Updated 1-15-11 Very sick hen; not egg bound; diarrhea, droopy, standing upright

[pigcoon]

Update: I just picked her up from the vet last night where she boarded for 3 days while I did some holiday travel. She is much stronger and healthier, but still not her total self. She's eating well and putting on a little weight. She's starting to talk.

I tried to bring her back to the coop today because it was a fairly warm day and I thought things might be o.k. Things did not go well. I guess I will go post over in Chicken Behavior because the other hens (4 of them) are being very mean to her and not letting her reintegrate. She is not quite strong enough to be assertive. This is more than just the warning gestures they usually do. They are attacking her and pulling feathers, etc. She is just cowering, not fighting back. They won't let her near the food and water. Now I am suspecting that they caused this by not letting her eat or drink and that this is why she became ill in the first place.

So I brought her back in to the dog crate.

I am at a loss on how to proceed other than to let her get stronger and more robust and then try again.

 

[pigcoon]

I am continuing the behavior discussion here as I imagine some of this is normal with a reintroduction, but feel free to post on either thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=615036

 

[One of the girls]

Try placing her, during the last phase of recuperation, near or against the coop fence, so everyone can see one another but not touch. You might have to rig up a temp enclosure to accomplish this with her crate at one end for shelter. This way everyone can get used to the idea that 'Matilda' has come back and will shortly be rejoining the flock. After a week of this, integration ought to be smoother. But still watch them.

Hope this idea helps.

 

[pigcoon]

Cross posted on the other behavior thread:

So last weekend I tried what some have recommended. I waited til the flock was sleepy and placed her in with them. There was a little bit of scuffling but they settled back down. Things went great (I presume) until morning. When they came running out to greet me, they 'noticed' her and isolated her again.

So, it has now been a week. She spends most of her time in the inside coop. While she seems stronger (much) she doesn't seem to have "permission" to come out. Or she doesn't feel like it, who knows? She seems healthy enough though. I have been feeding her twice per day- I latch her in and give her some high protein food and water, then unlatch her.

So, it's going kind of o.k. because she's not in the basement anymore and she's somewhat integrated. But I don't know what would happen if I didn't arrange for her to have two feeds a day. I suspect she would weaken again and we'd be back where we started. If I go away, my other families are not likely to do this. This isn't scheduled until mid Feb. but it's a problem on the horizon.

I'm not sure if they'll ever all be 'normal' together again.

 

[Suzie]

I had problems with one of my girls that had to be isolated due to an injury - she was away from the main flock for over 2 weeks - I was advised to put her in with the main flock after dark and spray her and the rest of the flock with a solution of vinegar in water ( very weak solution ).

I had to repeat for several nights - during the day she was accepted but at night when she attempted to go into the coop she was ousted, after a few days he was accepted - maybe try this - I wish you and your girl luck!

Suzie

 

[pigcoon]

Interestingly mine is accepted at night but not during the day...... I wish I could figure this out. My whole flock is being so wacky these days. Her illness is gone but she's still not completely acting normal which is contributing I think.

 

[BeccaSmith]

I'm not an expert on food at all but, I was reading an interesting article from the Chicken Doctor about the way grain is processed now and the grain co supplementing with different grains instead of corn, messing with the crude fiber and protein etc.... He said alot of ppl have had a huge drop off in egg production.

Now aside from that, your hen does sound like she has an issue aside from the food. I would ask if you have ever seen a meaty type of object in the roost area, laying nests, or outside? Golden Comets are great layers and I like them but, afte many years of bad luck with them become egg bound, I noticed they would pass oviaries more than other breeds. Hens have two oviaries and one usually goes dormant (sp) and the other produces. Sometimes the oviaries become detached and the hen will pass them cause a total drop off in egg production and sickly looking hen. I'm not saying this is definitely the answer but, just and FYI to see if you have seen a weird type of meaty looking dropping in the housing etc... It could be that, that she is dealing with and I've seen some take up to 3 months to bounce back, other die from it, and others that live never lay again

Best wishes

Sorry to bring back a thread that is a couple of months old, but I have a Golden Comet (my only one) and her behavior is exactly as you described and she is pretty under weight. I did take a fecal sample to the vet and she had tape worms and round worms. I have treated her and the flock for the worms, but it is her weight and abdomen that worries me the most, it seems to be swollen or distended and it makes it hard for her to walk normal and she can't fly up to the roosts at night or during the day. I have had her inside in my bathroom since the 20th of January trying to figure out what is causing her to be ill. A couple times she passed what appeard to be latch which I was told was the reproductive parts shedding? Anyways, I am glad I stumbled upon this thread, it makes sense why she hasn't been laying eggs, I originally thought she was egg bound but she passed no eggs after a couple of warm baths. Perhaps she is laying internally and that is why her abdomen is swollen, she also doesn't eat a ton either, which I am hoping will change with the worming treatment. She seems a little brighter and has made it this far so I am keeping my fingers crossed, she is such a sweetie! I don't care if she ever lays again, I just want her to be healthy and happy!

 

[pigcoon]

Another update from me, the thread starter. A couple of weeks ago, a second hen in my flock became ill quite suddenly. Her abdomen became swollen like a basketball and within 24 hours she was dead. The vet said this was the same infection that my first hen had but that it had settled in another place in the 2nd hen's body. So you may want to consult a vet more quickly on your hen with the swollen abdomen.

My first droopy hen is doing o.k. but still needs coddling. The flock (down to 4 hens) still won't "let" her eat. They chase her whenever she goes toward the food. So since Christmas I have had to feed her separately twice a day, some high protein food. I give her separate food and water inside the coop. When she goes up to roost on a shelf, she has to sit far away from the other 3. As long as she keeps her distance and doesn't eat, they are fine with her. She is still pretty skinny and doesn't seem to be gaining. This seems to be the new normal for my flock and it is a bummer.

 

[pigcoon]

I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in this update, but I thought I'd post it.

Since my post on 2/9/12, for a while all went well with the four hens. Every now and then one of the 'healthy' ones was limping for a few days, but then would get up and be fine for a week or so. My original sick hen was doing pretty well and the flock of 4 was getting along well.

This went along until the cold snap came after the warm weather. Two of my hens became seriously ill again. The original sick droopy hen and a second one, the limping one. They went downhill fast, but didn't die. After about a week of no eating, force feeding, propping up the hen that couldn't walk at all and had her legs all splayed out underneath her, I went back to the vet again.

He confirmed Marek's disease and we traced it back to a certain farm in the area that he knows has problems with Marek's. He had to put down my two hens, one whom I've been nursing all winter. I was so sad. He didn't recommend bringing the bodies home due to the disease, since we still have 2 'healthy' ones at home.

So now I'm down from a flock of 5 to a flock of 2 in a pretty short period of time. They would have all been 3 years old in May. He said my 2 remaining ones may not ever get sick--it is hard to know. He didn't recommend introducing any new chickens to my flock for a while, so I am going to have to be satisfied with just my two lonely hens for a while. At least they are both laying at the moment.

 

[nightowl223]

Sorry for your loss, pigcoon.

Hopefully you will be able to add some new chickens soon.

If you get some who have already had the Mareks vaccine, I think it would be much safer.