slow growth poorly looking light sussex

[Garona]

Okay here is the original thread which started out as a breed check over here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/938227/i-was-told-this-was-a-light-sussex-true-just-wrong-age

The consensus seems to be she is a light sussex but something is definitely wrong with her and not just a younger age.

Please read the previous thread for a more complete history of where she came from because it is very relevant.

I also obtained another picture of her today which more accurately reflects how she composes herself - which is very different to the other chickens



Symptoms that could point to illness include:

1. she isnt growing, shes been looking like this from age 16 to 23 weeks despite getting special feeding attention and eating with an enormous appetite.
2. she has greyish eyes
3. her comb is pale and possibly underdeveloped for her age
4. she looks disheveled in appearance. i have monitored her and she does clean/groom her feathers but doesnt seem to ever get them to a great condition.
5. she sticks her chest out but always tucks her head in like this picture. it makes her appear very compact and squat compared to the other proud perky chickens we have.
6. she arrived with another chicken of the same type and size which died right away (see previous thread)
7. shes a bit of a loner except at night when snuggled under Roxy our 27 week old RIR.

Things that seem to be okay:

1. she eats a lot and eats healthily and is one of the first to gain access to food.
2. she jumps around the run easily and goes where she pleases
3. she can support herself with no issues
4. she drinks well

Things I have done:

When her partner died she was at first separated and kept inside for a bit and monitored closely. She didn't develop any issues with eating, supporting herself or breathing and appeared perky so she was reintroduced.
Because she is still so small, I have been giving her extra feed to herself every day including growers, hot oats, mealworms, veg. She eats it well but still isn't growing/putting on weight.
All the chickens generally receive cider vinegar in their water and the girls are currently also getting a vitamin boost liquid too to help our ex broody. Their run and hutch is cleaned every day and once a month I Diatom the hutches.

In case it is worms, I have started adding Diatom to her feed to help but I only started this today.

Alas I cannot afford to take her to a vet at the moment - her sister just cost us a small fortune at the vets.

 

[Eggcessive]

Diatomatacious Earth really won't help with worms one it is wet inside the gut. I would treat her with Flubenvet in her feed for worms, and use Coxoid (amprollium, Corid, Amprol) to treat her for possible coccidiosis. The Coxoid may have to come from the vet. She may have had parents with poor nutrition, or have been exposed to coccidiosis or other infectious diseases that have just caused poor health. Vitamins and a twice weekly treatment of probiotics in the diet may help improve her health. The gray eyes sound a little suspicious for possible Mareks disease. A picture of the eyes close-up may help.

 

[Michael Apple]

Growing birds are especially susceptible to Coccidiosis, so it important to use a preventative such as Amprolium in drinking water once a month up until 9 months of age. I have used medicated feed in the past where symptoms still revealed Coccidiosis, so I choose my own dosing method in drinking water. Coccidiosis is one disease which can certainly stunt growth due to the damage it can do to the intestinal tract..

 

[Garona]

Luckily I already have some of this to hand so I have started coxoid treatment now

I also picked up some yoghurt. I gave her a little bath clean yesterday too which she loved to bits.

 

[Garona]

This is her today looking much fluffier

 

[Garona]

She is on flubenvet and her eyes look like they have a tiny of yellow orange to them now. She quite alert and fast and usually the most energetic and curious one in the flock still.
However she's still not cleaning herself properly and still loosing weight despite constant eating.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully the Flubenvet, as well as the treatment for coccidiosis, will help with the weight loss. Trim her vent feathers and clean off her vent if droppings are getting stuck. Yogurt has some probiotics, but is not easily digested, and can cause more diarrhea. There are commercial probiotics for poultry available to add to the water. In the UK, the brands will be different than here.

 

[Garona]

Still on flubenvet but she's still loosing weight. She seems tired now too. Her eyes are now yellow/orange and her wattle/comb a little more developed although still pale and she still eats a lot. Why is it she looks like she's finally growing on the one hand but on the other she's shedding weight at an alarming rate. I didn't think she had any weight left to give. She was just 900g when we got her and didn't put a gram on - that's less than half the weight of the others her age. I weighed her today after nearly a week on flubenvet and she's 750g! She's nothing but bones.

 

[Garona]

 

[enola]

Is she still on the coccidia treatment? She should be treated for up to 5 consecutive days.