Very sick chicken. Extremely thin.

[ElleBelc]

Yesterday morning I noticed one of my hen's hunched and lethargic. She is not eating or drinking. We thought at first she had an impacted crop. Gave her vinegar water and massaged what I thought was an impacted crop. Then I thought it might be sour crop because she spit up a little bit, but there was no foul smell or anything. Today though I've realized it's not her crop that is protruding, it's her breast bone. She's extremely skinny, weak, and lethargic. We give her vinegar water, electrolyte water, or a combination of one of those with mushed up feed. She is about one month old. I've checked her vent, wings, etc. I can't find anything noticeably wrong. She still poops but not as often due to the lack of eating, and it's watery. Any suggestions? Should I go to the feed store and by something to treat for infection or worms or coccidia? I've put in a request (paid the consultation fee) to consult with Peter Brown (chicken doctor) but I'm still waiting to hear anything. She does seem a little bit better today and even ate a little bit on her own, but I'm just worried about how thin she is and if there's anything I can do to help her. Thanks.

 

[lospollitos2015]

Sorry to hear about your chicken. I do not know very much but I just started reading a book about the health of chickens. I think any changes in poop are of concern so it would be a good idea to isolate her to make sure she can eat and drink. Maybe she is at the bottom of the pecking order. Since it looks like she has diarrhea, you can give her some more food, maybe kale and som e cat food or scrambled eggs. You can try to put some mashed apples with her feed. Just a couple of ideas. I hope everything is well with your chicken.

 

[ElleBelc]

Thank you, lospollitos2015! I isolated her this morning and gave her scrambled eggs. She is drinking on her own and ate a couple of very small bites of the eggs and feed. I heard back from Peter Brown today and he thinks it's coccidiosis. I will be treating her (and the other hens as a precaution) with either Corid or Amprol as soon as I can.

 

[lospollitos2015]

Happy to hear you received a diagnosis. How is she doing? I hope she is getting better.

 

[ElleBelc]

She's really starting to come around. I have her isolated still so I can monitor her eating and drinking. She's no longer hunched and has a lot more energy. She's very itchy and has a lot of "dandruff" though, which I thought might be a side effect of the Corid. But from what I can tell reading through the forums, it's just new feathers coming in. When she's done the meds I will also give her a vitamin supplement. Until then Peter Brown said to not give supplement as it can interfere with the medication. She's still very skinny and underweight, but hoping a couple more days of eggs and TLC will fatten her up. Thanks for checking back in! '

I have her inside my house and she loves to lay on my chest and sleep or groom herself. She's always so sad to be put back in the cage. It's so cute though. Love this chicken!

 

[lospollitos2015]

Wonderful!! Hope she continues to feel better.