Urgent!! Need Help with a Lethargic Hen

[casportpony]

I picked up a thermometer and her temperature was 105.5 Degrees F. She just turns away from me whenever I try to get her to take food or water. She isn't sitting or laying down she is just standing. If I take live mealworms she will turn away until she notices them moving around then she will eat those. So far that is all I have been able to get her to eat. I have only given her a couple. I dried her with a towel after the bath and have kept her in the house. I will probably keep her inside for tonight at least. Since she doesn't have an elevated temperature and I have not noticed a foul odor from her I am going to hold off on the antibiotics for now. I will have to wait until my wife gets home so one can hold her and the other can see what the inside of her beak looks like.

The chicken that we had die had problems laying since last winter, soft/rubbery eggs, weak shells, a long time between eggs. She had no symptoms, wasn't lethargic or anything. She was running around playing the day before then I found her dead in the coop the next morning. So if it is something contagious it seems that the symptoms are different. I have separated her just to be on the safe side.

She seems far more alert than she was this morning but still not moving much, no eating or drinking, and no droppings. She is at least opening her eyes and moving her head occasionally now.

I just spoke with my vet and she said that chickens don't normally run fevers and that normal a normal rectal temp is 105-107 degrees. That said, I would keep her in the house and keep her warm.

 

[casportpony]

What did your vet say?

 

[casportpony]

Perhaps a malformed egg broke inside her. Bacterial infection may set in. I recommend a vinegar/water flush, like a douche:
Use a large syringe without a needle, mixing 1 tablespoon of WHITE vinegar to one quart of water. Use a full syringe of the mixture and insert the syringe into her vent and gently flush. Use about 3 or 4 syringefuls. The liquid may or may not flow out of her vent afterwards.

What size syringe? You don't want to rupture her...

 

[casportpony]

No. She has actually been a pretty good layer. I had one that laid soft eggs often, but that is the one that ended up passing away a few weeks ago. I really can't figure out what is wrong with her other than she just seems to stand around not moving, eating, or drinking. I have felt her abdomen, probed inside her vent (this made some very liquidy light yellow/whitish droppings come out), have felt her crop but it feels kinda soft and squishy. She really hasn't done anything today include going to the bathroom.

I have her in the house now since I bathed her and it is kind of cold. I also don't want to risk something contagious spreading to the others. She isn't broody, I have a buff orpington that does that a lot so I'm familiar with that behavior.

Can you post a picture of her poop? You're right, she's not broody, she's sick.

 

[swmalone]

I will try to get a picture, but it was very runny and kind of an off-white. Our small animal vet doesn't treat chickens and the other vets only treat large animals and I have a feeling would say to cull a sick bird.

 

[casportpony]

I will try to get a picture, but it was very runny and kind of an off-white. Our small animal vet doesn't treat chickens and the other vets only treat large animals and I have a feeling would say to cull a sick bird.

If her poop is yellow or has blood in it, that's a bad sign. Picture will help us.

 

[fmacken13]

Ok...I took Susie to the vet. Her crop is so engorged that its bruised. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot in her breast and gave her a sub dermal IV full of vitamins and fluids. I also got an antiobiotic to give her 2x a day that has antiprotozoa stuff in it too. The other 2 chickens are on the same regimen. Poor Susie looked even worse at the vets office. Her combs are wilting off to the side. Anyway, she's separated from the others and resting in her own pen in the garage. I've done all I can do...I just hope she makes it until tomorrow.

Thank you all for your responses

Fiona

 

[casportpony]

Ok...I took Susie to the vet. Her crop is so engorged that its bruised. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot in her breast and gave her a sub dermal IV full of vitamins and fluids. I also got an antiobiotic to give her 2x a day that has antiprotozoa stuff in it too. The other 2 chickens are on the same regimen. Poor Susie looked even worse at the vets office. Her combs are wilting off to the side. Anyway, she's separated from the others and resting in her own pen in the garage. I've done all I can do...I just hope she makes it until tomorrow.

Thank you all for your responses

Fiona

Good luck!

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Ok...I took Susie to the vet. Her crop is so engorged that its bruised. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot in her breast and gave her a sub dermal IV full of vitamins and fluids. I also got an antiobiotic to give her 2x a day that has antiprotozoa stuff in it too. The other 2 chickens are on the same regimen. Poor Susie looked even worse at the vets office. Her combs are wilting off to the side. Anyway, she's separated from the others and resting in her own pen in the garage. I've done all I can do...I just hope she makes it until tomorrow.

Thank you all for your responses

Fiona

Sure beats tryin' to talk her into takin' beakfulls at a time ~'-)

Was wonderin' if you might share exactly what your vet has used (shot should be on the bill, and those brought home should be labeled). Might be handy to know in the future ...

 

[swmalone]

So we decided to take her outside and see how she would react. I really don't know what was wrong with her this morning, but she started moving around once we took her out. She also started to drink and eat. I did end up getting pooped on when I took her out and it was yellowish/whitish and runny.

We are going to leave her out to see how she reacts. I don't know if perhaps she actually started feeling better throughout the day and was just not eating or drinking because she was freaked out from being in the house. I guess I'm glad she is more energetic I just wish I knew what was wrong in the first place.

We will keep an eye on her over the next several days.

Thanks for all the assistance.