What do I do now (chicken looks drunk)?

[Renee]

Hi Sammi,
Thanks for the link. I am boiling oatmeal and I have the egg and chicken food (no yogurt in the house) and I will give her half and half gatorade/water.

She is not hot under the wings, but she appears to be panting, well, not panting but her mouth is slightly open. She turned around with great difficulty.

She was chirpy yesterday when she jumped up on my lap, but I was surprised since she so rarely does it. She let me scratch her head and even closed her eyes when I rubbed her ears. I thought well, it's fall! They are getting chilly and want to use me for my body heat. She was very alert. I will check her belly again for swelling or heat.

You are an angel.

I have terramycin powder on hand.
She is resisting the food and drink. I got about ten drops of liquid in her. I will keep trying.

 

[sammi]

I also posted a link to E-coli info..

do you have any antibiotics?
(LA-200, terramycin, Pen-G procaine, Sulmet, Tylan 50, Baytril)

hope you can get some yogurt soon..and the vitamins.
and fecal test..might be very helpful in diagnosis.
hopefully the vet will be willing to do the fecal test without seeing the bird..
less costly. and less stress for a sick chicken.

heat under the wings..often along with a hot comb indicates fever..as does panting.
panting also indicates extreme stress, or discomfort..

is it at all possible she is injured? could she have fallen?
or just weak?

aspirin treatment is 1 (81mg) pill crushed into 1 quart of water.

going off now..will check back tomorrow..
keeping fingers crossed..
good luck.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
There are many articles giving advice that fly in the face of the of the poultry science/veterinary info literature (including the milk thing for cocci). Here are a few concerning botulism and maggots/rotting vegetation (compost pile):
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205400.htm
(MERCK veterinary manual)
"....Maggots acquire toxin from carcass tissues and, when eaten by scavenging poultry, serve as a source of neurotoxin.....Other feed sources have been implicated in outbreaks in backyard poultry flocks...dead invertebrates found in water that contains decaying vegetation.....Toxico-infectious botulism is reported to occur in intensively reared broiler flocks housed on litter...."

http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/botulism.pdf
"....C. botulinum and its spores are widely distributed in soils, sediments in fresh and coastal waters, the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals, and the gills and viscera of shellfish....Wound botulism occurs when an anaerobic wound is contaminated with C. botulinum, usually from the soil....Preformed toxins in a variety of sources, including decaying vegetable matter (grass, hay, grain, spoiled silage) .....Birds can ingest the toxins in maggots that have fed on contaminated carcasses or in dead invertebrates from water with decaying vegetation.,...."

http://www.vetstoria.co.uk/templates/poultry_botulism-9-336-familyfarm.html
"....This poison is produced by Clostridium botulinum which is a bacterium living on decaying animal and vegetable matter. Its spores can remain dormant in contaminated soil for years, and germinate into toxin - producing bacteria when a suitable nutrient source and an anaerobic environment are available....sources:
Decaying carcasses
Decaying plant and animal matter
Stagnant pools contaminated by rotting material
Maggots and litter beetles..."

http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/field_manual/chapter_38.pdf
"....As with other bacteria, temperature plays a critical role inthe multiplication of C. botulinum, with optimal growth inthe laboratory occurring between 25 °and 40 °C. Most botu-lism outbreaks take place during the summer and fall when ambient temperatures are high (Fig. 38.1). Winter botulism outbreaks have been documented in some locations, but these are generally thought to be due to residual toxin produced during the previous summer. Conditions that elevate wet-
land sediment temperatures and decrease dissolved oxygen, including the presence of decaying organic matter and shallow water, may increase the risk of botulism outbreaks (Fig. 38.2). However, these conditions are not prerequisite to an outbreak
because botulism has occurred in large river systems and in deep, well-oxygenated wetlands, which suggests that other environmental conditions may be more critical. In studies conducted by the National Wildlife Health Center, several environmental factors, including pH, salinity (Fig. 38.3), temperature, and oxidation-reduction potential ..."

(compost is a low oxygen environment!)
I could go on and on however I think you get the idea... Your bird will either recover or not dependent on the amount of toxin involved. General support measures (as little stress/strain on his system as possible> keep in a quiet draft free and temp stable environment) . vit E/selenium is known to be helpful somewhat and you can purchase the (human) combo
tabs which you can p r i c k open with a pin and give the contents in the beak (ensure the selenium content of the tab does NOT exceed 50 MICROgrams!) You must ensure against dehydration and help the bird drink sufficiently by dribbling water along the beak if necessary or giving subcutaneous (under the skin) ringers solution.

 

[FisherMOM]

Well, it sure is sounding terrible for your girl. Our birds definately have different symptoms.. but the poop sounds the same.

I can almost, no doubt, guarantee mine has an impacted crop. Where it was squishy yesterday, today it is hard. She is starting to stink too... ugh.

Poor babies. I am going to be gone almost all day today. I will check your thread later and see how it's going.

 

[Renee]

Hi all, I fell asleep.
She's a bit worse. She can't lift her head. I'm going in to give her some liquids.

I have a pond. When I clean it I empty the sludge into the compost pile.

Thank you again for the quick responses.
Renee

 

[Renee]

I took Audrey's stool sample to a local vet this morning. $41.00. They said they would let me know tomorrow if it was negative or positive. I fear it will be too late by then.

If it is positive they will not tell me for what until I make an appointment and bring in the chicken. That's another 50.00 plus. Sheesh. I guess they have to make a living too.

 

[amyquilt]

how do you go about flushing out an impacted crop my BO roo has some of the same symptoms like the head hanging like its limp or something but the he will hold it up and then back down it goes. i have him in the house in a tub to watch him closley.

 

[dlhunicorn]

The vast majority of crop problems are secondary to something else (limber neck is often associated with botulism >see the articles in my last post)....
From one of the several articles I have on crop stasis at the link below the following are primary to the secondary crop stasis (stasis mean the contents of the crop are not moved out of the crop and "sour" crop results from the contents remaining too long in the crop):
"...Lower gastrointestinal disturbances, chlamydiosis, bacterial septicemia, or metabolic diseases such as hepatic lipidosis are all examples of conditions that may present with crop slowing or stasis as a part of the clinical picture........"
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1161893898

 

[Renee]

Audrey Update: She is still alive. The forced liquids seem to have perked her up: She stands! She peeps! She is EATING! She ate a crumbled egg yolk by herself- she could barely hold her head erect but she did it. We gave her another dose of gatorade water and Mikey is off to the store for pedialite, baby vitamins and yogurt (feed store didn't have anything for birds). I am cooking more oatmeal and mixing with layers pellets and yolk.

 

[LaLady]

I hope your sweet hen continues to improve! Poor girl.