HEN IS WALKING, SLOW, NOT HERSELF

[NewChickenmama06]

I have a 5 year old Black Star/Australorp mixed hen who started walking slowly and is not as energetic as usual. I noticed this 2 days ago. She is eating and drinking ok. Her comb and wattles are bright red, her eyes look fine, breathing is normal, nose is clear. Very alert, No sign of mites. Her poop looks watery, she was free ranging (picture included). She came up on my deck for treats today. So she seems ok, just slow moving and not running for treats when around the flock, only when she came inside the house. Hoping its nothing, but a worried chicken mama. Any advice/ insight would be appreciated .

 

[azygous]

Is she laying? When was the last egg? Any issues with shell quality with her eggs? Has she been spending time in the nest without producing anything? Does she have a steady watery discharge that may smell acrid and unpleasant?

Do you have a compost heap that your chickens dig in?

Has the weather been hot all of a sudden?

 

[NewChickenmama06]

I am not sure if she's laying or when her last eggs was. She's in the coop with 16 other hens. She was walking around in the yard to day. We have a garden we dump compost into that the birds get into. The weather has been up and down, so it was really cold at the beginning of the week 30's and warm at the end 60's.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Is she laying? When was the last egg? Any issues with shell quality with her eggs? Has she been spending time in the nest without producing anything? Does she have a steady watery discharge that may smell acrid and unpleasant?

Do you have a compost heap that your chickens dig in?

Has the weather been hot all of a sudden?

Her poop has been like the picture I sent at least for 2 days. It doesn't have an odor at all.

 

[azygous]

Have you inspected the compost for mold? I made the mistake many years ago starting out with chickens letting them dig in my compost. One died and a couple others became very sick from the anaerobic bacteria deep in the compost. The bacteria there is related to botulism and can kill quickly unless the chicken is given an antibiotic. Do you have any on hand?

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Yes I had ordered some online

 

[azygous]

Do you have anything on hand you could give this hen now? If she has this botulism toxin working inside her, she might not last until the other med comes.

I can't, of course, give you a firm diagnosis over the internet. But she does have a few of the symptoms and you did confirm she was in the compost. But there's another possibility, and we should treat for it, as well. Egg binding could be her problem.

Even not knowing what the diagnosis is, you can treat for both of these things to be safe. For egg binding, give her a calcium tablet directly in her beak. I use calcium citrate as it works fast, but you can also use Tums. She should have a minimum of 360mg of calcium. This can stimulate contractions to push out an obstruction. If this is her problem, you could see an egg in an hour or two, or by morning. Once the egg comes out, you should see her return to her normal behavior.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Do you have anything on hand you could give this hen now? If she has this botulism toxin working inside her, she might not last until the other med comes.

I can't, of course, give you a firm diagnosis over the internet. But she does have a few of the symptoms and you did confirm she was in the compost. But there's another possibility, and we should treat for it, as well. Egg binding could be her problem.

Even not knowing what the diagnosis is, you can treat for both of these things to be safe. For egg binding, give her a calcium tablet directly in her beak. I use calcium citrate as it works fast, but you can also use Tums. She should have a minimum of 360mg of calcium. This can stimulate contractions to push out an obstruction. If this is her problem, you could see an egg in an hour or two, or by morning. Once the egg comes out, you should see her return to her normal behavior.

I'm sorry, I meant I ordered some online a while ago. I got fish amoxicillin. I examined her vent and gently felt her underside and everything felt and looked normal, so I didn't think egg binding was possible. She's asleep in the coop rn. It 11:30 my time. Should I grab her?

 

[azygous]

Amoxicillin is perfect. Give her 250mg right now. Waking her up could keep her from being dead tomorrow. She should have 250mg twice a day. So in the morning, give her the second dose and tomorrow evening give her another. Continue until she's had the antibiotic for at least seven days.

You should notice a dramatic improvement in 24 hours if we're right about the Clostridium perfringens. But keep up with the antibiotic for seven days, ten if she still seems still a bit off.

You should have pushed a calcium into her by now. Give it to her if you haven't. Egg binding can kill, too. If an egg appears, and the hen is suddenly back to her normal self, then we can assume it was egg binding and not the bacterial infection, but give her the amoxy anyway for seven days. It will be cover in case egg binding caused the start of an infection in her reproductive system.

To sum up, you're treating for two possible things. If we're wrong about one and right about the other, no harm done. At least we've got the two most obvious things covered, and you're hen should be back to her self in a week.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Amoxicillin is perfect. Give her 250mg right now. Waking her up could keep her from being dead tomorrow. She should have 250mg twice a day. So in the morning, give her the second dose and tomorrow evening give her another. Continue until she's had the antibiotic for at least seven days.

You should notice a dramatic improvement in 24 hours if we're right about the Clostridium perfringens. But keep up with the antibiotic for seven days, ten if she still seems still a bit off.

You should have pushed a calcium into her by now. Give it to her if you haven't. Egg binding can kill, too. If an egg appears, and the hen is suddenly back to her normal self, then we can assume it was egg binding and not the bacterial infection, but give her the amoxy anyway for seven days. It will be cover in case egg binding caused the start of an infection in her reproductive system.

To sum up, you're treating for two possible things. If we're wrong about one and right about the other, no harm done. At least we've got the two most obvious things covered, and you're hen should be back to her self in a week.

Ok thank you! I will keep you posted.