vometing pullet, please help she is fading

[keljonma]

Quote:
Chicken urine is the white stuff on the droppings, not liquid like a human.

 

[embrown]

thanks, I did not know how to find the urine. Well, the last pooh had the runny green, a sort of typical color but just runny and then the urine on the top. that is a good sign, right? no more vometing as in the last 1.5 hrs, but still very sleepy, she does make a little squeek when I get near her. I am new at the chicken momma thing but it has brought me so much joy and been the most amazing project. I hope we can get her through this, still praying hard. Please, still more input on what to do, keep doing, etc.

Beth

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
I'm answering this before I read the other posts (my bad forgive me if I double something.

First, normal temps are around 105-107. Depending on the part of the day they can go up to 109.

I would not recommend the epsoms on top of molasses. Keep with one or the other. Does she have access to grit? Does she free range? Any access to any of the following:

compost piles
maggots (even in decaying wood)
wet hay or decaying vegetation
canned foods or kitchen trash
milk or meat products
algea in puddles or ponds/stagnant water/water run off from manure or droppings
any access under pens where droppings are?
any wet or soured grains, feed, or any mildew at all
Heavy rains in your area?
Fermented berries or fruit from trees/vines?
any toxin plants in your yard?

On the droppings, PLEASE be very careful to throw them away in one bag - and wash your hands continuously.

Incidentally, is she losing a weird amount of feathers at the moment? If you pull her feathers by her neck, do they come out easily?

Going to read the rest of the posts



Added: You will only do the molasses for four hours. You will only want to use electrolytes as labeled on the package if packaged - no stronger. And please do keep the kids away from the droppings and clean each one up every time in case of botulism as the toxins and bacterial will be passed in the droppings. It's not ruled out yet, so just take caution.

 

[Judy]

I did a search on here for "green poo" and this thread is the only one that came up:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=205816&p=2

Looks to me like you need to jump on the probiotics, either from the feed store or plain live culture yogurt. I'd add a bit of baby applesauce and vitamins, again from the feed store, or infant vitamin drops. I'd also find some organic apple cider vinegar for the water. And I would give some high nutrition snacks like mashed cooked egg.

 

[threehorses]

OK back. Keep the molasses alternating with the electrolytes for four hours. She should hopefully improve. Let us know if she doesn't. Then only do the electrolytes. You can offer a little food but I wouldn't for a while. If you do, only give dampened crumbles - something that easily dissolves, and give yogurt in small amounts. Possibly egg yolk from a boiled (not scrambled) egg.

Because flushing flushes good bacteria out with the bad, you will want to keep up probiotics (yogurt) every day for at least a week and then taper off. Her food should be ONLY easily dissolvable foods for the next week: her pellts made into crumbles in the blender 95% of the diet, so egg yolk from a boiled egg - not scrambled, possibly a little bit of oatmeal if it's not at all oaty. Baby oatmeal is a better choice. Basically you want to feed things that if you put in a glass of water and came back 10 minutes later you'd find in a mush at the bottom of the glass. (That's why no scrambled egg, and no whites).

Making sure she gets electrolytes is as important as the flush. Again use as labeled and give to her every 1/2 hour or so through into the evening and try to get her to drink then.

Keep all droppings picked up and put into a bag that you can keep closed and away from the kids. Wear gloves when handling her or anything that touched the droppings. It could just be weakness, or another toxin (like mycotoxins from wet feed, etc) but again better safe than sorry.

Please let us know how she's doing. She definitely has prayers from this corner!

 

[embrown]

I will choose to do the molassis as she seems willing to take this more readily. How much, units, 10 20 I am not sure, I have one tsp in a half glass of water, is this the right measurements? I am struggling with the electralites as the container of powder says half of the supply to 50 gallons of water or something like that, so how do I get this down to an amount of powder to a glass of water. I will alternate. I have eggs on to boil and will feed her that at the end of the 4 hours if she will take it. Do I need to stay up and feed throughout the night? Should I keep her inside in the pet carrier for the night? I am assuming this would be better than putting her back with the others. There are two more poohs, green runny still. I will clean and change the towels.

As for the post, about feathers, not she is not loosing any and none are loose.

As for the things she might get in to: no, she does not have access to compost but in the past the kids feed them worms from the garden made of composted horse poop. There is not standing water and drink water is changed daily and containers washed weekly and rinsed daily. There is not grass clippings of any major quantity as they are in an enclosed pen we do not mow, they do that with grazing. They do not really get anything other than food, a new bag just 12 days ago, changed to a layer feed, they have always had medicaded feed. She has had vinegar in the water as I was treating another with sour crop so the whole flock drank the water for a few weeks, only about 10 days since having it, andjust two days ago I put in one tablespoon preventatively. The onl scraps she had that I know of was some ripe tomatoes about 14 days ago, and a squash my neighbor threw in without my permision it had been eaten on and she just gave it, I was not happy. They have plenty of grit always available, started shell 14 days ago, the layer feed, some scratch of mixed grains and corn, a prepared bag. Food is kept in containers in the garage and has been dry and not accessible by other animals. It is all difficult to figure out, and it came on so fast. She was playful and normal yesterday afternoon.

Here's praying that all you are suggesgesting and we are doing will work.

Thank you, keep adding thoughts as they come.

 

[threehorses]

On the molasses I use the http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/solutions.html solution. But that sounds about right. Electrolytes - how many ounces is the package?

On the egg, mix it with the electrolyte water to make it a little less dry/solid. (I hope she eats it!) As for tonight, I'd maybe see if she'll eat and drinkg but she should also get rest. And yes - keep her inside for a while. At least 2 days til she passes every bit of the droppings out of her.

On the droppings, add a little more yogurt. Do you happen to have any probiotics capsules, like acidophilis capsules there? If you do they're more effective. If not, no big deal.

Well good on the feathers. That's usually a last-stages botulism sign so we don't want to see that. A lack of that sign doesn't mean it's NOT botulism (frankly we don't know what it is yet) but seeing it would mean (with those symptoms) that it was.

The worms shouldn't be a big issue - though I will warn you that they're a source of worms/parasites. So better to buy a container of mealyworms and raise them than to encourage earthworm feeding. Earthworms literally will pick up the eggs from parasites of the horses and give them to the chickens. Just for future reference.

On the squash - that wasn't yesterday was it?

How is she doing now by the way?

 

[embrown]

I do not have pro-biotics, we ran out last week but will get somemore when I am out tomorrow, I will also go ask my neighbor as they use them too. Should I just poor the whole capsula worth of powder in the water/ food. no, the squash was a week ago when they were in the care of the neighbor. They had chickens before, so they should have really known not to feed without permission and something that was eaten partially by anothe animal. It was not rotten though and they all probably ate it. I have been home for 2 days, we came home to a clean coop and run, fresh water and happy chickens, they were excited to see me and all took turns jumping in my lap, but this sick one is the biggest lap chicken.

As for the current status, she took the molassis pretty well about 10 cc's. She is standing but had eyes still closed as she did while we fed her the solution. She is not quite so droopy, but definitely not what I would call better. Now she is lying down with head and neck stretched out facing the back of the carrier. I do not think she feels so hot under the feathers, and decided that because of this I am not going to try to get a temp.
I had stopped the worm feeding some weeks ago and told the kids to just let the chickens get their own bugs and worms, they do not have access to the garden where the composted maneur is, it is about 30 feet away.

as for the electrolytesand vitamin mixture my DH bought it makes 110 gallons, so if my math is right this would mean about a little less than an 1/8 of a TSp per quart of water. Wow! that was some math. Hopefully it is correct, this package did not have any other recommendations other than a whole package and a half package.
I will feed her the first dose alone through a dropper and then will add the egg yolk and electrolytes in an hour or so and two more doses of molassis and hope it takes, i will get up during the night and check on her. And possibly give her another dose of electrolytes. I will keep her in the house in the carrier and the kids are sadly being kept at a distance, they want to just comfort her. She is liked by all.

There is another pooh, watery still but I am happy to see it.

Beth

 

[threehorses]

Hey there, Wanted to see how the girl is doing today - was thinking about you. I hope she's ok.

 

[embrown]

update: same as last night but better than yesterday morning. She vometed at the last dropper feeding last night, it was electrolyte. I was sad to see it happen but she has not vometed yet today. At 11:30 last night I gave her a boiled egg yolk with the electrolyte water. She gobbled it up and her crop felt full and soft after that. At 4 A.M. when I checked in she was sleeping comfortably, squawked when I came to her, she felt very warm. Her crop still felt the same as above full but soft. I was concerned as there was no pooh. At 7 A.m. this morning DH fed her more electrolyte from dropper. there was pooh, runny and green. By 9:30 no new droppings, fed her another yolk with electrolytes, she ate it but not quite so hardily. It did not look like she had drank anything. After the yolk she gave a big, stinky pooh, will post the pics. I had an apt, and just now home she did make noise when she heard me come in but did not come to front of the cage as she would normally, There was more pooh. She is still inside the pet carrier in the house. I just finished feeding electrolytes in a dropper she is turning away from it more, but did take a little. She ate a few bites of yogurt but does not really want it. I would describe her as tail generally down, not moving much , eyes closed most of the time, she will open one eye, not usually both. She is still soft in the abdomin under the ribs area, vent is clean, her head is generally neck pulled in and head up or tucked in her wing. Ocasionally, she half-heartedly preens. That encourages me a bit just because yesterday she was not pooping, her neck was hanging down, and not preening or wing or tucking her head in her wing. She can stand, but generally does not walk. Her breast bone is mor visible as she has most likely lost weight due to not eating. She just gave another pooh as I right this, still very liquid.

I am afraid she is still not out of the woods, I am still worried. In a few minutes I will try to feed her a yogurt/milk/food/apple sauce mash.

Please keep the ideas and suggestions coming. I am still quite upset and concerned. Not sure what to expect,

Beth