URGENT: Lethargic Young BO Hen Not Eating

[chickeepoo]

This is a 6 mos old Buff hen, just started laying a week or so ago, and is not getting better. Goldie hasn't been here 2 weeks and she is suddenly lethargic, seems to have lost weight, and stands off by herself. She has one other BO hen buddy who is acting normal and 5 other hens that she doesn't interact with. She wants to be held or on your lap, and she closes her eyes and seems to almost sleep. The man who sold them all said they'd been wormed a couple months ago, and I'm trying to find some poop of hers to check how it is against the chart on another thread. She is in a long rabbit cage in the coop, gave her electrolytes and vitamins in her water, and will offer her scrambled eggs in the morning. Her comb isn't tall enough to flop, so I don't know if she's dehydrated… she seems thin and her crop is empty though. What else can I do to narrow down what is wrong and treat her? She is sweet and cuddly, and we don't want anything to happen to her!

 

[chickeepoo]

Goldie was even more lethargic today, so we fed her some olive oil and the electrolyte mix with a small syringe, the some layer feed watered down and with a little olive oil. She seemed to perk up a tiny bit, showed interest in her water and some scrambled eggs but never actually pecked at any food. What else can I do?
Her buddy BO hen Buffy is hovering and worrying over her friend in the cage, and I notice that the other hens rule the feed with these gentler Orpingtons… could the Orps be getting railroaded by the Barred Rocks and not getting enough to eat? Someone please jump in here and comment!

 

[jbowyer01]

How is she doing? I'm new at this too but this is what I've learned so far.

You need to make sure she is seperate from the rest of the flock (not sure if her cage is close to the others) she needs it to be nice and quiet and preferably dark area. That will help keep stress down. You could try some bread soaked in a little olive oil and maybe a little warm oatmeal or yougart.

You do need to check out her stool. Maybe a vet also.

 

[Sierra pachie bars]

I had a hen act similer. She seemed to just sit off by herself and close her eyes. I offered her treats and she wouldn't eat. I put in in a pen to keep her from others , gave her some electrolights. I found my girls had mites so I dusted them and cleaned everything and then out down some DE. She seemed to have the worst of all my girls which I am assuming that is why she was acting not well. Now she is mite free from what I can see and is slowly recovering and being given alot of treats like yogurt and nuts. She is eating a little now. I've also kept her food and water really close to her although she is moving around better now. So maybe check for mites ?

 

[blueskylen]

I had a BO like that a month or so ago. It was a cold day, and she was standing off by herself with her eyes closed. I picked her up and put her in another coop, and while I was carrying her - she kind of struggled a bit. I put her down and was watching her, and she layed an egg with out even moving, and started walking away, and a bunch of egg white with no yolk and no shell came out. I have decided that she was either egg bound, or the second egg with no shell was starting to make her sick. She started looking better and eating later in the day, and is just fine now.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Her age and symptoms suggest Coccidiosis or Marek's Disease. Offer her plenty of fresh greens, some cheese and/or dairy products, and keep doing what you're doing. Keep her warm and isolated from the rest of your flock. And keep us updated on any new symptoms. Also, check her vent and tell us what it looks like (normal, messy, swollen, etc).

 

[chickeepoo]

Hi and thanks to everyone responding- Goldie has been dropper-fed a gruel made from her layer feed with some olive oil and the vitamin/electrolyte water, and she looks a little better. Her tail is up a little more, but she still isn't eating on her own. Her vent looked clean, and the droppings were normal color but small because she hasn't taken in that much food.
She was part of a McMurray batch of chicks from last summer that the seller raised, so I should ask if they were innoculated for Marek's, etc. We'll see how she does today.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

I had two hens that did this. The first died while I was looking for an answer to just stopped eating. The 2nd hen is recovered. I made her a tea with oregano, thyme, basil and "Carnation Instant Breakfast" vanilla flavor watered into a paste with buttermilk. I fed this to her two days with a large syringe. After two days she got appetite again for some cornbread and a little layer. By the end of the week she was putting on weight again.

The tea is 1 tablespoon total with the herbs per cup of water.

 

[chickeepoo]

I moved Goldie inside the house and fed her a mix of the vitamin water, layer mash, and yogurt with a few drops of olive oil- she didn't exactly like it, but she doesn't have a lot of strength to fight the feeding either. She seemed to get a little energy and momentarily shows interest in the small cup of food I'm putting the syringe into, but then she still closes her eyes and drifts off. She seemed to be wheezing lightly a couple of hours ago, but not now. I thought I'd try to see if she had any odor to her breath (gee I don't have a lot of experience checking chicken breath!?!) but it's hard to say after that concoction with the yogurt that I fed her. My gut says this is respiratory problem coming on and I should go ahead with antibiotics too- either she'll pull through or she won't. The next problem will be, if she comes out of this and it was respiratory illness, doesn't that make her a carrier to the other hens? Is this why some of the more experienced BYCer's advise to cull at the first sign of respiratory disease? Mind you, I'm not certain, just have a feeling from the symptoms.

 

[chickeepoo]

Goldie has been hanging in there, showing a little more energy at times, but never eating really on her own. I fed her the gruel by syringe this morning twice, and she shook half of it back at me (she did have enough energy to fight the syringe and flap her wings a little). I did put her out in the side yard away from the other birds in the back yard, just to see if she'd peck around, and she did walk slowly around and pick a bit at weeds. It didn't look like she swallowed much; in fact, she slung some milky mucus out of her mouth a few times, and it looks like she had a hard time swallowing bits of greens just due to the mucus. She carried herself a little better but then went back to standing with her eyes closed and her head slightly back… maybe to breathe easier. Her 2 droppings outside were 1) white with dark green/black and 2) black, tar-like and smaller. I'm reading the chart at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS044# and thinking this is a respiratory disease that has been coming on for more than just a couple of weeks. Any thoughts?