Symptomatic hen, can't account for illness

[MichelleKing]

I have a VERY sick bantam buff laced polish hen (frizzle). She is 1.5 years of age.

On Friday it was warm and I let the chickens out to free range. She was fine and running around like the little spunk she is. Yesterday, Saturday, I found her crouched, wings down, head down, backside curved, and she's wobbly on her feet. She fell over one time.

I brought her in and isolated her in my insulated garage. She's laying down. Moving her head around but extremely lethargic. I thought she would die over night but she's still alive right now. She did gasp for breath a few times it seemed like.

I observed her poop and I sifted through the entirety of it. No worms whatsoever. None. Not even a "maybe this is a worm?" question in my head. There are no worms in her poop. I palpated her abdomen and it appears there is no egg stuck, and then I also inspected her vent which appeared normal. No diarrhea though. Stools appear normal.

Can someone help me? I am stuck. Here is the arsenal I have to give her: Tylan Injectable, Corid, Febendazole, Nutridrench, Electrolytes, and Poultry Probiotics. I know the dosing, I just don't know what to give her or what this could be.


**Note: ALL other hens in the flock are normal, not sick, and running doing chicken things around as per usual**

**edit: she's completely free of mites, lice, or any other bugs**

 

[azygous]

If you can, give her a dose of the Tylan right now.

I suspect a serious bacterial infection from something she ate the last time she was out ranging. Or she might have been exposed to insecticide. Those are the only two things I can think of that would cause such acute symptoms in such a short time.

If this is bacterial, the Tylan could cause improvement in her condition by tomorrow. If not, she will likely be dead by tomorrow.

You need to inspect your premises for rotting compost, scummy rain puddles, machinery leaking fluids onto the ground, or any recent insecticide use.

There's always a chance of an egg issue, even if you can't feel the egg. Has she been laying? What is the quality of her eggs? Good shells?

 

[CatWhisperer]

Is it possible she has wry neck?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post any pictures of her? Can she stand if you lift her up? Do you have any roosters who could have hurt her? What do her poops look like? First, I would give her some water and 2 ml of NutriDrench, a couple of drops at a time. Has she molted recently? Since you have Tylan, has there been any respiratory disease seen in other chickens in the past?

 

[MichelleKing]

If you can, give her a dose of the Tylan right now.

I suspect a serious bacterial infection from something she ate the last time she was out ranging. Or she might have been exposed to insecticide. Those are the only two things I can think of that would cause such acute symptoms in such a short time.

If this is bacterial, the Tylan could cause improvement in her condition by tomorrow. If not, she will likely be dead by tomorrow.

You need to inspect your premises for rotting compost, scummy rain puddles, machinery leaking fluids onto the ground, or any recent insecticide use.

There's always a chance of an egg issue, even if you can't feel the egg. Has she been laying? What is the quality of her eggs? Good shells?

I was wondering if it could be an egg issue. I live in NEOH and its pretty dark all the time, I do not supplement light and so she hasn't laid in probably a month. My bantam polish aren't the best egg layers to begin with, but I haven't seen either of them lay in at least a month. WHen she was laying, they were fantastic, nice shelled, normally shaped small beige eggs. Nothing soft or out of the ordinary. So I'm just not sure.

I did find clover and the stems stuck to her foot when I pulled her out of the run. She is that chicken who will eat anything so its highly possible she ingested something. I dont have any machinery because Im a backyard suburban chicken mom, but its possible my neighbor fertilized his lawn. The most likely possibility is she did eat something and got nasty infection.

I've given her the Tylan injection, plus a solution of sugar/pedialtye/nutridrench. She's still alive for now.

I hatched her, raised her in my house, and love her to pieces. I'm doing everything I can possibly do to help her. If you have any other suggestions let me know. Thanks!

 

[MichelleKing]

Can you post any pictures of her? Can she stand if you lift her up? Do you have any roosters who could have hurt her? What do her poops look like? First, I would give her some water and 2 ml of NutriDrench, a couple of drops at a time. Has she molted recently? Since you have Tylan, has there been any respiratory disease seen in other chickens in the past?

Yes I will post pics no problem. I'll go get them after i write this. I have no roosters in my flock. She appears uninjured. She can stand if I put her up, but she's unsteady and she is very hunched over. Wings dropped, backside dropped, head dropped. She's still looking around like she always does (she's a bit neurotic). She is still talking to me occasionally (she's also a very loud bird).

I had a DeathLayer who had a respiratory infection about two years ago. I keep tylan on hand ever since then (considering what I paid for the deathlayer I did my best to save her). Other than that, my flock is isolated, very healthy, and I rarely have health issues. My flock had worms awhile back but they were eating earthworms from the ground and thats probably where those came from. As far as respiratory, no. I try to keep everything clean (clean the coop every two days), and the run is as clean as it can be. I did not notice her go through a molt this year.

Her poops are completely normal. I sifted through them entirely and I found absolutely nothing. No worms, not even a question of worms. No odd findings.

 

[MichelleKing]

Is it possible she has wry neck?

For a second I wondered that myself, but she doesn't appear to fit the bill on that. Wry neck always is a disturbing thing to see. What she's doing is more like, she looks highly distressed and is hunched over. Very lethargic.

 

[azygous]

Monitor her poop. An infection should produce white watery stool.

I suggest following up with another dose of antibiotic later this afternoon. Then come morning, she should show some improvement. That would be the sign to continue a full five days of Tylan.

At the same time you are checking her in the morning, feel her crop for fullness. There's always a possibility this sudden illness can be caused by a crop disorder.

 

[Eggcessive]

So she can raise her head up and look around? If you suspect a reproductive disorder, I would insert a finger 1-2 inches inside her vent (wear a disposable glove if you have one,) and feel for a stuck egg. Feel her lower belly for any enlargement or tightness compared to other hens. Feel of her crop to check if it is empty, full, firm, or puffy. It can be a mystery at first to figure out what is going on.

 

[MichelleKing]

Monitor her poop. An infection should produce white watery stool.

I suggest following up with another dose of antibiotic later this afternoon. Then come morning, she should show some improvement. That would be the sign to continue a full five days of Tylan.

At the same time you are checking her in the morning, feel her crop for fullness. There's always a possibility this sudden illness can be caused by a crop disorder.

Thank you, I will do that. I appreciate it!