Slow, low appetite chicken

[nicnacnoo23]

Hello, thanks in advance for your opinion.

We have a small brood of 3 hens. A week ago one suddenly started going very slow, standing with eyes closed, off her food. Her breathing was quite laboured. Her poo is not abnormal, but her bottom is quite dirty, even after a bath this week. Crop normal, legs normal, not egg bound, eyes bright, no mites.... She is still going (slowly) but still off her food, losing weight etc. I tried worming them all, bathing her (to clean bottom and help if egg bound).

I don't know what else to try. Has anyone got any advice for me? The other hens are completely normal.

thank you,

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings nicnacnoo23,

If it is not possible to take the hen to a vet, here are a couple of things to look at.

First, the hen needs to be isolated in a hospital crate, so she can rest, to monitor her, to medicate, and better assess her droppings. If her bottom is dirty, she is having some diarrhea.

Are you sure the poop you are seeing is hers? When they go off feed, without any food in the digestive tract, they will start to poop mostly water with maybe a few bits of green. As the days go by, the water poop will have chalky white and/or yellow urates. Hopefully the hen is drinking water, or she'll also get dehydrated.

• Labored breathing could indicate a tumor or, congested lungs. A possible tumor would also cause diarrhea, or loose poops. Since you describe her poop as "not abnormal", and she has gone off feed, not egg bound, weight loss, and slow moving, I would check for congested lungs, since that is something you can treat.

Congested Lungs:
Pick her up in a very quiet place, and put your ear to her chest. While moving her up and down, listen for any gurgling or rattling. If you have a stethoscope that is better. She will need an antibiotic to recover, if it is congested lungs. A broad spectrum is best, many keepers use Tylosin (Tylan 50) or Enrofloxacin (Baytril). A warm temperature of 70 to 80 degrees is needed till she is on the mend. A humidifier for a few hours each day is helpful. I am currently treating my rooster for this. Because of sudden changes in weather, some chickens become stressed from extreme fluctuations in temperatures. It has been very cold at night and in the high 90's during the day, here. As a result, respiratory infections settle into the lungs, and sometimes, there are no upper respiratory symptoms, like nasal discharge, sneezing, etc.

Reproductive problems:
You should feel between her legs, and under her belly for ascite build up, as this symptom can also indicate possible tumor, egg peritonitis or other reproductive infection. Although, a tumor can still be present without ascites. Prognosis is not good for hens with reproductive disorder. But there are some things you can do.

In both instances however, you should not let the hen go without eating. A weak animal has less chance of recovery, than one that is getting nourishment. This means you'll have to feed her manually.

• Feed her bird meal replacement (I prefer hemp protein powder), with a 10 mL, oral syringe. This is like giving liquid oral medication. A liquid meal also hydrates the chicken. Critically ill chickens Need about 40-50 mL of liquid feeding per day. I start out with 4 mL, 3-4 times the first day, not to overwhelm the chicken. Then, gradually increase to 10 mL per feeding, 4 times per day. You need to make a slurry that's like thin pancake batter. Take care not to aspirate the chicken, go slow. You can also tube feed, but this really requires training, as, a feeding tube is placed down into the crop. Do not attempt to tube feed without proper instruction. The best thing is for the chicken to get eating on her own.

First try offering: wet mash, cooked egg, diced cooked meats, cooked brown rice, diced fruit, cooked diced vegies, chopped greens. All in small amounts.

• If your chicken is still laying eggs, and not eating she will deplete her calcium, and this can affect her bones. Administer one half Tums tablet (break into small pieces), once a day for three days a week, till eating on own, again.

• Keep the vent area, clean to prevent vent gleet.

These are my initial thoughts on your hens issue. I hope they are helpful and at least give you something else to look at.

Other members will advice; consider them too.

God Bless

 

[Petitebird]

What happened to your hens? Did you find out why? One of my hens just died from not eating and having respiratory disease.