Woozy chicken--need help asap!!! (emergency)

[fowl weathered friend]

I noticed my 5 mo old Rhode Island Red had diarrhoea a bit ago (as did all of my chickens) and took it for cocci. The chickens improved, but she seemed to be getting skinnier and still has diarrhoea. She's seemed lack-lustre lately--laying down a lot, not eating as much, but still eats and drinks fairly normally until yesterday.

Yesterday, she didn't seem to drink or eat much at all, and today I noticed that she was laying down, pecking at the ground. When she tried to stand and walk, she fell over sideways a couple of times, then righted herself.

Symptoms:
Falling
Tiredness
Green diarrhoea
Lack of appetite
Lack of thirst (I don't know if it's a lack of these things, or simply that she can't get to them very well).

Please help asap!
I really don't want her to do, and I've been all over the internet and I can't find a good diagnosis for treatment.

She needs your help asap!

 

[needmorechickens!]

Isolate her in a quiet dark area so she doesn't get picked on and can rest. This will also allow you to monitor her poo more easily.

Feed her some yogurt to get her "good" bacteria going in her tummy again. Give her some extra protein (some scrambled eggs). Put some electrolytes in her water.

Is it possible she has worms?

~Rebecca

 

[fowl weathered friend]

Forgot to mention:

Sneezing, and some wheezing, but not a lot. No nasal discharge.

Can anyone help?

 

[donnap1967]

I searched the internet and I found a mention of green diarrhea in chickens with the disease Fowl Cholera. Search this on the web and see if your chickens symptoms match. On wikipedia it mentioned treatment with tetracyclines.

I am sorry I don't know anything much about chicken diseases and searching the web was all I could do to help. I hope your baby will be ok and better soon.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will answer soon. :aww

 

[needmorechickens!]

Green Diarrhea can also be a sign of sour crop because no food is getting through so only bile is coming out.

How is her crop?
~Rebecca

 

[fowl weathered friend]

Would worms cause these symptoms? I wasn't sure. I looked down her throat and she doesn't seem to have any signs of gapeworm, and I didn't know if worms would cause the sneezing, wheezing and fatigue.

She's not interested in yogurt--tried to give her some every day for the past three becaue I read that might help, but she pecks at it once, shakes her head, and leaves it alone. The others love it, though. She also seems ok with softer foods right now--have her isolated--but when she tries to eat a harder grain item she pecks at it as if to eat it, and then it drops from her beak.
I'm wondering if the green diarrhoa is a sign that she's not getting enough food, and there's something else causing the lack of appetite, sneezing and wooziness (or maybe the wooziness is result of lack of food?)

Thoughts?

 

[needmorechickens!]

Hmmmm...How does her crop feel? If its big, check her breath and see if it smells....

~Rebecca

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044


Go to this link and scroll all the way to the bottom. There is a chart with symptoms and then you may be able to identify what you think it is. The treatments are also listed.

 

[fowl weathered friend]

Her breath smells surprisingly good for a chicken (I've never smelled their breath before this) and I've been checking her crop and it seems fine--fills after eating but nothing too unusual going on.

That chart was a little confusing--I realize that they wouldn't demonstrate all symptoms, but there's a lot of overlap between diseases taht it could be.

One of my older hens (couple of years old) started laying down on her side a little later this afternoon. Her colour is fine and she doesn't seem to be wheezing or have any other symptoms, but she does squint her eyes/eyelids droop. I'm starting to get worried...

 

[dlhunicorn]

she sounds very ill indeed... since you speak of respiratory symptoms you can give her tylan injection for that (injection quicker) and you will need to put electrolytes in her water and several times a day dribble along beak to ensure against dehydration (which can kill your bird quicker than what original is ailing it)
http://www.afn.org/~poultry/newsletr/1996/psep96.pdf
Chicken Medications
by Dr. James Barton and Clarence Gillihan
(excerpt)
".....Bacterial Diseases:
Purchase a bottle of Tylan 50 and several 3cc
syringes with 25 to 30 gauge 1/2" needles. Give your hen 1 to 1 1/2 cc. of Tylan under the skin of the neck .........Continue daily injections for three days but not more than five. Withdrawal time is one month. Tylan does not have much activity against coccidia, but it is very good against Mycoplasma bacteria which is responsible for some respiratory diseases.

To inject Tylan 50, pull the hens feathers back
to reveal the skin on base of the the neck on her back. Lift the skin up and insert the needle gentlty but firmly into the skin just far enough to allow the Tylan to be injected. You will be able to feel it. Be careful that you do not inject yourself. Make certain that you do not push the needle through the skin and out again not injecting at all................

Because Tylan is so powerful, it is recommended
that you purchase some Beneficial Bird Bacteria
and feed it to your chicken after she recovers.
Tylan wipes out all the benficial bacteria that is normally present in a chickens digestive system.

Also, Tylan can kill skin cells near the site of the injection so you should not use anything stronger than Tylan 50 - a stronger variety, Tylan-200 is also available at your local feed store, but this will likely do more harm than good.

When purchasing syringes, get them from a
local drug store. The 'human' grade needles are a little sharper than the vetrinary grade. The cost is about the same and your hen will thank you...."