SkellyAnne
In the Brooder
I'm stumped. Other than being lethargic and refusing water and most food, she seems fine.
Hen: Light Brahma, 4 years old, named Petunia. She has lost weight recently, but in general is a pretty big lady due to her breed. She's the boss of our little backyard flock. She lays tan eggs so it's hard to tell when she lays, but I don't think she's laid much, if at all, this season. She was slowing down on laying at the end of last season.
Usual Living Conditions: Backyard chicken, free roaming in fenced in yard, just shy of an acre. 5 hens total in the coop. No issues with bullying. Water from the well, same as we drink in the house. Organic pellet feed, soy free and corn free.
Symptoms: Lethargic, refusing water, not eating much. She is alert and chatters at me when I sit with her, which is typical of her. She will stand to poop, take a step or two, and lay back down. She does not appear to be in pain, just very tired.
Timeline & Treatment:
I'd like to continue treating her myself, but I'm willing to put in a lot of effort, as long as I am not prolonging suffering.
Wednesday morning she was laying in the run, alert but not interested in scratching around with the other girls. When I got home from work in the evening, she hadn't moved. I carried her to her food and water, and she ate and drank some. She stayed standing, but with her tail down. I examined her, but didn't really find anything. Then brought her in for an Epsom bath, since her tail was down. I dried her and we had some snugs. Since then, she has been isolated indoors. We have a large steam shower that is never used, so we lined it with a tarp, filled it with the same bedding that's in the coop, and put out her normal food and water. Every few hours she stands to poop, then takes a few steps and lays back down. She has been alert most of the time, a little less so today. She eats pretty well, especially when I hand feed her, but hardly drinks. Friday (last) night, I attempted to give her water with a syringe, but she is still alert enough to fight me, and she shook her head to fling most of it around the room instead. Saturday (today), I finally realized I can feed her food with a high water content. She has eaten a couple pieces of watermelon, half of a roma tomato, some feed pellets, and some dried grubs. I plan to offer her cucumber next. I check on her every hour or so and offer her more food and water by hand. At first, she ate more of the food even once I was gone, but less so as the day goes on. Her last two poops that I observed were white and water, not green, and had the slightest hint of normal, brown, oily, solid content. I've sat with her a lot, and she still chatters at me like usual. It seems like I might be making some small progress on the food and water front, but I have no idea what the underlying issue is and I'm worried she'll dye of dehydration before I can do anything to help her.
Hen: Light Brahma, 4 years old, named Petunia. She has lost weight recently, but in general is a pretty big lady due to her breed. She's the boss of our little backyard flock. She lays tan eggs so it's hard to tell when she lays, but I don't think she's laid much, if at all, this season. She was slowing down on laying at the end of last season.
Usual Living Conditions: Backyard chicken, free roaming in fenced in yard, just shy of an acre. 5 hens total in the coop. No issues with bullying. Water from the well, same as we drink in the house. Organic pellet feed, soy free and corn free.
Symptoms: Lethargic, refusing water, not eating much. She is alert and chatters at me when I sit with her, which is typical of her. She will stand to poop, take a step or two, and lay back down. She does not appear to be in pain, just very tired.
- No signs of trauma or injury.
- No other birds in our flock are showing symptoms. Though, we have one hen that we learned has ascites, but I believe that is not realted. Last weekend, I drained the fluid from that hen, and since then she has snapped completely back to normal. It's been a really incredible recovery.
- Flock was dewormed last week. I used Safe Guard Goat Dewormer. 3cc to 1 gallon of water, for 7 days, ending on Tuesday (she fell sick the next day, Wednesday).
- Comb is pale, but otherwise normal.
- Eyes and nose are clear.
- Skin is clear.
- Very light wheezing when breathing - I can only hear it when putting my ear to her chest. Sometimes her breathing does seem laboured, like after standing.
- Crop is soft, no oder. Mostly empty since she isn't eating much.
- Breast bone is easy to feel, due to weight loss. Wings and legs seem normal, no apparent pain or injury.
- Abdomen feels normal. Soft and not bloated. No signs of an egg.
- Vent is clear. Some mess on her feathers around it, but seems to be due to the last few days of illness.
- Feet look normal. No sign of sores or wounds. Her feathered feet always look more scaled than the other hens, but I don't think they're indicative of mites.
- Poop is white and watery. As of this morning, it is bright green, which I understand is due to the bile because her stomach is so empty. Her last poop was oily but finally had a small bit of more typical formed brown content.
Timeline & Treatment:
I'd like to continue treating her myself, but I'm willing to put in a lot of effort, as long as I am not prolonging suffering.
Wednesday morning she was laying in the run, alert but not interested in scratching around with the other girls. When I got home from work in the evening, she hadn't moved. I carried her to her food and water, and she ate and drank some. She stayed standing, but with her tail down. I examined her, but didn't really find anything. Then brought her in for an Epsom bath, since her tail was down. I dried her and we had some snugs. Since then, she has been isolated indoors. We have a large steam shower that is never used, so we lined it with a tarp, filled it with the same bedding that's in the coop, and put out her normal food and water. Every few hours she stands to poop, then takes a few steps and lays back down. She has been alert most of the time, a little less so today. She eats pretty well, especially when I hand feed her, but hardly drinks. Friday (last) night, I attempted to give her water with a syringe, but she is still alert enough to fight me, and she shook her head to fling most of it around the room instead. Saturday (today), I finally realized I can feed her food with a high water content. She has eaten a couple pieces of watermelon, half of a roma tomato, some feed pellets, and some dried grubs. I plan to offer her cucumber next. I check on her every hour or so and offer her more food and water by hand. At first, she ate more of the food even once I was gone, but less so as the day goes on. Her last two poops that I observed were white and water, not green, and had the slightest hint of normal, brown, oily, solid content. I've sat with her a lot, and she still chatters at me like usual. It seems like I might be making some small progress on the food and water front, but I have no idea what the underlying issue is and I'm worried she'll dye of dehydration before I can do anything to help her.
