Will Eat When Holding Her Plate For Her

[Edexter]

I've got a sick emaciated 2 year old black sex link hen who I am nursing in my garage.

She hasn't been right for a few weeks now. But she did seem to get some color back in her face after worming and treating for Cocci but hasn't made any other improvements.

She is currently on another round of worming and Corid treament.

She stands up tall with her wings down for support. She likes to rest up against a block to help her balance and stay up; she's weak. She can only waddle just a little so she pretty much stays in the same place.

I have water and food right next to her which I have seen her pick at on her own but she really goes at if if I'm holding it for her and talking to her. She's always very eager to eat and drink. I stop holding her food/water when she starts to dose off.

I give her frequent small meals in the morning and evening when I am home from work. I leave food in front of her the rest of the time.

She poops frequently. However, it's on the runny side. I have to scoop out her litter a lot.

My questions is: Do chickens with Mareks still function in almost every way but just can't move? I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong.

 

[cubalaya]

2 year old hens should be passed cocci and mareks problems. i would cull

 

[cafarmgirl]

What did you deworm her with and did you do a repeat dose in 10 days?

 

[Edexter]

About a month ago I started with Wazine then Ivermectin then treatment with Corid. I found out Safe Guard is better than Ivermectin so I just treated with that. I plan on retreating with Safe Guard once it's been 10 days as advised by this forum.

I am encouraged that today I found her standing a moving around a little! She's been staying where ever I last left her. I took her outside and let her "stretch her legs" and enjoy the sun. She got tired quickly and had to lay down.

Am I cruel to let her keep going or is this small bit of improvement a good sign? She is so so skinny but eating and drinking with enthusiasm now.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Give the dewormer time to work, do the repeat dose and see how she is in a few weeks. If she has/had a heavy worm load to the point of loosing a lot of weight and feeling crummy it will take her time to recover. I would add some good vitamins to her water like Avian Super Pak, and make sure she gets plenty of good nutrition and then just see how she does. I would not cull at this point if she looks brighter, is eating well and if you think worms might be the problem. Wazine only gets round worms and Ivermectin is just about useless as a wormer in poultry so it's entirely possible she's got a load of worms.

 

[Edexter]

Thank you for the information and encouragement!