worried about my chicken

[geprgiawc]

We have had our 7 girls since April - it is now June - this morning when I went in to let them out, 1 chicken didn't get up. She is perching and sleeping. I petted her and she opened her eyes, but then went back to sleep. It is 8:30 already. All of the other girls are out in the run doing their thing, but she is still sleeping inside. Should I be worried? I am not usually around after I let them out, so maybe she does this eeryday, but I haven't even noticed it before, they all go out every morning when I let them. It has been cool and rainy lately, but it is comfortable in the run and in the coop. Any ideas out there? Do I need to call a vet?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

It definitely sounds like you have a sick chicken.

Do you have any avian specialists near you? Most vets know next to nothing about chickens.

 

[geprgiawc]

Thanks for your reply. I did find a vet that sees small farm animals, and she is on an antibiotic and we are force feeding her. She is still not doing well. The other 6 are fine and happy. Agnes, however, is weak and tired and wont even stand. We are keeping her inside under a heat lamp. Has anyone dealt with something like this before? I wish she could tell me what was wrong.

 

[Eggcessive]

Cocci is a huge killer of chickens and the first symptoms are being tired, puffed up, lying around. It's in the soil everywhere. You might start your chickens on Corid, since it can spread quickly. It comes in powder and liquid forms. You might notice bloody bowel movements, but that may come later. Don't start it while they are on Corid, but later add some apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoonful per gallon to their water. Give your birds a little plain yogurt to help their intestines with good bacteria.

 

[geprgiawc]

THANKS for the reply! Where do I get corid? Can I give it to her while she is on the antibiotic? The bloody bowl movements will come because of the Corid or the cocci? sorry for my ignorance, I really appreciate your help.

 

[geprgiawc]

Also, after reading a bit about cocci it said an indication was bloody stools; no droppings have had blood in them. The coop, and now the run, are sand, and I scoop it regularly so I see the droppings clearly. My sick bird has runny stools but no blood.

 

[sumi]

Not all chicks with cocci have bloody droppings. You may see runny droppings, yellow or tan droppings and/or foamy droppings, depending on the type of coccidiosis and the severity of the infection. Ask your vet if he/she can take a look at a sample and test it for you.

Hope your hen recovers!

 

[geprgiawc]

thank you, I hope so too. I am finding it very hard to find Corid anywhere nearby, only found it for cattle not poultry. Ugh - waiting to hear from the vet at noon, fingers crossed.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

thank you, I hope so too. I am finding it very hard to find Corid anywhere nearby, only found it for cattle not poultry. Ugh - waiting to hear from the vet at noon, fingers crossed.

That's the right one. Even though the bottle has language for dosing calves, it's the same one that's used for chickens. I don't have the dosage but it's on this forum, you'll need to run a search to find it.

 

[ozarkmomma]

If you buy the corrid powder, the dose is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water, mixed fresh for 5 days. You have to treat all your birds with it. When the 5 days are done, they are depleted of Thiamine which is a B vitamin so Vitamin supplements added to the water are beneficial. Also, plain yogurt is good as it helps to rebalance the gut. We just went through cocci in my meat bird flock.