Thoughts on poop 9 days after predator attack?

[All Ball]

My girl shows a mix of good and bad signs some days after tangling with predator at night after not getting in in time before the auto door went down. Biggest issue is digestion - poop not looking good, appetite on/off.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) 3-year-old legbar. She's got a lot of leghorn genes and has always been far bottom of the pecking order so is fairly light.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
9 days after interacting with predator - found her lying on side, eyes closed, neck limp. Were no visible external injuries, went through shock, appeared to be sore/have internal injuries. Hen has improved, can now move more freely, went outside most of today to sit/stand, even did a little scratching, but still on/off interest in food and poop not good at all - watery, squirty, with some green. Has energy and then loses it, rests/sleeps. Started some antibiotic today in case the digestion problems result from injury-related infection. Would like folks' thoughts on poop and whether antibiotics might be helpful or not.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 9 days.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Signs of injuries: she always transitions very slowly from standing to sitting, so either legs are very sore or she is worried about a soft landing for her abdomen. She will be active, a bit vocal, interested in food at times, move more normally, today she lifted wings above her body, did a puffy shake-out (which caused pain after), and started returning to her favorite activity of grooming - all new - and then transition to quiet/sleepy, not interested in food, then back again. She sometimes closes one eye, although it looks fine. I will flush with saline solution tomorrow. She seems not to have good near vision or some neurological issue - I've got water in a white cup and today saw her periodically peck in front of rather than in it (she hatched with some defects and one was that she never seemed to have great eyesight).
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
See above.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is most interested in hardboiled egg, then wetted starter/grower. Will sometimes eat seeds from the seed/pellet mix, but generally not as interested in hard stuff, and has not shown interest in a favorite, shelled sunflower seeds, or in fish. Today I did not catch her eating much. She is drinking plenty of water.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
See pics - these are last 3 in reverse order, latest first.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Isolated, quiet dark space. Today she seemed well enough to get a poopy butt cleaning bath, and she appreciated getting a big buildup of poop removed/feathers clipped. This p.m. I started her on generic clavamox in case the poop/eating issues are a result from infection from the injuries.
10 ) 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 don't think there's much you can do about internal injuries, so pretty much myself, I could do a fecal float if helpful...not sure it would be.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Dog crates in garage, straw or pine shavings.

 

[BGcoop]

You said she is drinking a lot, that could be partly why it is runny. As for color and other stuff, I have no idea!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

My gut feeling is that you are not dealing with a predator attack here but an outbreak of Marek's. There are so many things that red flag Marek's and don't tie in with a predator......

No external injury..... I don't know of any predator that leaves a chicken prone like that with no damage to the skin.

Red Flags for Marek's disease....

The bird is a Legbar which are more susceptible to the virus.
She is underweight..... Marek's is a wasting disease.
She was found on her side in the run the following morning with a limp neck. It is common for Marek's to come on suddenly and a bird get stuck on it's side unable to get up. Wry Neck and wry tail or an inability to control the muscles is common with the disease.
She is unable to keep one eye open all the time.
She has depth perception problems and has done from a young age.... this is also common with Marek's.
Her recovery is not consistent..... better days and less good ones.
Digestive issues are also common with Marek's. Tumours often develop in the digestive tract with the disease but also secondary infections occur due to a compromised immune system.

I may be totally wrong but the likelihood is that she has been carrying the disease since she was young and possibly the onset of moult has triggered an outbreak now, or there has been some other factor..... perhaps missing the coop door shutting triggered it but my gut feeling is that she missed getting in in time because she was floundering outside unable to get up. Have you added any new birds to your flock in recent weeks/months or had any other events that might cause stress, if she hasn't started to moult yet?

 

[All Ball]

Hi

My gut feeling is that you are not dealing with a predator attack here but an outbreak of Marek's. There are so many things that red flag Marek's and don't tie in with a predator......

No external injury..... I don't know of any predator that leaves a chicken prone like that with no damage to the skin.

Red Flags for Marek's disease....

The bird is a Legbar which are more susceptible to the virus.
She is underweight..... Marek's is a wasting disease.
She was found on her side in the run the following morning with a limp neck. It is common for Marek's to come on suddenly and a bird get stuck on it's side unable to get up. Wry Neck and wry tail or an inability to control the muscles is common with the disease.
She is unable to keep one eye open all the time.
She has depth perception problems and has done from a young age.... this is also common with Marek's.
Her recovery is not consistent..... better days and less good ones.
Digestive issues are also common with Marek's. Tumours often develop in the digestive tract with the disease but also secondary infections occur due to a compromised immune system.

I may be totally wrong but the likelihood is that she has been carrying the disease since she was young and possibly the onset of moult has triggered an outbreak now, or there has been some other factor..... perhaps missing the coop door shutting triggered it but my gut feeling is that she missed getting in in time because she was floundering outside unable to get up. Have you added any new birds to your flock in recent weeks/months or had any other events that might cause stress, if she hasn't started to moult yet?

Thanks for your reply! No, have not added any birds. These girls were from fertile eggs, and she hatched with an odd set of issues, so that would have been pre-Mareks. Also, I've always had a closed flock, in yards without previous chickens, so if there is Mareks, it would have had to come from the environment. Also, she tends to dawdle at night going in because of her status - she has more freedom outside without bullies, and she waits for the bully to settle inside. There was clearly predator interactions, as I heard the noise and - am totally hitting myself all the time -- thought her noises were from a mammal, and there was a clump of feathers on the ground. Yes, a stressful situation could have brought on/exacerbated an underlying condition. One of her half-siblings just died of ovarian cancer, which spread rapidly to her digestive system, so there could be something similar going on here, speeded up by the attack.

Thanks for your thoughts! I did not know about the depth perception/Mareks issue, and others you point out. If she fails to get past this, I will definitely get a necropsy.

 

[coach723]

I have seen droppings like that from infections and have treated with amoxicillin and they resolved, so it's worth a try. Sometimes it's hard to know for sure, but I think you are doing the right things for now, and necropsy in the worst case scenario is definitely a good idea. Hope she recovers. Good luck!

 

[All Ball]

Thank you so much, coach723! It's great to have your experienced insights.