White Cochin with diarrhea. Need help identifying illness.

[ChickNanny13]

She is so pretty, like a puffy cloud. Hope she gets better

 

[Leslie_C]

Hello,
It's day three on Poultry Nutri Drench and Snowie still shows no interest in food and drink. I checked her dropping this morning and still saw watery poop in the pine shavings. I have also noticed she tends to close her right eye only from time to time. There's no discharge from the eye and it's not swollen either. Is there anything I can give her for that? Also, since she's still has diarrhea should I put her back on Corid? Would you recommend a fecal sample test for parasites and coccidia as the next step? Thank you.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Did you try what Chickassan suggested, live mealworms? The movement may stimulate her to eat and if she don't just toss to your flock they will enjoy the treat
Have you tried what Eggcessive recommended - tuna, salmon, wet cat food
She may have something (dust or dirt) in her eye causing her to "blink", you can try a close up check on that.
You've checked her crop in the mornings & at night? It should be "full" when they go to roost & empty in the morning. Snowie's not eating so a bit harder to detect if she's having crop issues.
A fecal float would rule out parasites & possible coccidia (?)

Has anything changed as far as living situations? Do you still have her separated from the flock? Post #14 you mentioned she's foraging with two hens, maybe she's missing being part of the flock? Since she's foraging with the two hens, try feeding them together? I'm guessing possibilities ...

 

[Eggcessive]

I am sorry Snowy is still not eating. You can give her a reduced dose of Corid for another 5 days at 1/2 tsp per gallon of water. When your vet reopens from the holidays, I would consider seeing them or getting her droppings tested. Ask about a gram stain for necrotizing enteritis.

Was Snowy vaccinated for Mareks disease? Occasionally we hear of a chicken closing one eye which can be a sign of Mareks, especially if there are other symptoms, such as weakness or an extremity, starving oneself, imbalance, or eye color/pupil changes. I really don’t want to worry you though. Hopefully, the closing of the eye is not Mareks, but just irritation. Terramycin eye ointment, plain Neosporin Ointment, or saline can be used in the eye twice a day.

 

[Leslie_C]

Sadly we lost Snowie during the holidays. She had become weaker and weaker as the days went by. The necropsy prelim came back indicating Snowie with "intestinal disease". A quick sum up from findings on the report:
Thickened intestinal wall and possible peritonitis
Etiology under investigation
Other lab test results
1-Negative AI PCR
2-No parasite eggs seen in feces.
A full diagnostic work up is currently under way to further characterize the condition and determine the cause.

Thank you everyone for your help and guidance in the effort of taking care of Snowie. She was a wonderful hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, I am so sorry that you lost Snowy. She was such a pretty hen. Please let us know what the final results are on her necropsy when you get them. Her urates looked yellow in one of the pics, and I wondered about some sort of liver issue which can happen with peritonitis.

 

[Leslie_C]

Oh, I am so sorry that you lost Snowy. She was such a pretty hen. Please let us know what the final results are on her necropsy when you get them. Her urates looked yellow in one of the pics, and I wondered about some sort of liver issue which can happen with peritonitis.

Thank you Eggcessive. Will update with final results.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sadly we lost Snowie during the holidays. She had become weaker and weaker as the days went by. The necropsy prelim came back indicating Snowie with "intestinal disease". A quick sum up from findings on the report:
Thickened intestinal wall and possible peritonitis
Etiology under investigation
Other lab test results
1-Negative AI PCR
2-No parasite eggs seen in feces.
A full diagnostic work up is currently under way to further characterize the condition and determine the cause.

Thank you everyone for your help and guidance in the effort of taking care of Snowie. She was a wonderful hen.

I'm very sorry to hear about Snowy, she sure was a pretty girl
Thank you for the update. I'm glad that you are finding out the cause of her decline.
Please let us know when you find out more.

 

[Leslie_C]

I'm very sorry to hear about Snowy, she sure was a pretty girl
Thank you for the update. I'm glad that you are finding out the cause of her decline.
Please let us know when you find out more.

Thank you. Will do.

 

[Leslie_C]

Hello, I have just received the final report for Snowie's necropsy today and thought I'd share with you. It appeared she had Marek's. I was told by my seller that all his chicks were vacinated for marek's; however it's not 100% guaranteed they wouldn't catch it.

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L a b o r a t o r y F i n d i n g s / D i a g n o s i s
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Hen; history of diarrhea
Marek's disease with lymphoma (cancer of lymphoid cells) affecting multiple organs (please see Histology section of this report
for details)
Other lab test results
1-Negative AI PCR
2-Negative vND PCR
3-No parasite eggs seen in feces
4-No significant bacterial pathogens isolated from liver, lung or peritoneum
5-Negative Salmonella spp. PCR
6-No parasites or parasite eggs detected in feces
7-No lead detected in liver

Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
BYF Necropsy Exam – 2 Bird limit
Results
Snowie Snowie Carcass Done

B a c t e r i o l o g y
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
BACTERIAL AEROBIC CULTURE
Results
Snowie Snowie Liver Tissue No growth after 48 hours
Snowie Snowie Lung Tissue Escherichia coli Sm#
Snowie Snowie Peritoneal Swab No growth after 48 hours
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
Salmonella RT PCR Screen & culture
Results
Snowie Snowie Liver Tissue Negative

B i o t e c h n o l o g y
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
Influenza A PCR with Internal Control
Results
Snowie Snowie Pharyngeal Swab - BHI Not Detected
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
Virulent Newcastle Disease Virus PCR
Results
Snowie Snowie Pharyngeal Swab - BHI Not Detected

P a r a s i t o l o g y
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
FECAL EXAM - FLOTATION
Results
Snowie Snowie Feces No parasite eggs detected

T o x i c o l o g y
Reporting Limit (Rep. Limit): The lowest routinely quantified concentration of an analyte in a sample. The analyte may be
detected, but not quantified, at concentrations below the reporting limit. Sample volumes less than requested might result in
reporting limits that are higher than those listed.
Animal/Source Specimen Specimen Type
HEAVY METAL SCREEN
Snowie Snowie Liver Tissue
Analyte Result Units Rep. Limit Units Ref. Range
Lead Not Detected ppm 1 ppm <1.0