White polish hen not doing so well

[OkieRoost]

One of my white polish hens seems to be very sick. She will just stand there very stiff and won't move around much. I moved her and she fell down. We brought her inside because we thought she might have gotten too cold, but the other chickens seem fine. What do you all think?

 

[NCgirl21]

Hi,

I'm not very experienced so I hope someone else will comment soon with more insight to help. Does her crop feel full? Have you tried hand feeding her? Maybe a treat like scratch? One thing we've done for chickens that we are concerned about is to give them plain Oikos Greek Yogurt because it's supposed to have a lot of healthy nutrients in it for them.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you added any chickens recently, or is she new, or have you moved to new ground? Has she been wormed recently?. Can you check her all over head to toe for lice and mites--some mites only come out after dark and hide in the cracks during daylight. Is she having any diarrhea or leg/balace issues? Has she laid an egg recently?

 

[OkieRoost]

We have had her for several months, haven't moved or anything. She doesn't have mites/lice but she is having balance issues. She has medicated feed bit hasn't been wormed

 

[Eggcessive]

You didn't mention if she has diarrhea, but she looks puffed up which can be a sign of coccidiosis (as well as other illnesses.) Other symptoms of coccidiosis are diarrhea (sometimes with blood,) poor appetite, lethargy, and weakness. Treatment is Corid or amprollium for 5 days. Dosage is 1 1/2 tsp powder or 2 tsp liquid per gallon water. They can get cocci even when on medicated feed. She should be wormed with SafeGuard horse past or liquid goat wormer 1/2 to 1 ml, then repeat in 10 days. Balance problems could be a sign of Mareks disease or because she is weak. Does she have any leg weakness or paralysis?

 

[OkieRoost]

Yes I meant to say she has diarrhea to, and yeah she seems to not be able to walk without stumbling and falling down, but she has mainly been standing in the same spot. We do have her separated from the other chickens, but how contagious is it? Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

If she has Mareks disease, all of your chickens would have been exposed. If coccidiosis, all chickens should be treated with Corid at same time. Corid is not harmful, so starting it just in case it is cocci, is not a bad thing. Did she have a Mareks vaccine? Mareks is spread in the dander and dust, and the wind blows it everywhere. There are 4 types of Mareks, and any chicken can get one or more typses. Here is some reading about it: http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502