresheggs]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.

Bella is a Silkie Banty is 9 months old. Not sure on weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

Yesterday I noticed that she had black by her bottom.
Today, I noticed that she didn't come with the rest of the chickens when feeding. She was out in the run. Didn't move or moved slowly and was all puffed up. I went to pick her up and to isolate her and she vomited a few times. Clear/yellowish like water.

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

no

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

I have been feeding them warm oatmeal every morning for weeks now. I read somewhere that milk was good for them, so I added it to the warm oatmeal the past few days. Now today, I read that it isn't good for them. Could that be it?

I have also added daily a wee bit of vitamins and electrolytes to their water everyday. Could this be it?

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is only drinking water, no food.

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

From the looks of her it is black and runny. I also see this in the coop area also.


7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

Isolated her and gave her access to water and food. She will not eat the food, but did drink water. Also have the temp at around 50 in the garage with a heater. She is sitting in a nesting box resting.

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

I would like to take care of it myself. I am hoping someone can advise me and perhaps it is the milk. The rest of the flock seems to be doing okay.


9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. She looks fine, other than being all puffed up, as if she is trying to keep warm.


Thanks, Steph

 

[dlhunicorn]

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

I have been feeding them warm oatmeal every morning for weeks now. I read somewhere that milk was good for them, so I added it to the warm oatmeal the past few days. Now today, I read that it isn't good for them. Could that be it?

Milk is not good for them...it will upset their intestines and in addition will encourage the growth of E.coli o.a. However that milk is in and of itself the cause of what you are describing...I doubt that very much.
How have you been giving the oatmeal...by itself or mixed through the feed (just enough to make the feed clump together) > .???

I have also added daily a wee bit of vitamins and electrolytes to their water everyday. Could this be it?

Is it a combined vit/electrolyte product such as DURVET??? You should never give electrolytes unless there is a specific reason to do so (like for instance the bird is ill and drinking insufficiently, ....is stressed... is panting etc)
How long have you been giving electrolytes (and what specific product?)

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is only drinking water, no food.

How long has she been off her feed? Your bird needs nutrition... Yu can get a handfeeding formula for parrots at the petstore which you can crop feed...if you have never crop fed (this is done through a tube which is placed in the crop itself) then I would not suggest you do this but instead try and put just the tiniest amount into the beak (make it thick) and ensure she swallows it on her own... otherwise she may get it into her lungs as there are two holes at the back of her throat and one leads to the lungs and unlike mammals, it does not have a flap to close it off.

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
From the looks of her it is black and runny. I also see this in the coop area also.

This could indicate a few things...take an ample sample into the vet and have a faecal float done ...
>Did you have your birds on medicated starter (have you had them since they were chicks)
>What have you been feeding them?
>What is the weather like where you are at?
>Have you ever wormed your birds?

This bird is very ill... I am unable to even guess at what in particular it might be... and I strongly urge you to get the faecal.
In this case I suggest you take your bird and consult a vet.​

 

[w8tn4fresheggs]

Milk is not good for them...it will upset their intestines and in addition will encourage the growth of E.coli o.a. However that milk is in and of itself the cause of what you are describing...I doubt that very much.
How have you been giving the oatmeal...by itself or mixed through the feed (just enough to make the feed clump together) > .???

I give them oatmeal by itself warmed up.

Is it a combined vit/electrolyte product such as DURVET??? You should never give electrolytes unless there is a specific reason to do so (like for instance the bird is ill and drinking insufficiently, ....is stressed... is panting etc)
How long have you been giving electrolytes (and what specific product?)

It says Fort Dodge on it. Vitamins and Electrolytes soluble for poultry. I was giving it to them because we were in the -degree temps for about a week. So only for about a week that I have been giving it to them in their water.


How long has she been off her feed? She was eating fine yesterday.

Did you have your birds on medicated starter (have you had them since they were chicks)
Yes, I started them on medicated feed when they were babies.


>What have you been feeding them? I feed them Purina layer feed. In addition to treats. Oatmeal, boiled eggs, scratch.
>What is the weather like where you are at? Last few weeks very cold and even in the -17 range. This past weekend it was nice 30-40's. It is suppose to get cold again. I do have a red heat lamp in a 24 square foot area in the coop. They sleep near the lamp. I use the deep litter method and can't wait until spring so I can move the coop to fresh grass every few days.

>Have you ever wormed your birds? No, I have never wormed them. I inquire about it at the feed store, but nobody seems to have any type of wormer. Most say it isn't necessary. So I don't know if it is or not. I have put DE in the feed, but have cut way back. Heard it can dry them clean up on the insides.

I need to find a vet that I can call that deals with poultry. The one in town does not. So I will get on it today.

I check on Bella a lot. She hasn't pooped or looks to have thrown up again. She is just sitting in the nest box resting. The water is right near her, so she has access to it if she wants it.

I am off to find a vet for my chickens.

Steph

 

[w8tn4fresheggs]

Looked up a wormer for chickens from McMurray and this is what I found;

PoultryGuard Wormer Plus Flax
Holistic Health Care examines the impact that disposition and environment have on your animals overall health. It differs from conventional care because it doesn't just treat symptoms, but rather seeks the underlying causes of an illness. The main wormer in WormGaurd is a more concentrated form of FDA aopproved Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth which consist of tiny phytoplankton's mainly composed of amorphous hydrated silicates, of less that 1%. This is packaged especially for poultry (with whole flax-does not need refrigeration)


I have DE, which this pretty much sounds like it is too. I have food grade DE. Am I missing something?

 

[dlhunicorn]

There may be more than one issue going on with your bird (and I truly suspect this is so)
The oatmeal for instance should be mixed through her feed and then only enough to clump the feed together. You should slowly integrate the layer feed into the grower to change them over... too much calcium at too young an age can also cause problems (layer has >3% calcium which in principle only laying birds need)

DE and the wormer product you showed in the last post will not treat an active worm infestation...
The black could be indicative of blood in the faeces (or something else) I agree that giving DE in the feed would not be my choice as I too read Carlas warning on this after her bad experience with it.

Birds in those temps will be using all their resources to keep warm leaving them open to immune incompetance (meaning they are busy keeping warm inst4ead of fighting off pathogens). They will eat less and therefore the feed they DO eat is doubly important... it is advised to give a good complete poultry supplement in these times of environmental stress. If you can do so I highly recommend AviaCharge 2000 (you can purchase it online from McMurray Hatchery or Strombergs) as it is one of the few complete nutritional/vitamin supplements I know available to smallflock poultry keepers (and is also approved for organic certified)

Swperating your sick bird to a warm temperature stable environment (preferably indoors) will go a long way in helping her deal with what is ailing her and will enable you to monitor her symptoms and water and feed intake and spot any new problems or symptoms.

 

[w8tn4fresheggs]

Just to be clear;
I gave them medicated feed when they were babies. Switched to non medicated layer feed pellets. Which I don't like and will switch them to another brand that has crumbles. I will of course mix it, so that they get use to the change. I don't think they like the pellets. I know I wouldn't.

I have decided to give them only the layer feed for now. No vitamins added. Only a little vinegar in the water to prevent algae. I am confused on the giving them grower feed. They are all laying eggs now. Could you explain. Maybe I misunderstood you.

I want to clean and move my coop to a new location. Sunnier spot and right outside my door as soon as I can. Remove all bedding and replace with new. Hopefully within the week. That said, I have no smells in my coop. I just want all new bedding and have it fresh and clean. When they get sick, I feel like I am not doing something right. First thing is the environment. But this time I do think it is what they are eating and drinking.

Bella is nice and warm in the garage. I look at her eyes and they are nice and bright. Comb looks fine as well as her wattles. She is just all puffed up as if she is cold. I felt her crop and it is nice a soft. She needs a good bath, but will wait until she seems better. When I was watching her, she did take another drink of water.

I will purchase the AviaCharge 2000. Thanks for that tip.

I also have K-sol, which says for vet use only. I got it at the feed store awhile back. I don't think I will use it. It doesn't even say what it is used for. Only that it is a synthetic vitamin K soluble crystal.

I also have a bottle of liquid sulfa-nox. Have never used that either. The dosage to me is confusing, as I wouldn't be giving it in gallon sized water. Just a quart. It looks to cover quite a few things. But unless I know what it is, I'd hate to just give them medicine. Just like the vitamins. Lesson learned. Just do the basics.

I wanted to do this ala natural as I could. Yet, it is scary to think that your chickens could have some kind of disease. That is why I bought all this stuff. Yet, it says dangerous to humans. So why would I want to give it to my laying chickens??

Thanks for the tips.

Steph

 

[sammi]

since this hen is vomiting..please check the crop..
see if it is empty, has any lumps, or feels grainy.
if she hasn't eaten it should be empty (flat)..
if it isn't..she could have a crop problem.

dlhunicorn was suggesting grower feed because it was unclear if they were laying..grower feed is given after the chick feed but before they start to lay.

don't give them any of the meds you have.
is the DE food grade?
if not..discontinue putting it their feed.

I am concerned she might have swallowed something..like a staple, or small screw, or aluminum foil...(also concerned about that DE)
are the droppings still black?
any red?

 

[w8tn4fresheggs]

Regarding her eating something that was bad, I hadn't thought of that. They haven't been allowed to free range for quite awhile.

I checked on her earlier and she is still laying low. I did watch her drink quite a bit of water. I put a piece of bread and some crackers by her but she wouldn't touch them.

I felt her crop again and it isn't flat, but it isn't way puffy either. I will keep an eye on it and massage it more often.

No poops all day. No throwing up after I put her into isolation.

Hopefully she is better tomorrow morning. I won't be able to be around tomorrow during the day.

I have food grade DE and use it sparingly in the feed.

Steph

 

[w8tn4fresheggs]

Bella has died.

Toward evening I noticed that she was straining. I wonder if she was egg bound?

I did all the things to do that I read on here for egg bound, but to no avail. It seems in most cases they don't make it.

I still wonder if it was more than one thing, since she was vomiting and diarrhea.

What should I do next to be sure something isn't going around? I have clean bedding, fresh food and water. I don't know what else it could be. I have 6 chickens left.

I knew I would lose a few here and there, but this is a bit much.

She was our little sweet heart and my son loved her the best.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Steph

 

[dlhunicorn]

please think about having a necropsy done .... this is the only way you will know with any certainty what happened
I am soooo very sorry you lost her :aww