WHATS WRONG WITH MY BIRDIE?!!!

Elchick

In the Brooder
11 Years
May 28, 2008
39
0
22
California
My little bantam is not herself. She is inactive and lethargic. She is hardly drinking and eating. Her tail is down and shes dragging her wings. At times, when it gets hot, it seems like she has trouble breathing. She tilts her head up and pants so hard her whole body rocks. I noticed this a couple days ago when she had finished being broody and was walking around the yard a little again. She wouldnt run and then she stopped walking around altogether and would just sit still in one place. I put her in a cage by herself and have been feeding her regular feed and yogurt. She rarely moves. She does have a mild case of lice, but I doubt this is what is causing her change in behavior since our other chickens do as well and have not been acting any differently. I have been dusting them with Permectrin. I dont know what this means or if it is even pertinent, but her eyes also turned from gold to an orange-red color. Please share any ideas you have as to why she might be acting this way.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
 
Could she be egg bound? They often hold tail down, heavy panting, uncomfortable pose, less eating/drinking....Give her fluids and supportive care, check vent for redness etc., if so- warm water baths and lube vent...
P.S get rid of the lice, it can go from seemingly nothing to causing death quite quickly sometimes. Adams flea & tick mist from WAL etc.
 
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I don't know what is going on with your bantam but maybe this will bump it up and someone will help you out. My hens always look terrible after they sit and need lots of extra nutrition , but it sounds like you are taking care of that. Good luck with her!
 
bandit had similar symptoms put her on a medicated diet w/ sulfa and tetracyclines in her water, keep her as cool as possible and document all of her symptoms good luck!
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Thank you for all your kind advice. I will follow it to the best of my ability.
There are no new symptoms, but I forgot to mention that whenever she stands or walks she seems unsteady and has difficulty keeping her balance.
I believe that chickenzoo is right, she might be eggbound but there is no redness around her vent and she is a very small, bony chicken with poofy feathers so it is difficult to check. I will keep giving her plenty of nutritious things to eat.
Would it help, following the medicated diet idea, to put some electrolytes in her water, too?
 
just my opinion, but if she were my hen, I'd treat her for heat exhaustion..
get her somewhere cool, and get some vitamins and electrolytes into her..asap.
with a damp cool cloth, hold it to her comb, legs, feet, and under wings to help bring body temp down.
once stabilized, a tepid bath in a weak solution of Adams flea bath might help get rid of the lice.
even a human lice shampoo treatment could help..
an exotic bird shop would have something also.

others might have suggestions for what to use.

when they get too hot, and start to pant, it's similar to hyperventilating, and the chemical exchange in the system goes out of whack..very dangerous..
the electrolytes will help correct that.

also, check her crop and make sure it is emptying properly.
feel for any lumps..

make sure she gets some good food and plenty of water if the crop checks out ok, and she seems to e stabilized..
wouldn't hurt to give her a half of a crushed Tums in her feed or some plain yogurt for a little boost of calcium.
laying hens tend to need more calcium in the hot weather.

I'd really try to get rid of those lice...
the coop and nest boxes will be have to be cleaned and treated, and new bedding..

hope she'll be ok..
if there are any other symptoms, post back.
 
...I noticed this a couple days ago when she had finished being broody and was walking around the yard a little again. She wouldnt run and then she stopped walking around altogether and would just sit still in one place. I put her in a cage by herself and have been feeding her regular feed and yogurt. She rarely moves. She does have a mild case of lice, but I doubt this is what is causing her change in behavior ....

being broody is VERY hard on a bird... ( I know of cases where they have died while broody)... > they drink and eat mINIMIMALLY and when you have heat stress on top of that ... so yes , under these circumstances a "light" mite/lice infestation can be devastating. Birds lungs are also very sensitive...I would hesitate to put a (lice/mite) dust on my bird that was in such a state and would choose instead to bathe them in a kitten flea shampoo and when dry spray with a (preferably non-aerosol) type of anti lice/mite spray sold for use on cage birds.
I would keep her separated in a cool place and supplement the feed with a baby parrot handfeeding formula 9you can find at a pet store >you mix it with water and you can mix that in through her normal layer feed). To encourage her to eat you can get a watermelon and scoop a bit out of the middle and put her feed in there along with a dollop of live culture yogurt on the side ... (the red of the watermelon encourages them to peck and they do so seem to love it!) Yes, put electrolytes in the waterer.​
 
Thank you everbody for all your help. I am sorry to say poor chickerbaby died late last night.
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I really appreciated all the help and advice though. I'm going to do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again.
 

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