when she's dead we'll do an autopsy???

[mamarosa]

My isa brown is fading fast. her combs are dis-coloring
she is drinking some, the vets around my area don't do
any "chicken" work and told me when she dies to bring
her in for an autopsy to make sure she doesn't have bird
flu. Right now she is penned alone, she has water
she has brown-green large liquid foul smelling poos
she is wobly on her feet. she is 2years old. the only
help I got was driving 25 miles to the tractor supply
and told giving her Tetracycline hydrochloride soluble powder
in her water may help....I gave her some in a syringe last night
I am fearful my other girls may get this....please any help
would be appreciated. I also have grandkids who visit
often and don't want to expose them to anything
...thanks backyardians......mamarosa

 

[Penturner]

The vets won't try to figure out what is wrong now but will be happy to take your money to tell you what killed her later? Not on my dime.
Have you tried anything to boost her own immune system? Yogurt is advised often to help get the necessary things going in there intestines as well. That sort of thing. Basically an approach that aids her ability to fight back. Other than that I would try a medication at the very least. It sounds like not much can do to much damage at this point. I would also take as much of the work off her body as I could. give her a heat lamp so what energy she has is not spent on generating body heat, that sort of thing. dim light, limited movement. You know that rest and lots of fluids thing. At the very least this gives her max chance to fight back.

 

[Jess N Jeff]

Can you give more info on her situation. How long has she been sick. What exactly are her symptoms. What have you done so far to treat her? How many days have you been treating her? Have you checked for the usual suspects...egg bound, swollen/impacted crop, worms?

 

[Marie1234]

That stinks. I wouldn't worry too much about the exposure to the grandkids. Unless bird flu is common in your area. Is she snotting, wheezing, having a hard time breathing? Has she ever molted? With a production breed I'd lean to wondering if she is egg bound or internally laying. You are smart to have her by herself in case it is contagious and if there is an infection the antibiotics might do the trick. Good luck.

 

[KKatknap]

When was the last time she layed?

 

[speckledhen]

With that hybrid and her age, I tend to think internal laying (not eggbound). I've dealt with it many times, unfortunately, and currently have three hens dying of the same thing. It's fairly common with hens--they are the only animals that develop spontaneous ovarian tumors/cancer. In fact, medical folks study hens to learn more about reproductive cancer. There are internal layers, false layers, salpingitis, all sort of similar, all a malfunction of the reproductive system. It's very common in high egg production hens.

If she has an ovarian infection, a shot in the dark method I've used is heavy penicillin doses for 3-4 days. Sometimes, it will kick it out, sometimes not. Terramycin is too weak to do anything for an ecoli infection, as many of them are. (in fact, I wish folks would toss out Terramycin entirely) That is only if it's a fairly new infection, though. And if there is egg material built up in her oviducts, it will probably not help at all. Generally, there is no cure for internal laying and no prevention.

 

[pips&peeps]

There is no way I would have an unexperienced vet do a necropsy on a bird. They'll just take your money!

Call your State's Department of Agriculture and see if they have an avian lab you can ship the bird to for the necropsy.

 

[speckledhen]

I have to agree about a regular vet doing a chicken autopsy. Would be cheaper or even free with the State vet.

 

[Penturner]

I have at least a satisfactory idea of what egg bound is. What is Internal laying?

 

[speckledhen]

Here is the page from the Merck veterinary manual with links about internal laying, false laying, etc.

http://vetmanual.org/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205804.htm

Internal Layer
In these hens, partially or fully formed eggs are found in the abdominal cavity. Such eggs reach the cavity by reverse peristalsis of the oviduct. If they have no shell, they are often misshapen due to partial or complete absorption of the contents. Frequently, only empty shell membranes are present. No control or treatment is known. This condition is related to erratic ovulation and defective eggs

False Layer
These hens ovulate normally, but the yolk is dropped into the abdominal cavity rather than being collected by the oviduct because of obstruction of the oviduct after infection with E coli or Mycoplasma gallisepticum . The yolk is absorbed from the abdominal cavity. The hen looks like a normal layer but does not produce eggs. Hypoplasia of the ovary and oviduct has been associated with infectious bronchitis virus infections (see Infectious Bronchitis: Introduction) at an early age (1-2 wk). Atresia or even atrophy of the ovary are caused by severe stress, chronic infections, and feed refusal due to mycotoxins in the feed.

Egg Peritonitis
(Egg yolk peritonitis)
Egg peritonitis is characterized by fibrin or albumen-like material with a cooked appearance among the abdominal viscera. It is a common cause of sporadic death in layers, but in some flocks may become the major cause of death and give the appearance of a contagious disease. It is diagnosed at necropsy. Peritonitis follows reverse movement of albumen and Escherichia coli bacteria from the oviduct into the abdomen. If the incidence is high, culture should be done to differentiate between Pasteurella (fowl cholera) or Salmonella infection.
When hens have too many large ovarian follicles, a problem described as erratic oviposition and defective egg syndrome (EODES) is seen in broiler breeders. This condition is accompanied by a high incidence of double-yolked eggs, prolapses of the oviduct, internal ovulation, and/or internal laying that often results in egg peritonitis and mortality. EODES is prevented by avoiding light stimulation of underweight pullets too early and following body weight and lighting recommendations for each breeder strain. Overweight hens may also have a higher incidence of erratic ovulations and mortality associated with egg peritonitis.​