Hen not walking breathing heavy

[josephinefarmsw]

I found a hen in the nesting box today sleeping in the middle of the day. With bird flu in mind I masked up, but on eye protection and gloves before touching her. I isolated her.

Her breathing is shallow and she is asleep + very stiff and cold. She cannot stand. But there are no other symptoms. No injury. No crop issues. She is breathing shallow but She is actually quite peaceful, doesn’t seem in pain but is clearly very very sick. There is no wheezing, no discoloration around the wattles or comb. Eyes look normal. We treated the whole flock with Equimax a few days ago, due to having found some tapeworm last month. We were very careful with the dosage and followed instructions for a 5lb bird, but is it possible she is reacting to the ivermectin?

Any ideas? I didn’t include a photo because it’s just a chicken sleeping - no physical signs that are helpful on camera.

We keep a very clean coop and I scrubbed it down extra good today. We keep food and water under covered areas and very clean as well.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What's her poop like?

Has she laid an egg? If she hasn't then I'd get extra Calcium into her in case she's struggling with expelling an egg or lash material. Give her 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet now, then once daily for 5 days.

Work on hydration, get warmed sugar water or electrolytes into her.

 

[josephinefarmsw]

Thank you!

 

[josephinefarmsw]

What's her poop like?

Has she laid an egg? If she hasn't then I'd get extra Calcium into her in case she's struggling with expelling an egg or lash material. Give her 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet now, then once daily for 5 days.

Work on hydration, get warmed sugar water or electrolytes into her.


View attachment 4069830

I don’t know if she’s been laying, we have 38 chickens so it’s harder to keep track of who is doing what - but she was in the nesting box. I don’t have any calcium but will pick some up in the morning. I crushed egg shells down into a paste and gave her some of those with electrolytes- it was hard to get her to swallow them but I think we got it in. She is truly fast asleep - and so cold. But her breathing seems more normal now. I have her wrapped in a towel with a red light on her and am monitoring - also gave a warm epsom bath. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, a chicken into a cold coma

 

[josephinefarmsw]

I don’t know if she’s been laying, we have 38 chickens so it’s harder to keep track of who is doing what - but she was in the nesting box. I don’t have any calcium but will pick some up in the morning. I crushed egg shells down into a paste and gave her some of those with electrolytes- it was hard to get her to swallow them but I think we got it in. She is truly fast asleep - and so cold. But her breathing seems more normal now. I have her wrapped in a towel with a red light on her and am monitoring - also gave a warm epsom bath. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, a chicken into a cold coma

Oh and poop looked normal!

 

[Eggcessive]

In morning make a bit of soft scrambled egg and hold it up to her beak, and add some water to it to get fluids into her. She may not have eaten in awhile, and they cannot regulate their body temperature if they don’t eat. Once shd eats some, give more fluids with a bit of sugar or electrolytes. Mix a little water in some chicken feed crumbles to make a mash and offer it. She could be suffering from egg bound or a reproductive infection.

 

[josephinefarmsw]

Sadly she passed last night. We spent a lot of the night getting fluids, yogurt, electrolytes and calcium in her. Kept her warm in blanket and red lamp - massaged her crop, her abdomen…added coconut oil to the vent to encourage anything bound to come out. She was pretty far gone when we found her. Very cold and in a deep sleep. And it happened FAST because I did not observe any chickens in the coop or nesting boxes during the day the day before I found her. We may do a necropsy depending on the cost. The good thing is all the other hens are healthy and if it were Avian Flu we’d have other deaths by now. Sorry to see her go, but glad she was peaceful and in a comfortable place at least. With nearly 40 hens we’ve seen about everything you can see over the last 10 years (including egg bounded hens and necrotic eggs) - and I’ve always had good luck nursing them back. I think she may have had some kind of congenital issue, but it’s hard to say unless we use a lab to find out.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Some people do home necropsies to look at the organs for any spots or tiny tumors on the liver, intestines, or other organs. Certain illnesses may be evident with a necropsy. Take pictures of the organs if you do one, and post here for opinions. Most state vets do a very thorough necropsy with testing for diseases. The body must be kept cold and taken in the next day. Here is a list of state vet labs if you decide to go that way:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8
This video is helpful in identifying organs in doing a home necropsy:

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sadly she passed last night. We spent a lot of the night getting fluids, yogurt, electrolytes and calcium in her. Kept her warm in blanket and red lamp - massaged her crop, her abdomen…added coconut oil to the vent to encourage anything bound to come out. She was pretty far gone when we found her. Very cold and in a deep sleep. And it happened FAST because I did not observe any chickens in the coop or nesting boxes during the day the day before I found her. We may do a necropsy depending on the cost. The good thing is all the other hens are healthy and if it were Avian Flu we’d have other deaths by now. Sorry to see her go, but glad she was peaceful and in a comfortable place at least. With nearly 40 hens we’ve seen about everything you can see over the last 10 years (including egg bounded hens and necrotic eggs) - and I’ve always had good luck nursing them back. I think she may have had some kind of congenital issue, but it’s hard to say unless we use a lab to find out.

Sorry to hear this.