One of my 2+ yo chicken became sick. wouldn't stand up. Comb pale pink. beaks open and seems to be breathing fast.
thought it might be gapeworm so managed to have a really good look down her throat and its clear.
Her eyes are looking normal no discharge no sign of occular Marek's besides bit old for Marek's to appear
no nasal discharge.
poo color normal and of right consistency. I presume no Coccidiosis. besides more common and young pullets, chicks.
nope to Newcastle disease. no signs of drooping wings, circling of the neck and head, stargazing.
1st symptoms was lethargy and tail pointing down. checked for stuck egg. No egg or broken egg shell in her vent. she did waddle like a penguin.
Thought of MG but I don't think its that either...
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My chicken have been eating quite a bit of slugs, snails and earthworm thanks to all the rain we have had in Pacific Northwest. So I did feed her ground up raw pumpkin seed mixed with buttermilk (made a mash). Had to force it down her throat. But why would worms in her gut would cause her to have her beaks open with rapid short breathing? BTW pumpkin seed mash did "improve" her condition. She is standing and seems to have bit more energy. But still lays down often, more so than our other birds.
Her crop is more or less full in the evening and empty in the morning. So she is eating properly and processing it. Feed is mixture of organic layer feed, wheat berries, BOSS, organic brown rice, cracked corn, excess spinach, chard, (fresh no wilted stuff), green tops of carrots, turnips and beets. And occasional dried mealy worm.
Where they free range, no pesticide. Not even OMRI approved stuff. and no fertilizer.
Other than free ranging, we do maintain bio-security. Inside of the coop gets washed down then sanitized, pine shavings on the floor are completely changed. No we don't even use the deep litter method because we don't want to deal with mites. No mites in coop or on the chicken. Feeder and waterer gets sanitized on regular basis. Water replaced everyday. Run will be getting "cleaned" when the weather dries out and gets hot. And yes our hands gets washed with hot water and soap each time we are out by the coop or handling the chicken.
What other things could cause her to lose her energy, wants to lay down, beak open, rapid short breathing?
If I suspect something really bad and contagious, I will take it to government Ag/university ag facility to have the bird necropsied. I don't want to be a bad neighbor.
thought it might be gapeworm so managed to have a really good look down her throat and its clear.
Her eyes are looking normal no discharge no sign of occular Marek's besides bit old for Marek's to appear
no nasal discharge.
poo color normal and of right consistency. I presume no Coccidiosis. besides more common and young pullets, chicks.
nope to Newcastle disease. no signs of drooping wings, circling of the neck and head, stargazing.
1st symptoms was lethargy and tail pointing down. checked for stuck egg. No egg or broken egg shell in her vent. she did waddle like a penguin.
Thought of MG but I don't think its that either...
-----------
My chicken have been eating quite a bit of slugs, snails and earthworm thanks to all the rain we have had in Pacific Northwest. So I did feed her ground up raw pumpkin seed mixed with buttermilk (made a mash). Had to force it down her throat. But why would worms in her gut would cause her to have her beaks open with rapid short breathing? BTW pumpkin seed mash did "improve" her condition. She is standing and seems to have bit more energy. But still lays down often, more so than our other birds.
Her crop is more or less full in the evening and empty in the morning. So she is eating properly and processing it. Feed is mixture of organic layer feed, wheat berries, BOSS, organic brown rice, cracked corn, excess spinach, chard, (fresh no wilted stuff), green tops of carrots, turnips and beets. And occasional dried mealy worm.
Where they free range, no pesticide. Not even OMRI approved stuff. and no fertilizer.
Other than free ranging, we do maintain bio-security. Inside of the coop gets washed down then sanitized, pine shavings on the floor are completely changed. No we don't even use the deep litter method because we don't want to deal with mites. No mites in coop or on the chicken. Feeder and waterer gets sanitized on regular basis. Water replaced everyday. Run will be getting "cleaned" when the weather dries out and gets hot. And yes our hands gets washed with hot water and soap each time we are out by the coop or handling the chicken.
What other things could cause her to lose her energy, wants to lay down, beak open, rapid short breathing?
If I suspect something really bad and contagious, I will take it to government Ag/university ag facility to have the bird necropsied. I don't want to be a bad neighbor.
