Very sudden sick chicken

[silver0420]

Hi all,
I have a sapphire Jewel who is about 6 months old. She has been very normal, but as far as I can tell hasn’t started laying yet. Today, I went in the coop and she was laying under the roost bars breathing really heavy and unable to move. Her legs are really hot to the touch and she is totally limp when you pick her up, unable to hold her head up on her own. She also seems to have mucous in her mouth. For now I isolated her with water but what else I can do for her? I don’t have a vet near me who will work on chickens, but I have some farm medications available to me. I have tylan 200 and LA300.

 

[Eggcessive]

Could she have been injured by a rooster or fallen off the roost? I would separate her in a wire dog crate with food and water within reach, propped on towels. First though offer some sugar water or electrolytes, and some watery chicken feed or egg. Well she move her legs if you lift her to a standing position? With her limp neck, it doesn’t sound like egg bound, but human calcium can help with it. I would get some human vitamins, E 400 IU soft gels and vitamin B complex giving 1/2 tablet daily. Those may help neurological symptoms. Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I ask that just because a limp neck and lameness can be symptoms.

 

[silver0420]

Could she have been injured by a rooster or fallen off the roost? I would separate her in a wire dog crate with food and water within reach, propped on towels. First though offer some sugar water or electrolytes, and some watery chicken feed or egg. Well she move her legs if you lift her to a standing position? With her limp neck, it doesn’t sound like egg bound, but human calcium can help with it. I would get some human vitamins, E 400 IU soft gels and vitamin B complex giving 1/2 tablet daily. Those may help neurological symptoms. Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I ask that just because a limp neck and lameness can be symptoms.

Thanks for your reply. I put her in a box with water and gave her some poultry cell and tylan since it was what I had. Unfortunately when I checked on her again she had died. Regarding Mareks she was vaccinated, but should I be worried for the rest of my flock?

I don’t have a rooster so I don’t think that was it. I have a coop camera but it’s not facing where she was so I can’t see what happened

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. I would keep the body cold in a cooler with an ice pack, wrapped in 2 clean garbage bags. Call your state vet right away, and ask if you can get a necropsy done today or tomorrow. Tell them it is a backyard chicken who suddenly died. Here is a list of state vet labs to call:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html
If you are unable to get a necropsy, would you be willing to open the abdominal
cavity and look at the organs? The state vet option is the best way to get a diagnosis, but sometimes taking pictures of the organs with a home necropsy, we can look at pictures and try to help.

 

[Eggcessive]

This video has helped many people do a simple necropsy at home, and the organs are identified:

 

[Plants]

Hi all,
I have a sapphire Jewel who is about 6 months old. She has been very normal, but as far as I can tell hasn’t started laying yet. Today, I went in the coop and she was laying under the roost bars breathing really heavy and unable to move. Her legs are really hot to the touch and she is totally limp when you pick her up, unable to hold her head up on her own. She also seems to have mucous in her mouth. For now I isolated her with water but what else I can do for her? I don’t have a vet near me who will work on chickens, but I have some farm medications available to me. I have tylan 200 and LA300.

What you say matches with what happened to our hen, about 1 year old. She was laying but she had trouble with it. One afternoon she was all ruffled with mucus, heavy breathing and seemed weak, and later on she passed because she was eggbound.

Really sorry for your loss.