Hunched sick hen

[kmpcfp]

I have a 4 year old brahma hen that has gone down hill fast. She recently finished molting. She is fluffing up her feathers with her head tucked in, and is now hunched over with her tail held down. She looks very sickly. Her comb is pale and her lower abdomen is swollen, warm to the touch and dark pink/red. She had stinkier than normal diarrhea stuck to her. She is underweight. No one else in the flock is noticeably sick (I have 15). I did have one hen with identical symptoms pass away about 18 months ago. I never found out what caused her demise.

I gave this hen some plain Greek yogurt to help get some helpful bacteria into her. I am planning to head to tractor supply for some antibiotics tomorrow if she is still alive.

Their normal diet is Nutrena All Flock with free choice oyster shell and occasional veggie/fruit scraps.

I am wondering if this is a bacterial vent gleet/cloacitus or peritonitis. Most of my chickens stopped laying for the fall/winter a couple months ago, so I don't think she is egg bound.

Will amprolium help this?

 

[azygous]

From the symptoms, I believe your thinking in the direction of EYP a logical one. TSC should have Fish Mox. That would be preferable to penicillin. Give her 250mg as soon as you can. I'd follow up eight hours later with a second 250mg dose, then 250mg per day after that for nine more days.

Laying isn't necessary for a reproductive bacterial infection, although the infection may have been festering for months and is now overwhelming her system made weak by molt.

There may not be any relation to the other hen that died, but you can't rule it out.

I wouldn't bother with amprolium.

 

[kmpcfp]

From the symptoms, I believe your thinking in the direction of EYP a logical one. TSC should have Fish Mox. That would be preferable to penicillin. Give her 250mg as soon as you can. I'd follow up eight hours later with a second 250mg dose, then 250mg per day after that for nine more days.

Laying isn't necessary for a reproductive bacterial infection, although the infection may have been festering for months and is now overwhelming her system made weak by molt.

There may not be any relation to the other hen that died, but you can't rule it out.

I wouldn't bother with amprolium.

Thanks. My tractor supply doesn't carry fish mox. It seems that in my state that the only over the counter antibiotics available are in injectable form. I see oxytetracycline and penicillin.

I am going to do an abdominal drain as well to help rid the extra fluid.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I agree that it sounds like EYP. It doesn't have a good prognosis, unfortunately, if that's what it is. Hopefully, draining the fluid will make her feel more comfortable. And I hope you can get the antibiotics and that they help. I'm sorry she's sick, and I wish you luck.

 

[kmpcfp]

I found tylan 50. She had no palpable breast tissue so I administered it orally. I also did a paracentesis. The fluid was clear yellow and had no odor. I am now thinking this is ascites from a liver or heart issue.

 

[Featherhead777]

I have a six year old Americauna and yesterday I noticed her with tail down, interested but not really eating (crop all but empty later in the day). On inspection the area around her cloaca is swollen and feels full of liquid. There could be an egg in there so treated her as if she was egg bound…warm bath, extra Calcium, 50 mg enteric aspirin, and a bit of olive oil, warm dark sleep in the laundry room over night. She seems the same this morning. Not miserable but still swollen and not eating. Her poop was stuck around her bum but it was fairly normal looking just not firm. Her bottom doesn’t have a good smell about it, something not right…infection?

feels like draining the fluid would be a good idea, maybe? Suggestions and also how do I do the draining if that is the next course of action.

 

[kmpcfp]

I have a six year old Americauna and yesterday I noticed her with tail down, interested but not really eating (crop all but empty later in the day). On inspection the area around her cloaca is swollen and feels full of liquid. There could be an egg in there so treated her as if she was egg bound…warm bath, extra Calcium, 50 mg enteric aspirin, and a bit of olive oil, warm dark sleep in the laundry room over night. She seems the same this morning. Not miserable but still swollen and not eating. Her poop was stuck around her bum but it was fairly normal looking just not firm. Her bottom doesn’t have a good smell about it, something not right…infection?

feels like draining the fluid would be a good idea, maybe? Suggestions and also how do I do the draining if that is the next course of action.

You may want to start a new thread. The hen that I had that presented with this problem did not improve, she passed after a couple days. I am assuming multiple organ failure which ended with the ascites and refusal to eat/drink.


For some hens, 6 years is an average lifespan for an outdoor flock. Does she still have an otherwise good body composition, is everyone else in the flock healthy, have you wormed recently?

 

[Featherhead777]

How can I repost my post onto a new thread? I am new at this despite lurking for a long time?

everyone else in the coop is healthy, her body composition is great ( she did begin laying this year already), but no worming…never have, very small flock of 5 to 7 at any given time.

thanks for your quick reply!
V.

 

[Aunt Angus]

How can I repost my post onto a new thread? I am new at this despite lurking for a long time?

everyone else in the coop is healthy, her body composition is great ( she did begin laying this year already), but no worming…never have, very small flock of 5 to 7 at any given time.

thanks for your quick reply!
V.

Sorry about your hen...

If you go to the forum list and click on the forum for emergencies/illnesses, there's a button that said something like create post or create thread. Easy peasy!

Good luck with your girl...