Weak, pale, dying hen but still eating, what's wrong?

[Dexter's Girls]

I have a 6 girl flock of RI Reds with one lady ner death's door I'm sure. I found her standing in the run, while others were bee-bopping around as usual. She had her head hunched into her shoulders, her comb in flattened down & very pale, as is her whole face. She eats & drinks like she's starving & dying of thirst. I picked her up 10 days ago & she's nothing but feathers & hollow bones, she seems cheerful tho. I put her in the isolation cage where she can still see the others. I, for the first time gave them all Wazine, (didn't know you have to worm them),I followed with a week of plain yogurt. I feed them name brand laying pellets, grit, oyster shell, & scratch & table scraps for a treat . They all live in a very nice, clean, dry chicken house with pine shavings & access to a roof covered fully fenced dirt yard. I use DE everywhere & change their water daily. After the week of yogurt, she got a little color & pep back so I returned her to the yard. At the end of the day she couldn't stand up & is now back in isolation unable to stand, she's on her side, but still happy & eating. Her poop looks like her food only mashed, a little runny. What could be wrong? I can't believe she's still alive. I feel so bad for her.

 

[Dexter's Girls]

No change, except she stood up for her boyfriend last nite, he's out in the yard. She's still alive, eats like crazy when she sees me, is laying down again. She smells like urine bad, poop still looks like the mashed up green food pellets.

 

[seminolewind]

I've had a hen recently who was "taught" by the others that the food bowl was off limits. She got skinny, even when she was alone in the coop, she would not touch the food in the bowl. She would just peck around it looking for crumbs. I moved her in with 2 bantams and she ate ate ate, and drank alot. It's been a week and she's actually getting fat, LOL.

 

[crj]

At least your hen is eating. I have a hen that has been sick for 3 weeks now. Twice I didn't think she would make it through the night. She is living in my kitchen and is hanging in there. We made a shake for her. It consists of chick starter, yogurt, raw egg and water. Mix that up in a blender. I've been feeding it to her with an eye dropper. It's a big one, you could use a syringe. I also give her Poly Vi Sol vitamins in the morning, 6 drops in a small eye dropper and then I suck up water. We did Wazine, Sulmet and even the chick antibiotic. I feel she did better with the chick antibiotic. She is still trying to stand so she is determined. She has started eating on her own so that's a plus. I have no idea why she is so sick. None of the other birds are sick at all. This happens to be my favorite one.

Try the shake. She will get the protien she needs. Even give her a scrambled egg. Oh, my bird is also molting now. Poor thing. She lost a lot of feather due to an aggressive roo. I would imagine the feathers coming in is also taking a lot out of her. That's why the extra protien is good.

I hope your chicken gets better.

 

[rcentner]

sorry to say, it sounds bad. It sounds like she is not absorbing her food, but what would cause that? I would not only use the wazine but something for coccidia as well just incase cause wazine doesn't get rid of coccidia.
apple cidar vinegar would be a good idea incase the acidity in her crop is not up to par. 1 tbsp per gallon.
any signs of mites or lice?
wish I could be of more help

 

[Dexter's Girls]

No sign of lice or mites anywhere, I check them all the time & use DE in the nests, in the shavings & the dirt. Sometimes I put a little 7 dust in the nests & on them. I saw some a year or so ago, dusted them from head to toe & haven't seen any since. I've got some tetra antibiotic in her water now & will try the shake & vitamins. Thanks, I'll check out that coccidia & break out the vinegar. Can I put the vinegar in with the antibiotic?

 

[seminolewind]

Dexter, I usually start with the most common ailment it could be. You might want to try something for cocci. Coccidiosis doesn't always give bloody stools, there are many different types. With sulmet or coccid, if it's cocci, it should make her start to improve in a day, but you treat for 5 days.

 

[Dexter's Girls]

Thanks all, She's still hanging in there, not up yet. I'm trying everything, she is still happy to see me.

 

[ChickLover98]

She sounds like their is a problemn with her metabolisin that she is not absorbing or digesting her food. Is she pooping more that often?

 

[chickenzoo]

Wazine only kills round worms, and you should redose in 7-14 days to kill off any eggs that hatched, as wormers do not kill the eggs. You can also give her a product called Safeguard, a horse or goat wormer, but I would try Wazine again if you did not redose and start feeding scrambled eggs and get some baby parrot feeding formula, mix it with water and feed her with a syringe - just make sure it is thick, not runny. You need to get her strength up. She is very weak, so I would put her in a crate with a heat lamp and bedding. When they get that weak they can not keep themselves warm, even with it hot out. Put vitamins in her water, if she will not drink, mix water and vitamins in a bowl, put in a 3 cc syringe and inject all of the 3 cc just under the skin were the neck and back meet. Do it a few times a day to keep her hydrated.