Ill Chicken - And recovery

[sbmcqueen]

Hello All,

We had our first real drop in temperature Saturday night (not that cold here...just below freezing)

The morning after, I had two hens in the coop not doing very well.

One was sitting by the water dish, with whole body trembling and having trouble standing. I brought her into the hospital pen. She went downhill very quickly, but I wasn't able to save her, and she passed away within hours.

A second one was lethargic, and we also brought her in. She has perked up! Not full energy, but is bright eyed, and eating egg yolk and some treats on her own (I'll prepare her some food with a more balanced diet...I just wanted to get some calories in her to start)


Yesterday I was at a bit of a loss on what's wrong. Just incase it was worms combined with the cold, we started Panacur at 20-50mg per kilogram daily to treat worm(we have an oral suspension)

I wanted to touch base here though, and get some other thoughts, because I know deworming can be hard on them. I am too far though from chicken medical support for a fecal float.

Should I continue with the deworming as she recovers? I'm leaning yes, just because what we tried yesterday seems to be working and and she's feeling better, but I would appreciate feedback.

She is 6.2 pounds, crop is fine and emptying. She's nearing three years old, and not laying right now(so I don't suspect the issueis egg related). I think we either have parasites or a virus and the cold is putting her understress.

The only other thing I can think of is they ate something! They do free range, and there is a vegetable only compost available. I wanted to also let you know about this incase it is the problem.

Thank you very much for your thoughts!

 

[User690263]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss
Maybe @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive or @azygous can help you

 

[azygous]

Chickens deal with cold fairly well. But when there is a sudden drop in temperature to below freezing, chickens can get hypothermia. The symptoms are similar to when chickens suffer heat stroke, also caused by a sudden change in temp. Chickens do not deal well with sudden drastic changes in temperature - they need to gradually adapt to temperature changes.

The symptoms are lethargy, imbalance, stumbling, falling, and lameness. When you see these symptoms suddenly appear and they coincide with a big drop or rise in temperature, you need to immediately bring the chicken indoors for treatment.

Treatment consists of warming up or cooling down the stricken chicken. Fast warming and cooling can save the chicken's life. Key places on the chicken's body where blood vessels are most numerous and close to the surface are the feet, breast, and wing pits. Apply hot or cold compresses to those spots and the blood vessels will carry the heat or cooling quickly to the rest of the body. At the same time you will give an electrolyte solution to raise glucose and balance electrolytes to stabilize organ function. One cup water with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt and baking soda.

I've had chickens stricken by heat or cold and after treatment, they are back to normal within an hour.