Need advice regarding treatment for my two-year-old Polish bantam hen who is sick. We first noticed symptoms a week ago. We found her in her outdoor run on Sunday very lethargic but standing up. We assumed it was heat related and spent the night cooling her off. She perked up a little and ate some watermelon, but we could not get her to drink any water. She pooped a few times - it was clear liquid/gel with bright yellow/green.
The next morning she had improved, but still wasn't quite right - appetite loss, somewhat droopy tail, pale (ish). She stayed the same over the next couple days. She didn't have her usual interest in food or water and her poop remained the same. She has been pecking at melons and blueberries, but not eating anything substantial.
Per vet recommendation, we gave her .4mL of Safegard Dewormer 10% suspension on Wednesday with instruction to administer the same dosage in 5 and 10 days. However, we haven't seen much of an improvement and she has been losing weight daily. She was 1:06 lbs Wednesday, down to 1:05.5 lbs, 1:05.25 lbs and yesterday her weight fluctuated throughout the day and was 1:05.25 lbs at her heaviest. When we reached back out to the vet, his response was, "That's not good that she's losing weight." Very helpful...and we can't get an appointment anywhere (within a 2 hour drive) until mid-week.
Through another recommendation, we started giving her Corid 9.6% Oral Solution yesterday afternoon. Since we haven't seen her drink water, we have been giving her undiluted drops orally every few hours. Last night she ate grain, which we haven't seen her eat in a while. However, her most recent weight today is 1:04.85 lbs.
She has lost interest in watermelon, but she has been eating cantaloupe the last two days. Her poop has been a little more solid that is was on Sunday, but she isn't pooping much at all.
Compared to sick chickens we've dealt with previously, she is relatively energetic - but still more slow moving than normal, but not lethargic. She walks around (paces) trying to get out of her pen (she's quarantined and has FOMO). She doesn't have any external parasites. She has clear eyes, clear nose, clean vent. Crop seems fine but I'm not an expert.
Could this be something other than internal parasites or coccidiosis? Should we start treating her with an antibiotic? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
The next morning she had improved, but still wasn't quite right - appetite loss, somewhat droopy tail, pale (ish). She stayed the same over the next couple days. She didn't have her usual interest in food or water and her poop remained the same. She has been pecking at melons and blueberries, but not eating anything substantial.
Per vet recommendation, we gave her .4mL of Safegard Dewormer 10% suspension on Wednesday with instruction to administer the same dosage in 5 and 10 days. However, we haven't seen much of an improvement and she has been losing weight daily. She was 1:06 lbs Wednesday, down to 1:05.5 lbs, 1:05.25 lbs and yesterday her weight fluctuated throughout the day and was 1:05.25 lbs at her heaviest. When we reached back out to the vet, his response was, "That's not good that she's losing weight." Very helpful...and we can't get an appointment anywhere (within a 2 hour drive) until mid-week.
Through another recommendation, we started giving her Corid 9.6% Oral Solution yesterday afternoon. Since we haven't seen her drink water, we have been giving her undiluted drops orally every few hours. Last night she ate grain, which we haven't seen her eat in a while. However, her most recent weight today is 1:04.85 lbs.
She has lost interest in watermelon, but she has been eating cantaloupe the last two days. Her poop has been a little more solid that is was on Sunday, but she isn't pooping much at all.
Compared to sick chickens we've dealt with previously, she is relatively energetic - but still more slow moving than normal, but not lethargic. She walks around (paces) trying to get out of her pen (she's quarantined and has FOMO). She doesn't have any external parasites. She has clear eyes, clear nose, clean vent. Crop seems fine but I'm not an expert.
Could this be something other than internal parasites or coccidiosis? Should we start treating her with an antibiotic? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!