What's wrong with my hen?

[leela2012]

I need help trying to figure out what is killing my hen....she is an 8 month old RR, and stopped laying almost 3 weeks ago. She started walking around with her tail down and her comb started to get pale. She stayed in away from the flock and stopped eating a lot. She still drank and ate little bits here and there, but over the last 3 weeks she has deteriorated. I stared her on Sulmate? 2 days ago in her water and separated her, but now she has lost all body mass and I am trying to figure out the most humane way to euthanize her. Her poop is all green and frothy with little white flecks all through it. Like a seafoam green. No blood....she has been eating up until yesterday, but is just skin and bones now. I am devastated and just want to know what it was that killed her.......none of the other chickens seem sick, and I want to make sure it stays that way. What is the best way to put her out of her misery? Help?! Thanks.

 

[NovaAman]

Hi... Did you post when you first started noticing the problem?

I am going to go with a possibility of worms. Not Cocci.. The color of the poop is indicative of organ failer... Liver and kidneys there...
Best way to put her down quick and easy, though may be hard for you would be to decapitate. If you can not do that, you can put her in a plastic tote, soak a rag in starter fluid, and put the lid on the tote... Think gas chamber... I personally would just snap her neck. You can do this by putting her on the ground, laying a broom handle across her neck, step on the handle, pull sharply by her feet. This should be easy enough if she is wasted away like you say.

Sorry about your hen, but you are making the right decision.

 

[loversday002]

3 years ago i had a rooster that did this... and a young tom turkey... i thought he was poisoned because my neighbor had rat poisoning out and sprayed pestiside on his plants... i found out if a chicken ran through one of his plants it would get into their skin and give them blood poisoning... i was really upset that everything i was doing couldnt help them im sorry about your chicken but maybe she was like my tom or rooster?

 

[leela2012]

Hi, yes I posted a couple times, asking for advice, didn't get much. I am just so upset that I have let her suffer for so long. It just seems so sad to have failed her :**( I am going to have my husband do the deed.....I can't bring myself to look her in the eye. She was so loving to me....Thank you for the advice. I know no one poisoned her, all the girls are in a huge run in my backyard, they have no access to anywhere else. Should I treat my other for worms then? I mean How would I know if she had worms? Do you think it could be a disease that she had? Should I do any preventive measures with my other girls?

 

[Nsampsel]

Ivermectin (cattle pour on type) works well for most parasites. TSC carries it in their livestock meds section & it may be locked in the med cabinet. Just ask for it if you can't find it. Ivomec is the brand name, but the generic is less than 1/2 the price. Comes in a red & yellow box. Use a syringe without a needle to apply .2 ml to a bantam or 1/2 grown chick & .5ml to a LF bird. I have even treated 4-8 week old chicks but I only used a drop or 2 on them. Apply directly to the skin (move feathers aside to expose skin) on back of neck & under each wing except on younger chicks. Only apply to neck of chicks.

 

[loversday002]

wait hold on... did you ever try feeding her by hand and giving her water with a dropper? it may take a bit of force but if she is so skinny she will make her condition seem worse i had a silkie with crook neck and she just needed food and water to repair herself i SERIOUSLy recommend you try that for a month and if shes still aive then you are doing something right... dont cut the line so fast

 

[leela2012]

What is the Ivermectin for? Worms? Thanks! Loversday -She has been eating and drinking the whole time. She is just skin and bones. I am at work and I am not sure if she will still be with us by the time I get home......I am not at all cutting anything too fast. I have been trying for 3 weeks to fix what ails her. I am afraid it is worms and I am too late. I just never saw any.....

 

[NovaAman]

You don't always have to see the worms for them to be there. You could take a poop sample to a vet office. You could get a group sample or see if they'd give you a deal on a few different samples for different birds. THEN write which bird the sample came from on the bag so you'll know the results. OR, you could do the ivermectin pour on, or the horse paste and feed them that at roosting time. You may want to pick up your other birds and feel them. If the breast bone is very pronounced, you may consider worming them all regardless. With the ivermectin, you don't really have to toss the eggs, you can if you are worried about them. If you sell eggs, you wouldn't want to see them. I personally toss for the first few days, then continue eating...

 

[Nsampsel]

Ivermectin takes care of several kinds of worms, lice & mites. It pretty much wipes out most parasites. I had a couple do this recently too, never saw any worms but discovered a ton of lice & mites once I got to looking them over. Apparently I had brought a couple birds with them home from swaps/auctions without knowing it & the Sevin Dust I had been using as a preventative didn't work.

 

[leela2012]

The feed store has ivermectin liquid for their water or the horse paste how do I use either? I wish they had the spot on treatment but they don't have that available so how do I get rid of the lice and the worms?