Super Sick Silkie

[ferngullyfarm]

For starters, Hen Solo (my favorite chicken in the whole wide world) is a 3.5 years old silkie hen.

She’s recently stopped laying completely, which I thought was just age? But now I suspect something else.. she’s been slow/sluggish the past few days, so I thought she may have hurt her leg popping around the coop, since she’s so little. But today she didn’t move from the nesting area.

I saw mites on the coop this evening, so I bathed her with dawn, blow dried her, & treated her with Ivermectin pour-on. Her bare bottom had pasty-butt like poop caked on. Her poor feet have scaly-leg mites, & what I assume is bumble foot? I coated her feet in Vaseline for the mites, but unsure how to proceed with her feet. I tried giving her nutri-drench, but she “spit” it back out..

(Since I know people may ask.. The whole flock gets Spring Chicken Wellness Brew in their water - it contains ACV. Pumpkin seeds & crushed red pepper in their feed. Coop is dusted every pine shaving change with DE.)

Is this it? Can I do anything else to save my chicken?? I have her wrapped in a towel in my lap, & she’s breathing with a bit of crackle/rasp..

Photos below of suspected bumblefoot. Other issues I can’t really capture.

 

[nuthatched]

it contains ACV. Pumpkin seeds & crushed red pepper in their feed. Coop is dusted every pine shaving change with DE.)

Stop with all of this, it does more harm than good
What's her diet?
The DE maybe what's causing the respiratory issues, since it's a known irritant.
What's her full symptoms?
Crop feel?

 

[ferngullyfarm]

Stop with all of this, it does more harm than good
What's her diet?
The DE maybe what's causing the respiratory issues, since it's a known irritant.
What's her full symptoms?
Crop feel?

Crop feels absolutely empty; she hasn’t moved to eat today.

She eats a 16% layer feed, & has a separate bowl of oyster shells if she needs them. I mix some basil & crushed red pepper into her feed. She snacks when she free ranges, & gets fruit/veggie scraps a few times a week. Mealworms, marigolds, cracked corn, & some 5-grain scratch for treats.

Hen Solo was increasingly lethargic, to the point where she didn’t move today. Low to no appetite. Cannot drink. Respiratory issue happened after attempt at nutri-drench.

 

[ferngullyfarm]

Stop with all of this, it does more harm than good
What's her diet?
The DE maybe what's causing the respiratory issues, since it's a known irritant.
What's her full symptoms?
Crop feel?

& also, what does any of the things I add to the food/water harm exactly? I’ve only ever read about the benefits, I haven’t seen any negative reactions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I saw mites on the coop this evening, so I bathed her with dawn, blow dried her, & treated her with Ivermectin pour-on. Her bare bottom had pasty-butt like poop caked on. Her poor feet have scaly-leg mites, & what I assume is bumble foot? I coated her feet in Vaseline for the mites, but unsure how to proceed with her feet. I tried giving her nutri-drench, but she “spit” it back out..

Photos of her and her poop?


The Mites are likely causing quite a bit of her problems.

With Ivermectin, the mites still have to Bite the bird for it to be effective.

I'd give her a dusting of Permethrin. Clean out your coop and treat it with Permethrin. DE is not going to be effective against an infestation.

The bumblefoot is minor, I wouldn't worry with it while she's sick.

SLM if severe can cause difficulty walking.

Work on hydration and get rid of the mites. Make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
See that she's eating her normal feed. Pumpkin seeds and pepper make nice treats but are not going to treat an illness or worms. If you feel she needs deworming, then use an Anthelmintic like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen).

 

[ferngullyfarm]

Photos of her and her poop?


The Mites are likely causing quite a bit of her problems.

With Ivermectin, the mites still have to Bite the bird for it to be effective.

I'd give her a dusting of Permethrin. Clean out your coop and treat it with Permethrin. DE is not going to be effective against an infestation.

The bumblefoot is minor, I wouldn't worry with it while she's sick.

SLM if severe can cause difficulty walking.

Work on hydration and get rid of the mites. Make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
See that she's eating her normal feed. Pumpkin seeds and pepper make nice treats but are not going to treat an illness or worms. If you feel she needs deworming, then use an Anthelmintic like Fenbendazole (Safeguard) or Albendazole (Valbazen).

She hasn’t pooped since I started all of this, so no photos there.. I know the seeds & pepper won’t treat an infestation, we give those mostly as a preventative. Clearly didn’t work out for us.

Is there an alternative to Permethrin that you’re aware of? I’ve read that it’s toxic to cats, & we have several farm cats that I would worry for.

Also, she’s 100% not eating. Not yogurt, not scrambled eggs. & any oral vitamins or meds come right back out of her beak. Photo below of results of the nutri-drench attempt.

 

[nuthatched]

Crop feels absolutely empty; she hasn’t moved to eat today.

She eats a 16% layer feed, & has a separate bowl of oyster shells if she needs them. I mix some basil & crushed red pepper into her feed. She snacks when she free ranges, & gets fruit/veggie scraps a few times a week. Mealworms, marigolds, cracked corn, & some 5-grain scratch for treats.

Hen Solo was increasingly lethargic, to the point where she didn’t move today. Low to no appetite. Cannot drink. Respiratory issue happened after attempt at nutri-drench.

She might has aspirated the nutridrench. How was that given? How's her crop feel?
Stop everything but the feed and the nutridrench in the water, she needs to get her nutrition back in check.
Red pepper flakes contain a lot of seeds, the seeds block vitamins. Basil's not good or bad for anything but I'd honestly skip anything that dilutes the feed. This also goes for the marigolds.
Wellness Brew or any water enhancers, should only be given at most, 10 days straight.
Depending on the Vegetables, they can offer vitamins and minerals to just bulk filler to nutrient blocking.
Mealworms are high in fat but have decent protein, I wouldn't feed them more than twice a week.
Corn and scratch are low in meaningful nutrition, high in carbs and fat. They absolutely don't need it, so it's also good for only once or twice a week.
Pelleted feed is nutritionally complete, adding anything else to the feed dilutes the nutrition, a chicken can only eat so much a day and most get over excited of the 'junk food' and eat a lopsided diet.

& also, what does any of the things I add to the food/water harm exactly? I’ve only ever read about the benefits, I haven’t seen any negative reactions.

Pumpkin seeds can block nutrition, so does chili seeds. They do not offer anything but marginal benefits, nothing that can't be gotten with a better feed or better treat options. They don't offer anyworming or laying benefits.
DE is hazardous for you and especially them to breathe, doesnt work for pests and is also a product of strip mining, which is anything but earth friendly
You often see people reccomend all sorts of add ons, but most people just parrot what they hear/read somewhere else, without checking facts or safety. Anything for likes! Most are not exactly healthy, or even unsafe if used wrong.
Silkies are prone to nutrition deficiency, they need extra vitamins sometimes.
Honestly, it sounds more like a reproductive issue that's causing a back log of issues. Or just a crop issue.
What's her crop like? Doughy? Squishy? Hard? Dies she have access to grit?

 

[ferngullyfarm]

She might has aspirated the nutridrench. How was that given? How's her crop feel?
Stop everything but the feed and the nutridrench in the water, she needs to get her nutrition back in check.
Red pepper flakes contain a lot of seeds, the seeds block vitamins. Basil's not good or bad for anything but I'd honestly skip anything that dilutes the feed. This also goes for the marigolds.
Wellness Brew or any water enhancers, should only be given at most, 10 days straight.
Depending on the Vegetables, they can offer vitamins and minerals to just bulk filler to nutrient blocking.
Mealworms are high in fat but have decent protein, I wouldn't feed them more than twice a week.
Corn and scratch are low in meaningful nutrition, high in carbs and fat. They absolutely don't need it, so it's also good for only once or twice a week.
Pelleted feed is nutritionally complete, adding anything else to the feed dilutes the nutrition, a chicken can only eat so much a day and most get over excited of the 'junk food' and eat a lopsided diet.


Pumpkin seeds can block nutrition, so does chili seeds. They do not offer anything but marginal benefits, nothing that can't be gotten with a better feed or better treat options. They don't offer anyworming or laying benefits.
DE is hazardous for you and especially them to breathe, doesnt work for pests and is also a product of strip mining, which is anything but earth friendly
You often see people reccomend all sorts of add ons, but most people just parrot what they hear/read somewhere else, without checking facts or safety. Anything for likes! Most are not exactly healthy, or even unsafe if used wrong.
Silkies are prone to nutrition deficiency, they need extra vitamins sometimes.
Honestly, it sounds more like a reproductive issue that's causing a back log of issues. Or just a crop issue.
What's her crop like? Doughy? Squishy? Hard? Dies she have access to grit?

The only way I can describe her crop is empty? It’s hard, but not like something’s stuck. She free-ranges almost daily, so I don’t offer grit. The articles I’ve read in the past said that it wasn’t necessary for free-range girls.

I’m very unsure of what else to do or where to even go for help. It seems like there’s constantly conflicting information about anything to do with chickens. & also, an extreme distrust of vets? Or maybe that’s just my area.

 

[ferngullyfarm]

An update on Hen Solo:

She made it through the night as a house chicken. She’s completely uninterested in eating or drinking, & cannot hold herself up. Breathing heavily.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She hasn’t pooped since I started all of this, so no photos there.. I know the seeds & pepper won’t treat an infestation, we give those mostly as a preventative. Clearly didn’t work out for us.

Is there an alternative to Permethrin that you’re aware of? I’ve read that it’s toxic to cats, & we have several farm cats that I would worry for.

Also, she’s 100% not eating. Not yogurt, not scrambled eggs. & any oral vitamins or meds come right back out of her beak. Photo below of results of the nutri-drench attempt.

The only way I can describe her crop is empty? It’s hard, but not like something’s stuck.

An update on Hen Solo:

She made it through the night as a house chicken. She’s completely uninterested in eating or drinking, & cannot hold herself up. Breathing heavily.

Her crop is hard? Could it be impacted?

Did she poop overnight?

I'd work on getting her hydrated, hold a small cup of sugar water up to her beak to see if she will take some sips. If not, syringe or tube fluids into her.