need some direction for a sick chicken

[awagnon]

Hi y'all! Well, I guess it was bound to happen again. The same hen who had really severe crop issues a few months ago is back to acting off. She is molting a little bit, but I think it is more than just that. She's a red sex-link, approx 2 1/2 yrs old. Comb is red, but not as bright as usual. Eyes are bright and clear. No sneezing or nasal discharge. No facial swelling. Coordination seems fine when she walks around her crate. No mites/lice. She is standing and sitting without any trouble. She is drinking and picks at her food a little, but isn't eating much. Hasn't laid any eggs in over a year.

I made her some mash with her feed. Her feed is Naturewise Organic Egg Producer pellets. I have put Corid in her water in case it's a case of Cocci. I know there are strains that don't cause bloody poo. I am worming her with Fenbendazole according to the dosage for her weight. Doing the five day regimen. This is the second day on those. She tears up her grit like it's candy. Her poops are very watery, but not green, mucosy or bloody. Just a normal brownish color with obvious urates as well. VERY stinky.

Her crop is small, tho I feel like it's a bit larger than this morning when it was empty. She's just not eating much at all. She is the same one who dropped A LOT of weight when she had the crop issue. I weighed her yesterday when I brought her in and surprisingly she weighed 3.7 lbs. I was shocked as she doesn't feel like she'd even register on the scale. She weighed almost a pound and a quarter more than that Spring before last, before she got sick the first time. On the bird condition scale, I'd say she's at least a 1 if not worse. I don't know how she's made it this long. I had figured she had cancer since she really never got her weight back after getting over the crop problem. I guess I was wrong because she had a good spell of acting perfectly normal as she used to and was eating like a pig once her crop got better. I would think by now she'd be gone if it was cancer.

She is also making a weird motion with her head and neck from time to time. Kinda a combo of Cobra swaying, stretching, and 'walk like an egyptian' type movements. lol She doesn't seem to lose her balance or be dizzy during or after these gyrations. I also hear loud gurgling noises from her from time to time that sounds like my stomach growling when I am really hungry. lol

My questions are: can I give Miconazole with the Corid and wormer? I also read an herbal tea of catnip, lemon balm, and chamomile is good for their digestion. Is that OK to mix with everything? I don't want to overwhelm her system. I am really concerned about her weight and would love to get some muscle mass back on her before it gets too cold.

TIA for any help/advice anyone can give me.

 

[azygous]

It sounds like she may have loss of appetite due to molt, and also has a crop issue going on from your description of her neck gyrations.

The fact she hasn't laid in such a long time may point to a chronic reproductive issue, cancer or an infection. Both aren't out of the question for her breed.

We can't diagnose her problems, just give advice on how to treat her symptoms. First, since she isn't laying, feeding a layer feed is not helping her. Find an all flock feed like Purina Flock Raiser or a chick starter which have a generous amount of protein that would do her a lot of good if you want to put weight on her.

Her crop issue could be caused by her anatomy where a crop bra might be the solution rather than continual yeast treatments. And I suggest giving her a probiotic for a while to beef up her intestinal microbes.

This hen may turn out not have any serious reproductive issues at all. If a crop bra resolves the crop emptying and if a higher protein feed puts enough weight on her, she may just surprise you and begin to lay again once the days get longer.

 

[awagnon]

It sounds like she may have loss of appetite due to molt, and also has a crop issue going on from your description of her neck gyrations.

The fact she hasn't laid in such a long time may point to a chronic reproductive issue, cancer or an infection. Both aren't out of the question for her breed.

We can't diagnose her problems, just give advice on how to treat her symptoms. First, since she isn't laying, feeding a layer feed is not helping her. Find an all flock feed like Purina Flock Raiser or a chick starter which have a generous amount of protein that would do her a lot of good if you want to put weight on her.

Her crop issue could be caused by her anatomy where a crop bra might be the solution rather than continual yeast treatments. And I suggest giving her a probiotic for a while to beef up her intestinal microbes.

This hen may turn out not have any serious reproductive issues at all. If a crop bra resolves the crop emptying and if a higher protein feed puts enough weight on her, she may just surprise you and begin to lay again once the days get longer.

Thanks @azygous for your response. I understand a diagnosis is impossible here. I do know that this breed is prone to reproductive cancer, but given the length of time, I would have thought she'd already have passed from it. I have read that even tho they are very productive egg layers, they do so for only a short time, 2 years max, sometimes. She's had no symptoms of being egg bound or internal laying ever.

The current feed I am feeding, despite the name, is 21% protein. It's the highest I can find. The All Flock I have used in the past was lower than that. I think it was around 18%.

Would a crop bra even do any good if her crop seems to be in the correct position and doesn't overfill? Would it press on the crop and cause her to eat even less from the pressure?

Her crop is not distended nor does it hang down like I have seen in pendulous crop cases. After the bout with her crop before, she never really gorged herself enough for her crop to be wildly noticeable like her sisters' that had no crop issues. In checking her, morning and evening, I did find she was eating and emptying some tho during her recovery last time. If anything I don't feel like she's eating enough.

Would you continue the Corid and worming for the 3 more days if she were your hen?

Would the miconazole be OK to use in addition to Corid in her water or should I wait for 3 days when her Corid regimen is complete?

What about the herbal tea? Don't want to introduce any herbs that may work against other things I am giving her.